Fish and Game seeks one‑time funding for projects, explains license account swings after federal billing lag

The Joint Finance Corporation Committee heard the Idaho Department of Fish and Game present its fiscal 2026 budget requests, one‑time restoration needs and the agency’s account activity.

Janet Jessup, the legislative services budget analyst, told the committee the department does not receive general funds and instead relies on dedicated fees and federal funds, with the Fish and Game Fund receiving money from hunting, fishing and trapping licenses. She said the department is allocated about 550 full‑time positions and runs 19 state fisheries facilities.

Why it matters: Fish and Game’s budget decisions affect hunting and fishing access, hatchery production and wildlife management across Idaho; one‑time funding for rehabilitation or capital work can directly affect habitat and public access.

Jessup summarized recent and proposed spending: the department expended roughly 46% of its budget on capital and significant shares on personnel and operations. The department requested $18,184,900 in enhancements for fiscal 2026, Jessup said, and noted that about 88% of that request is one‑time in nature.

Director Jim Fredericks said the department’s recent one‑time needs include replacements for vehicles and equipment, software licenses and office remodels. “We are expecting that now with this additional enhancement that would put us about $1,300,000 [for the website overhaul], which we think is reasonable,” Fredericks said regarding a planned phase 2 to redesign the agency website.

Fredericks described emergency wildfire rehabilitation after the Valley Fire east of Boise, which burned approximately 9,900 acres that include part of the Boise River Wildlife Management Area. He said the agency purchased seed, planted grasses and applied aerial herbicide to reestablish suitable winter range for deer and elk and that the initial rehabilitation costs are expected to be about $750,000, with additional multi‑year restoration expected. “This will be, as I said, kind of an ongoing thing with an initial, herbicide treatment and seeding, but then moving into sagebrush planting down the road and then some more extensive restoration,” Fredericks said.

Committee members asked about an apparent dip in license fund balances between FY 2023 and FY 2024 on the consolidated fund analysis. John Oswald, administration bureau chief, said the FY 2024 dip reflected lag in federal grant billing and that the agency has since caught up in FY 2025. “The dip in FY '24 was in part due to…we fell behind several months and we have caught up in fiscal year 25,” Oswald said.

Other items in the presentation included ongoing funding requests: software licenses for ArcGIS ($140,000), $500,000 ongoing to support a 25‑year capital lease for a subregional office near McCall, support for seasonal employee costs tied to Bonneville mitigation stewardship, and alignment of federal grants ($679,900 requested) to actual federal award levels.

Senator Cook asked about the website redesign and how much of the initial phase had been spent; Fredericks said a small portion of an initial $750,000 has been spent on discovery and audit and that the agency expects to go out to bid in March.

The governor’s recommendation did not reduce the agency’s requested enhancements but did make adjustments for benefits and compensation.

Ending: The committee asked staff follow‑ups on grant billing and detailed line‑item spending for one‑time projects; Fish and Game officials agreed to provide additional accounting details included in their legislative budget packet.

Sources: Janet Jessup, Legislative Services; Jim Fredericks, Director, Idaho Department of Fish and Game; John Oswald, Administration Bureau Chief, Idaho Department of Fish and Game.