New Hampshire Fish and Game warns of budget shortfall, urges new revenue options

Stephanie Simic, executive director of New Hampshire Fish and Game, told the Finance - Division II committee on Feb. 19 that the agency’s core operations rely heavily on hunting and fishing license sales and federal grants and that the department faces a recurring gap between available unrestricted revenue and planned expenditures.

Simic said the department uses more than $18 million in Fish and Game funds each year to sustain programs and staff while expecting only about $14 million in unrestricted revenues, “leaving a deficit of over $4,000,000 in each year.” She added that the agency has 193 full‑time employees, five of which are currently unfunded in the 2026–27 budget submission and that several essential positions now supported by ARPA are not yet permanent.

Why it matters: Fish and Game is largely self‑funded, so gaps in unrestricted revenue fall on the Fish and Game Fund rather than the state general fund. Simic told the committee that if the department cannot find new unrestricted revenue or obtain general‑fund support, it will likely have to review and cut services, a result she said would harm both natural resources and public access.

Details of the budget picture Kathy Labonte, chief of the business division and the agency’s long‑time budget lead, said the agency met the governor’s general‑fund…