Lawmakers press for a deep look at Game and Fish finances as department warns of tightening budget
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Summary
Agency leaders and sportsmen’s groups told the interim committee that Game and Fish is facing long-term revenue pressure — salary costs have risen as a share of its budget and the department warned of a critical point by 2030 — and urged lawmakers to consider major, durable funding options rather than repeated piecemeal adjustments.
The Travel, Recreation and Wildlife interim committee heard a sustained appeal for a concentrated interim review of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s finances after department leaders and sportsmen’s groups described mounting fiscal pressure.
The department’s representative told the committee that recent compensation increases have shifted a larger share of the agency’s costs into salaries, leaving fewer dollars for habitat projects and research. “A few years ago, 40% of our budget was employee salaries. Now it’s 60%,” the director said, adding the department is projecting fiscal stress through the next decade and flagged a critical point around 2030.
Jess Johnson of the Wyoming Wildlife Federation urged the committee to consider bolder, long‑term approaches to funding wildlife and habitat work. “The sportsmen are coming, and we're saying let's talk about how we do this bigger,” Johnson said, urging exploration of mechanisms beyond incremental license fees or short‑term patches.
Vice Chair Landon posed a hypothetical legacy idea — setting aside large, multi‑year funding to create a lasting source of support for wildlife and habitat — asking members to “think big” about options that could protect wildlife funding for future generations.
Lawmakers discussed options for the interim: a first meeting to present clear budget outlooks and financial projections, followed by sessions to examine potential revenue alternatives and public appetite for new funding, according to department staff. No formal policy or fiscal vote took place at the hearing; the committee indicated interest in making the Game and Fish budget a primary interim topic and in receiving the department’s spreadsheets and narrative overview before a deeper review.
Next steps: The committee suggested scheduling an initial presentation of the department's fiscal outlook and then dedicating subsequent interim meetings to revenue alternatives and stakeholder input; no bills or votes were adopted at this session.