Idaho Agriculture Department details quagga mussel response, staffing and equipment requests

The Idaho Department of Agriculture told the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee on Friday that the agency’s FY2026 budget centers on continued quagga mussel response work and measures to retain investigators and inspectors.

Legislative Services analyst Frances Lippett told the committee the department received a one‑time $5 million general fund infusion last session for quagga mussel response and an ongoing $1.5 million general fund appropriation for staffing and check‑station needs; the department also expects ongoing pressure on a number of its dedicated funds. "The projected decline that you see in the fund balance reflects the extent of that effort rather than any decline in sticker fee revenue," Lippett said, referring to the invasive‑species fund supported primarily by watercraft sticker fees.

The money is intended to support statewide watercraft inspection and decontamination operations and staffing increases that director Chanel Tewell said nearly doubled sampling and inspections in 2024. "We doubled the sampling statewide ... we almost doubled the amount of watercraft we inspected last year compared to the year before," Tewell said. She told the committee Idaho increased stations and personnel and carried out a Snake River treatment in 2024.

Lippett reviewed several requests embedded in the FY2026 package: $340,400 ongoing to create a pay structure for 53 agricultural investigator positions, a one‑time equipment request of $891,000 (including roughly $214,700 for IT replacements such as laptops), and an estimated $891,000 total in one‑time replacement items that include vehicle purchases. Lippett said the department’s one‑time vehicle request is largely replacement items; she told Representative Mitchell she would provide a count and vehicle list on request, and that she believed the department planned to replace roughly 17 vehicles, primarily pickup trucks and a few SUVs.

The department also disclosed a FY2025 deficiency warrant request of $1,724,300 for exotic species response costs and noted the pest control fund incurred a roughly $1.7 million balance related to Mormon cricket treatment and monitoring in FY2024. Lippett said the department typically appropriates at a slightly higher level than fees to preserve service continuity when fee revenue lags or use spikes.

Committee members pressed for clarity on cash‑transfer accounting tied to the quagga funding. Lippett explained that when the general fund transfers cash into a dedicated fund the state shows appropriations both in the receiving dedicated fund and in the general fund; "the appropriation against the revenue adjustment nets out so the state's actual cost you can see is that $5,000,000 in appropriation," she said.

Tewell described workforce concerns driving the investigator pay proposal: "Of the department's 53 agricultural investigator senior positions, 23 have been working for the department less than 2 years," she said, noting significant turnover and travel burdens for investigators who are often the first responders to agricultural complaints.

The committee heard the department runs 8 budgeted programs — including plant industries, animal industries, agricultural resources, market development and agricultural inspections — and that personnel costs account for the largest share of spending. Lippett said the department’s appropriations have ranged from about $47.5 million to $67.1 million over the last five years, and that expenditures typically run in the mid‑70s percent of appropriations because some dedicated funds lack revenue to fully back appropriations.

The department also noted a newly created livestock degradation prevention fund established by House Bill 592, which received $225,000 in general fund to compensate livestock owners for losses caused by grizzly bears and wolves. Lippett said other major recent appropriations include a $6.1 million U.S. Department of Agriculture resilient food‑systems grant.

The department concluded by offering to provide the committee with detailed vehicle lists and other requested follow‑up information.

Why this matters: The quagga mussel response drove a step change in the department’s budget last session; committee members asked for detail about timing, accounting and how staffing and replacement‑item requests will be executed as the agency continues a statewide invasive‑species effort.