WDFW pauses solicitation of new land-acquisition proposals amid operations funding shortfalls

Kevin Connolly, lands division manager for WDFW, told the Habitat Committee the department manages more than 1 million acres and nearly 481 water-access sites but faces a growing operations-and-maintenance funding gap that has reduced staff and program capacity. He said a recent legislative outcome left 18 recently acquired properties funded by grants without ongoing operations funding and described several program cuts that affect land stewardship.

"In the most recent legislative session... we ended up with a shortfall in 9 v — a budget code — associated with ongoing management for our properties of over $1,000,000," Connolly said. He listed program reductions including about $3,500,000 cut from forest-health work and nearly $2,000,000 cut from recreation lands maintenance, leading to staff losses and diminished signage and stewardship capacity. Given those constraints, he said the executive management team directed staff to consider a strategic pause on soliciting new Lands 20/20 projects for 2026 while continuing to pursue previously approved projects and making case-by-case exceptions for urgent opportunities.

Matthew Trenda, real estate services manager, described the Lands 20/20 pipeline: projects are scoped regionally, pass technical and funding review, undergo tribal consultation and public comment, and remain eligible for up to six years. Connolly said WDFW currently has 51 Lands 20/20 projects (about 31 still active) and emphasized the long lead time and staffing demands of acquisitions. He said a disposition proposal for a specific site would appear on the commission agenda the following day as staff seek ways to optimize holdings under current budget realities.