Fish and Wildlife officials warn of deep budget shortfalls; commissioners push strategy to rebuild trust and mobilize champions

Morgan Stinson, chief financial officer for the Department of Fish and Wildlife, told the Big Tent Committee on April 16 that the agency is facing a difficult budget outlook for the next biennium and limited capacity for new policy requests.

"Spoiler: it will not be great," Stinson said during a budget overview that traced the agency’s spending across program areas and compared the 2023–25 biennium with projected 2026 funding. Stinson said the department has seen reductions across nearly all program divisions and that the cumulative, ongoing impacts total "many millions of dollars" in permanently lost resources.

Stinson showed the state budget outlook and said available revenue in the projection was approximately $82,000,000,000 but that ongoing expenditure levels create roughly a $1,000,000,000 problem at the start of the next biennium. She warned the projection assumes a full rollout of the millionaire’s tax and does not account for risks such as litigation or an economic downturn.

Commissioners pressed for detail on the department’s operating and capital needs. Commissioner Barbara Baker asked how the agency could "go big" to build political champions and public support; she argued the commission should help define the agency’s values and mobilize constituencies so legislators hear broad, consistent messages on natural‑resource priorities. "If we wanna go big, we gotta go big," Baker said, urging development of champions in the legislature and a public engagement effort.

Stinson and Melina Thompson, legislative director, outlined a near‑term timeline: staff will solicit committee input over the spring and submit budget and legislative requests to the governor's office in September; the governor’s proposal will arrive in December followed by the legislative session in January. Thompson said agency request bills are due to the governor in September and that the department would try to socialize several concepts already prepared, including reducing duplicative required reports, a geoduck diver safety measure, and an accounts‑modernization bill to track funds from allocation through expenditure.

Commissioners also asked about hatchery funding and recent operational choices. Stinson said running roughly 80 hatcheries costs more than $100 million on a biennial operating basis and that some hatcheries have limited or one‑time funding; she said federal Mitchell Act increases added about $4,000,000 in total to the region, with the department receiving a bit more than $1,000,000 of that increase. That mix of static federal funds and reduced state backfill, Stinson said, contributed to the decision to close the Skamania hatchery absent additional funding.

Commissioners and Director Kelly Susman discussed strategy to rebuild trust with the legislature and broaden public advocacy, recommending use of advisory groups (Budget and Policy Advisory Group), targeted messaging that ties healthy fish and wildlife to local economies, and exploring funding options modeled after other states. Director Susman said the committee’s role should be to help break down perceived divisions and demonstrate that healthy fish and wildlife support statewide economic and community interests.

No formal votes were taken on budget items. The committee asked staff to circulate the presentation and underlying spreadsheets, to research fuel‑cost impacts and hatchery capital needs, and to return with options and timelines for coordinated outreach and legislative engagement.