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 targets but could not meet the governor’s targets for use of Fish and Game funds without “considerable cuts to programs and services.” Labonte said the budget uses approximately $100,000 of the Fish and Game Fund surplus to balance the current biennial submission and that unrestricted fund balances are thin at the end of the biennium.

Labonte described the revenue mix the agency relies on: hunting and fishing license sales and federal grants supply the majority of dedicated revenue for Fish and Wildlife agencies in the Northeast, with the remainder coming from dedicated general funds, permit fees, specialty stamps and lottery receipts. She said the department is reviewing internal processes, staffing models and revenue options to increase efficiency and generate additional revenue.

Programs and fees mentioned Simic and Labonte highlighted several program and revenue points committee members pressed on: the voluntary HikeSafe registration, which Labonte said costs $25 for an individual and $35 for a family and now yields “over $300,000 per year”; the wildlife habitat fee, which was set at $2.50 in 1999 and has not been adjusted for inflation; and license revenues that rose during the COVID period and then leveled off to pre‑COVID levels.

On staffing and grants Simic said the department would face “5 to 5 and a half $1,000,000” of exposure over five months if federal grant reimbursements were halted, because roughly 70% of federal grant dollars reimburse salary and benefits for staff who implement grant programs. Labonte said federal reimbursements are drawn down primarily by payroll on a biweekly cycle.

Discussion and committee requests Committee members asked for more detail on several items Labonte and Simic offered at a high level. Requests and directions from the committee included: a list of the department’s dedicated accounts with balances and revenue histories; the statutes or authorities that govern fees and dedicated accounts; a breakdown of license revenue projections and methodology; a list of fees the agency cannot raise without legislative action and modeled alternatives (for example, changes to the habitat fee); and the agency’s Ways and Means handout the director provided in a prior briefing.

Quotes “We are facing new challenges as we’re trying to meet the demands and increasing pressure on our fish, wildlife, and natural resources,” Simic said. “We must monitor, we must study, we must manage these, to ensure the sustainability of our fish, wildlife, marine resources.”

Labonte added: “To do so would have meant considerable cuts to programs and services. The budget director allowed us to utilize unrestricted Fish and Game funds to create this biennial budget.”

What the committee heard about volunteers and education Committee members pressed the agency on training and education access: Labonte said hunter education, trapper education and aquatic education rely heavily on volunteers and that the department equated about $680,000 worth of volunteer time in the last year, which Labonte said translated to roughly $1.8 million in matching value for federal Pittman‑Robertson (Wildlife Restoration) funds. The agency acknowledged it is not meeting current classroom demand for hunter and trapper education and is assessing additional course capacity and outreach.

Contingency and next steps Simic said the department is exploring a variety of revenue alternatives, but warned the state likely will need to provide support if the department cannot generate enough unrestricted revenue. The committee directed Fish and Game to return with the detailed materials requested and to provide the presentation electronically ahead of future appearances.

Ending Labonte and Simic told the committee they would assemble the requested spreadsheets and statutory references, and Labonte said she would send the Ways and Means handout electronically. The committee will review those materials as part of the upcoming budget review process.