North Dakota Game and Fish outlines $115.6 million recommended budget, stresses federal funding and special funds
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Summary
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department presented its 2025-27 budget to the Appropriations - Government Operations Division, emphasizing reliance on state special funds and federal grants, a $115.6 million executive recommendation and no request for general fund dollars or new permanent FTEs.
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department told the Appropriations - Government Operations Division on the record that its executive recommended budget for 2025–27 is $115.6 million, down from the 2023–25 appropriation of $134.7 million and built on agency special funds and federal grants.
Director Jeb Williams summarized the department's role and thanked lawmakers before turning the presentation to Administrative Services Division Chief Brian Hossick. Hossick said the department receives no general fund dollars and relies primarily on license and registration revenue plus federal grants. He described the department as a special fund agency with roughly 48% state special fund revenue and 52% federal funding, and projected total revenue near $107.9 million.
The department told lawmakers that federal grants include Pittman–Robertson and Dingell–Johnson apportionments, US Fish and Wildlife Service State Wildlife Grants, Army Corps Water Resources Development Act money, Bureau of Reclamation funds and US Coast Guard boat-safety funds. Hossick summarized statutory requirements for the use of license and federal funds, citing Title 20.1 and specifically section 20.10205 for director powers and 20.10217 for license-fee restrictions.
Hossick presented the department’s legislative base of about $104.7 million and the total recommended budget of $115.6 million. The presentation identified a department projection of a $12.9 million Game and Fish fund balance in 2027 under current assumptions and noted statute language (20.10216.1) that fund balances shall not be reduced below $15 million without Budget Section authorization. Hossick said federal revenues were projected at about $55.7 million for the biennium and highlighted that federal grants often require state matches and have obligation windows (commonly two years).
Committee members pressed on license-fee structure and vacancy savings. Hossick said the department regularly evaluates fee competitiveness with other states and provided counts: roughly 100,000 resident general game licenses, 50,000 nonresident general game, about 142,000 resident fishing licenses and 56,000 nonresident fishing licenses. He reported a 2024 deer gun lottery of 50,100 licenses with about 75,000 applicants, and record youth deer participation of about 6,500. The department said it has about 170 full-time employees and roughly 70 seasonal staff and reported modest vacancy savings in the current biennium.
The presentation also outlined decision packages and optional requests incorporated in the recommended budget, including one-time capital requests, IT and motor-pool adjustments, increased operating costs for fisheries and enforcement, and a compensation package reflected in the executive recommendation. Hossick noted optional requests totaling about $9.9 million above a $103 million departmental base.
Williams closed by reiterating conservation and access priorities and the department’s intent to concentrate on its core habitat and access mission.
No formal committee votes or legislative actions were recorded during the hearing.
