Fish And Game Faces Tough Times Department Facing Cutbacks As Revenue Sources Dry Up

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is wading through financial hard times, and budget cutbacks could hit anglers and hunters hard.

Fewer people are hunting in Idaho, especially nonresidents who have been paying most of the department’s bills. And Idaho residents have not seen an increase in the price of a hunting license since 1982.

Together, it means less money for the state wildlife agency, especially with inflation.

Fish and Game, which gets no state general funds and is restricted to license fees and federal dollars for income, could be on the threshold of seeking new methods for its funding and operation.

If the agency’s financial woes are not turned around, it could mean drastic changes.

More cutbacks in trout stocking. Fewer officers to catch poachers. And, because of the lack of maintenance money, selling or giving away Fish and Game land and the draining of department-owned fishing holes.

The money crunch is forcing Fish and Game officials to take an in-depth look at the public services they provide, what the public expects and possible hikes in license fees.

“The last thing I want to talk about is more or less money, until we have a clear understanding of what functions people want,” said Steve Mealey, Fish and Game director.

The agency has formed a team to assess the department’s operation, and the Fish and Game Commission will look at recommendations in July.

The team is not only looking at cutbacks. It is evaluating how much money it will take to provide the present level of services, or even more services with the state’s growing population.

Maintaining current services will require an additional $3.9 million, according to the team report.

Keeping up with growth would mean increasing trout stocking, developing more fishing holes, adding more fisheries biologists, increasing maintenance of wildlife areas and public access sites, doing more aerial studies of big game and keeping Fish and Game offices open more for the public. The bill for increased services would be $7.5 million more.

To raise that kind of revenue would require raising license fees to catch up with 15 years of inflation, from 1982 to 1997. It would mean a 75 percent increase in the resident combination (hunting and fishing) license and doubling the cost of a resident hunting license.

Fish and Game officials are looking for new funding methods, including a percentage of the state sales tax, general fund appropriations, money from soda pop and beer bottle deposits, and additional hunting tag and special permit fees.

Fish and Game’s funding problem stems from its dependency on hunting and fishing license sales and federal funds, which make up 90 percent of its budget.

The agency has already cut its budget by 12.5 percent this year to make up for a $3 million deficit, and a trout stocking program was cut by 250,000 pan-size fish and a million fingerlings. The agency also cut 24 positions.

In the 1998 fiscal year, which starts in July, Fish and Game’s budget will be slightly more than $50 million. License revenues will provide 43 percent of its funding and federal funds will provide 48 percent.