Conservation Fund

Conservation Fund Informational Paper 60 Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau January, 2019 Conservation Fund Prepared by Eric Hepler and Rory Tikalsky Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau One East Main, Suite 301 Madison, WI 53703 http://legis.wisconsin.gov/lfb TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 1 Fish and Wildlife Account ................................................................................................................................... 2 Forestry Account ................................................................................................................................................ 19 Parks Account .................................................................................................................................................... 33 Water Resources Account .................................................................................................................................. 37 Boat Registration Account ................................................................................................................................. 42 All-Terrain Vehicle Account ............................................................................................................................. 43 Snowmobile Account ......................................................................................................................................... 48 Endangered Resources Account ........................................................................................................................ 51 Natural Resources Magazine Account .............................................................................................................. 53 Grants to NCOs ................................................................................................................................................ 53 General Conservation Fund ............................................................................................................................... 55 Non-Budget Accounts ........................................................................................................................................ 58 Appendix I Conservation Fund Condition Statement ................................................................ 60 Appendix II Major Hunting and Fishing License Fees and Fiscal Year 2017-18 Sales ............ 61 Appendix III Deer Management Assistance Program .................................................................. 63 Appendix IV Current State Park, Forest, Recreation Area, and Trail Property Campsite Fees ...................................................................................................... 64 Appendix V State Parks and Recreation Areas Operated by DNR Parks Staff.......................... 68 Appendix VI Boat Registration Fees ............................................................................................ 69 Conservation Fund Introduction The conservation fund is a segregated (SEG) The conservation fund is divided into the fol- trust fund used to finance many of the state's re- lowing nine accounts: source management programs administered by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). DNR • fish and wildlife • all-terrain vehicle (ATV) programs supported by conservation fund revenues • forestry • snowmobile include wildlife and fish management, forestry, the • parks • endangered resources state parks system, the endangered resources pro- • water resources • natural resources gram, and several recreational vehicle programs. • boat registration magazine The conservation fund also supports programs and The snowmobile account is designated by statute. operations in other agencies, including the Lower Other accounts may be referenced in statute, but are Wisconsin State Riverway Board, the Fox River not defined. A tenth account, the motorcycle recre- Navigational System Authority, the Kickapoo Re- ation account, was eliminated on June 30, 2005. serve Management Board, the University of Wis- consin System, the State Historical Society, and the This paper contains information on revenue Departments of Tourism, and Agriculture, Trade sources for each account and the appropriations and Consumer Protection. provided for specific programs for the 2016-17 The conservation fund is defined under s. 25.29 through 2018-19 fiscal years. Data for 2016-17 re- of the Wisconsin Statutes. Fund revenues may only flects actual revenues and expenditures. While se- be expended under the appropriation authority pro- lect 2017-18 data was available, as of January 1, vided by the Legislature. The Department cannot 2019, DNR had not finalized 2017-18 revenues or transfer funds between appropriations. At the end expenditures. Authorized staff by account reflects of each fiscal year, unexpended amounts in most fiscal year 2018-19 authorized positions. The esti- conservation fund appropriations lapse to the bal- mated fiscal condition of the conservation fund is ance of the fund. included as Appendix I. Descriptions of program changes resulting from select recent legislation are State and federal law require that some types of also included. conservation fund revenues be used exclusively for particular activities. In addition, the statutes require In reviewing the revenue and expenditure data, that all monies received through DNR resource the reader should note six points. First, although management, enforcement and local support activ- certain federal revenues received by the state are ities be credited to the program that generated them. deposited in the conservation fund, these revenues Therefore, separate accounts within the conserva- mostly are not included in discussions of revenues tion fund have been administratively created to fa- to each account or included in revenue totals. These cilitate its management. The subdivision of the con- revenues are credited to separate federal appropria- servation fund into separate accounts differs from tions. the practice used for most other state segregated funds. However, the accounts system is useful in Second, several of the programs funded from developing budgets for each program area and en- the conservation fund also receive funding from suring the fidelity of funding sources. general purpose revenue (GPR) or program 1 revenue (PR), which are also credited to Table 1: Fish and Wildlife Account Revenue separate appropriations and are not gen- erally discussed in this paper. 2016-17 2017-18 2017-18 Actual Preliminary % of Total Third, budgeted expenditures may ex- Resident Hunting Licenses $20,509,300 $20,401,700 25.9% ceed actual and estimated revenue Nonresident Hunting Licenses 7,210,800 7,404,400 9.4 Hunting Stamps 1,217,200 1,169,700 1.5 amounts for some of the accounts. This Resident Fishing Licenses 13,467,900 13,337,600 17.0 can occur when an account has a positive, Nonresident Fishing Licenses 9,980,100 9,877,200 12.6 uncommitted balance from a previous fis- Two-Day Great Lakes 555,100 506,700 0.6 cal year and part of this balance is appro- Fishing Stamps 2,746,500 2,715,000 3.5 Combination Licenses 9,303,600 9,518,400 12.1 priated to fund program activities in the Permit Application Fee 1,113,800 1,574,000 2.0 next fiscal year. Other Licenses and Permits 99,500 104,100 0.1 Timber Sales 4,470,000 5,031,600 6.4 Education and Safety 209,100 160,400 0.2 Fourth, the amounts identified as rev- GoWild Transaction Fees -115,100 696,500 0.9 enue estimates for the 2018-19 fiscal year Tribal Gaming Revenue 3,000,000 3,000,000 3.8 are primarily based on revenues over the All Other 2,092,400 3,151,500 4.0 previous several fiscal years. Total $75,860,200 $78,648,800 100.0% Fifth, some revenue sources and expenditure categories, such as licensing and admin- in Table 1. Additional detail regarding specific rev- istration, are common to more than one account in enue sources is discussed under each corresponding the conservation fund, and are discussed in a sepa- expenditure. rate section rather than under the individual accounts. In recent fiscal years, fish and wildlife account revenues have regularly been less than authorized Sixth, fiscal year 2017-18 was the first year after expenditures for the account. 2015 Wisconsin Act the 2017 Wisconsin Act 59 department reorganiza- 55 required DNR, in consultation with stakeholders tion. Expenditure categories for 2016-17 and 2017- such as hunters, anglers, trappers, and conserva- 18 may not be comparable, as some programs have tionists, to prepare and submit to the Joint Commit- been shifted to different divisions. The reorganiza- tee on Finance a plan to address the imbalance in tion is discussed in greater length in the "General the fish and wildlife account. The report, titled Conservation Fund" section. Expenditure tables "Revenue Options for Wisconsin Fish, Wildlife and use current division names. Habitat Management," was delivered on December 30, 2016. It recommended one or more of the fol- lowing: (a) increasing license fees; (b) creating flexible license packages, in which patrons could Fish and Wildlife Account buy multiple licenses together, at a discount; (c) creating a loyalty program or automatic renewal options to encourage patrons to buy every year, re- Revenue ducing turnover; (d) charging admission fees at state wildlife areas, fisheries, and natural areas; (e) General Account Revenue Sources.

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