By Mark Davis
Powell Tribune
Via- Wyoming News Exchange

 

POWELL — The Wyoming Game and Fish Department budget has jumped by its highest amount in years and the interim director is calling budget concerns “dire” as inflation, especially in transportation costs, is dramatically increasing costs to the department. 

The budget has increased by 8.3%, according to department Chief Financial Officer Meredith Wood, who presented during the July commission meeting in Sheridan. 

The Commission voted unanimously to approve an annual budget for 2027 of more than $108 million and a one-time expenditures budget of just over $2 million for a grand total of $110,640,013. 

The final year of a five-year mule deer study accounts for $1.275 million of the one-time budget expenditures. 

The 2026 standard budget was just over $100 million. 

The department had been running a largely flat budget for about a decade, but the cost of diesel fuel, vehicles and the need to increase salaries to compete for top employees has been pushing the need for more revenue. 

During the September meeting last week in Evanston, Interim Director Eric Wiltanger called the budget situation of great concern.

 “Our costs continue to rise, and without intervention, our financial outlook over the coming years will become increasingly difficult,” he told commissioners. “A few weeks ago, I described our projected financial situation as dire, and I stand by that statement. I use the word intentionally because I want to make sure there is a clear understanding of the importance of acting now,” he warned of coming financial woes.

Wiltanger had first sounded the alarm during the Legislature’s Joint Travel, Recreation, Wildlife, and Cultural Resources Committee hearing Sept. 9. 

Yet in front of the commission, Wiltanger only had to mention the price of diesel fuel to get his point across. 

“I’m sure everybody that drives a diesel truck right now, when you drive by the gas station, you recognize it’s over six bucks a gallon. Well, those hit our divisions every day.  I mean,we’re spending more money than we anticipated just this budget cycle, just in gas alone,” Wiltanger said.

While the budget has increased for next year, Wiltanger said the real problem will rear its ugly head in the early 2030s.  He might send the Wyoming Legislature a message to possibly increase fees for tags and licenses, something that hasn’t happened since the department was cut off from state general funding.

The foundational costs for standard hunting and fishing tags (such as resident and nonresident big game licenses) require an act of the  Wyoming Legislature to change or adjust.  Other ideas, like a trust fund that could possibly increase revenue by a few million, have been discussed. 

Wage increases over 2026 account for about $4.8 million of the budget increase.  Deferred maintenance and capital construction costs account for another $4.5 million.

Wood told the commission that $68. 3 million of the budget are fixed costs such as salaries, animal damage costs and utilities.  The rest of the budget (about $40 million) pays for everything else the department does, she said, including all conservation efforts, vehicles and fuel, education, Access Yes, Game and Fish stocking programs and payable grants.

Salaries for the department’s more than 400 employees account for nearly $59 million of the budget, or about 54% of the total cost to run the department.  Maintaining employees has been a priority in recent years due to federal and state agencies offering higher pay and better benefits. 

Wiltanger is temporarily replacing former director Angi Bruce, who left the department in July.  Yet he is taking the job seriously and hasn’t hesitated to warn of future financial struggles should solutions not be found soon. 

“We have time to navigate these challenges, but that time is an opportunity, not a reason to wait.  Being proactive is . . . exactly what we are doing.  Our responsibility is to understand the financial trajectory, identify the challenges ahead and work together on solutions before those challenges become a crisis,” he told the commission. 

He said his responsibilities as interim director are to lead the department toward continued success in every aspect of the mission, not just in managing the budget but in managing and conserving wildlife, supporting employees and partners and maintaining the outstanding outdoor opportunities that Wyoming is known for. 

A permanent hire for director is likely to occur after a new governor is elected. 

“Looking ahead, we will continue to focus on our wildlife and habitat conservation, landowner partnerships, public access and responsible management of Wyoming’s fish and wildlife resources,” Wiltanger promised.