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Office of Species Conservation reviews federal grants, trustee payments and federal-policy risks
Summary
Administrator Edmonson told lawmakers the Office of Species Conservation is carrying federal grants from IIJA, has significant trustee/benefit federal payments and seeks a modest $30,000 miscellaneous-fund enhancement to pursue non‑federal grants; he also discussed federal policy and planning risks such as NEPA timing and sage grouse planning.
The Joint Finance Committee received the Office of Species Conservation’s budget briefing and a policy overview from Administrator Edmonson.
Janet Jessup, the Legislative Services analyst, said the office is allocated 16 FTP and that, in fiscal 2025, the office expended about $1.5 million (roughly 14%) of its appropriation on personnel. Jessup highlighted a $5 million federal appropriation the office received in 2023 tied to federal infrastructure grants (IIJA) and said a significant portion of the office’s spending appears as trustee-and-benefit payments tied to federal grants.
Why it matters: The office coordinates action to conserve candidate, threatened and endangered species under federal law. Large federal grants can drive near-term work plans; the office’s capacity to spend depends on the timing and allowable uses of federal awards.
Jessup said the office’s trustee-and-benefit payments totaled about $8.24 million in the period under review; the payments align closely with federal grant receipts and are largely federal in origin. She noted that when federal grants are appropriated but not yet expended, agencies sometimes ask to reduce appropriations to “right-size” expectations for the next budget cycle.
Administrator Edmonson described the policy environment and operational constraints. He told the committee that federal planning processes such as NEPA can span several years and can be disrupted by administrative changes: “NEPA ... is usually it's a long process that can often take 4 years. That is the breadth of an administration,” he said. Edmonson said the office is watching changes in federal endangered-species rules and in related planning processes; he cited ongoing sage grouse management plan work and urged finalizing resource-management plans to reduce regulatory uncertainty for producers.
On the FY26 budget, Jessup said the office requests an additional $30,000 to its miscellaneous revenue fund to enable pursuit and receipt of non-federal grants and donations. The governor’s recommendation matched the agency’s request.
Edmonson thanked Legislative Services staff and the committee for support of the office’s fiscal specialist position added last year, which he said improved the office’s ability to track grant income and expenditures.
