Fish and Game outlines staffing, facility and fire‑rehab requests; cites license fee fund timing

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game told the Joint Finance Corporation Committee on Wednesday that its budget relies entirely on dedicated and federal funds, that most of its spending is personnel related, and that it has a large suite of one‑time enhancement requests for fiscal 2026 including habitat work and equipment replacement.

Janet Jessup, Legislative Services budget analyst, said Fish and Game receives no general fund and that the largest dedicated source is the Fish and Game Fund, derived from hunting and fishing licenses, tags and permits. She explained the fund structure includes set‑aside subaccounts that are legally restricted to specific purposes, such as access and parking improvements tied to certain permits.

“Within the Fish and Game Fund there is a regular fund and then there also is a set aside fund,” Jessup said, explaining how some license revenues must be spent on narrowly defined uses in code.

Jessup said the agency is authorized about 550 full‑time positions and historically spends about 91% of its appropriation on personnel. She told the committee that in 2023 and 2024 the agency showed a dip between appropriated and expended amounts largely because of timing on federal grants and the pace of multi‑year capital and maintenance projects.

Director Jim Fredericks said the cash‑balance dip on the consolidated fund analysis reflected timing — in FY2024 the department fell behind on federal grant billing and had lower reported balances until catch‑up in FY2025. John Oswald, administration bureau chief, told lawmakers the FY2026 plan deliberately uses existing cash reserves for one‑time projects such as a salmon region office remodel and a Pocatello office remodel.

The department requested $18,184,900 in FY2026 enhancements, of which Jessup said about 88% are one‑time. Ongoing requests included software license renewals, seasonal employee funding tied to Bonneville mitigation stewardship work, and a $500,000 ongoing lease payment to secure land and construct a sub‑regional office near McCall under a 25‑year lease.

On the Valley Fire (an incident that burned roughly 9,900 acres east of Boise and part of the Boise River Wildlife Management Area), Fredericks said the department purchased seed, applied herbicide and began rehabilitation this fall because the area serves as winter range for deer and elk. He estimated initial rehabilitation costs at “about three quarters of a million dollars” and said the department is discussing a voluntary contribution with the utility company; he also cautioned rehabilitation will be multi‑year work.

Senator Cook asked for an accounting of phase 1 of the agency’s website redesign; Fredericks said only a small portion of the initial $750,000 had been spent on discovery and auditing and that a full, redesigned site is likely to total about $1.3 million based on comparable work in other states.

On remote connectivity, Oswald said the department worked with the state ITS to spec hardware for hatcheries and remote wildlife areas; the committee questioned per‑site costs and received an explanation that point‑to‑point connections and long distances increased hardware costs.

Fredericks closed by thanking the committee for past support and saying the proposed budget would help manage fish and wildlife populations across the state.

Ending: No votes were taken during the hearing. The committee asked for additional fiscal detail on web spending and the Valley Fire rehabilitation plan.