STAFF BUDGET BRIEFING FY 2021-22 DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES (Executive Director’s Office, Division of Parks and Wildlife, Colorado Water Conservation Board, and the Division of Water Resources) JBC WORKING DOCUMENT - SUBJECT TO CHANGE STAFF RECOMMENDATION DOES NOT REPRESENT COMMITTEE DECISION PREPARED BY: JUSTIN BRAKKE, JBC STAFF NOVEMBER 16, 2020 JOINT BUDGET COMMITTEE STAFF 200 E. 14TH AVENUE, 3RD FLOOR · DENVER · COLORADO · 80203 TELEPHONE: (303) 866-2061 · TDD: (303) 866-3472 https://leg.colorado.gov/agencies/joint-budget-committee CONTENTS Department Overview ....................................................................................................................................................... 1 Department Budget: Recent Appropriations ................................................................................................................. 2 Department Budget: Graphic Overview ......................................................................................................................... 3 General Factors Driving the Budget ................................................................................................................................ 5 Summary: FY 2020-21 Appropriation & FY 2021-22 Request .................................................................................. 8 Budget Requests Impacting FY 2020-21 – Wildfire Stimulus Package.................................................................... 11 Informational Issue: 2020 Session Budget Balancing Actions ................................................................................. 12 Issue 2: Wildfire Stimulus Package ................................................................................................................................. 15 Issue 3: Wolves in Colorado (Proposition 114) ........................................................................................................... 25 Appendix A Numbers Pages (Digital Only) ................................................................................................................. ..1 Appendix B Footnotes and Information Requests ...................................................................................................... 1 Appendix C Department Annual Performance Report .............................................................................................. 1 Appendix D: State Parks FY 2020-21 Supplemental Capital Construction Request ............................................... 1 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Brief summaries of all bills that passed during the 2019 and 2020 legislative sessions that had a fiscal impact on this department are available in Appendix A of the annual Appropriations Report: https://leg.colorado.gov/publications/appropriations-report-fiscal-year-2020-21 The online version of the briefing document, which includes the Numbers Pages, may be found by searching the budget documents on the General Assembly’s website by visiting leg.colorado.gov/content/budget/budget-documents. Once on the budget documents page, select the name of this department's Department/Topic, "Briefing" under Type, and ensure that Start date and End date encompass the date a document was presented to the JBC. DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW The Department of Natural Resources is responsible for developing, protecting, and enhancing Colorado’s natural resources for the use and enjoyment of present and future residents and visitors. This briefing focuses on the following divisions: The Executive Director's Office (EDO) develops department-wide policies and provides administrative and technical support for Department divisions including: budgeting, accounting, financial management, human resources services, and the coordination of public information and environmental education. The EDO also contains the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC), which provides avalanche information and education, and promotes research for the protection of life and property. The Division of Parks and Wildlife (CPW) provides recreational opportunities at 42 state parks, manages more than 960 game and non-game wildlife species, issues hunting and fishing licenses, enforces wildlife regulations, and administers more than 350 state wildlife areas. The Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) works to conserve, develop, and protect the state's water resources to ensure adequate water supply, maximize beneficial use, and reduce the impact of flooding and drought. The Division of Water Resources (State Engineer's Office) administers and enforces water rights, issues well permits, monitors streamflow and water use, regulates dam construction and safety, and represents Colorado in interstate water compact proceedings. The three remaining divisions (the Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety, the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, and the State Board of Land Commissioners) will be discussed in a separate staff briefing on November 16, 2020. 16-Nov-2020 1 NAT1-brf DEPARTMENT BUDGET: RECENT APPROPRIATIONS FUNDING SOURCE FY 2018-19 FY 2019-20 FY 2020-21 FY 2021-22 * General Fund $32,005,418 $42,671,491 $32,699,083 $35,168,251 Cash Funds 238,857,665 260,232,426 265,309,811 247,277,826 Reappropriated Funds 7,933,687 7,523,560 7,170,362 7,528,169 Federal Funds 26,568,474 26,609,004 26,658,934 26,775,875 TOTAL FUNDS $305,365,244 $337,036,481 $331,838,190 $316,750,121 Full Time Equiv. Staff 1,464.5 1,495.9 1,511.9 1,517.0 *Requested appropriation. SELECT DIVISIONS: RECENT APPROPRIATIONS FUNDING SOURCE FY 2018-19 FY 2019-20 FY 2020-21 FY 2021-22 * General Fund $32,005,418 $42,671,491 $32,699,083 $35,168,251 Cash Funds 211,449,002 230,081,448 235,532,101 217,454,324 Reappropriated Funds 7,708,687 7,298,560 6,945,362 7,303,169 Federal Funds 23,076,347 23,134,697 23,204,149 23,265,138 TOTAL FUNDS $274,239,454 $303,186,196 $298,380,695 $283,190,882 Full Time Equiv. Staff 1,240.4 1,247.8 1,257.8 1,262.9 *Requested appropriation 16-Nov-2020 2 NAT1-brf DEPARTMENT BUDGET: GRAPHIC OVERVIEW All charts are based on the FY 2020-21 appropriation. 16-Nov-2020 3 NAT1-brf All charts are based on the FY 2020-21 appropriation. 16-Nov-2020 4 NAT1-brf GENERAL FACTORS DRIVING THE BUDGET DIVISION OF PARKS AND WILDLIFE The Division of Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is the largest division within the Department, accounting for 51.0 percent of the Department’s total appropriations for FY 2020-21. Wildlife Operations manages over 960 of the State’s wildlife species and accounts for 62.3 percent of the CPW budget. State Parks manages 42 state parks and accounts for about 27.1 percent of the budget. The Division is almost entirely cash funded. Key sources of revenue include hunting and fishing license sales, state parks passes, State lottery proceeds, and awards from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO). CPW also manages several special purpose programs, including the Off-highway Vehicle Program, the Aquatic Nuisance Species Program, and the Snowmobile Program. Funding sources vary from program to program, but most programs are supported by fee revenue, severance taxes from oil and gas production, lottery proceeds, and/or GOCO awards. WILDLIFE OPERATIONS The largest source of funding for Wildlife Operations is the Wildlife Cash Fund, which receives most of its revenue from hunting and fishing license sales. In FY 2019-20, license sales generated about $108.2 million in revenue, a 12.4 percent increase from the previous year. Sales to non-residents make up the majority of this revenue, representing about 31.6 percent of all licenses sold and over 65.8 percent of total revenue. Total licenses sold—about 1.9 million—increased by 10.0 percent from the previous year. Sales were up for most species, but fishing licenses saw the largest increase. Wildlife Operations is also supported by federal grants ($28.0 million in FY 2019-20) and GOCO ($20.9 million). Big game licenses provide the most wildlife revenue, but more fishing licenses are sold (FY 2019-20) Total Revenue ($ millions) Share of licenses sold (%) Elk hunting licenses $51.3 Fishing licenses $24.6 Small game hunting licenses* $11.8 Deer hunting licenses $10.8 Small game and fishing combo $6.4 Other big game licenses** $3.8 * Includes falconry, furbearer, prairie chicken, small game, and turkey licenses and waterfowl stamps. ** Includes pronghorn, mountain lion, bighorn sheep, desert sheep, mountain goat, moose, and bear licenses. 16-Nov-2020 5 NAT1-brf STATE PARKS The two largest sources of revenue for State Parks are GOCO and lottery funds ($42.4 million in FY 2019-20) and user fees ($39.5 million), followed by other state and federal funds, including severance tax. Workload and some revenue for park operations (e.g. park passes, camping fees etc.) are driven by visitation. The increases shown in the following table are indicative of the long-term trend in visitation, which is driven by population growth and access. State Parks Visitation FY 20-21 YTD COMPARED TO SAME FY 17-18 ACTUAL FY 18-19 ACTUAL FY 19-20 ACTUAL PERIOD FY 19-20 (%) Number of visitors 15,321,417 14,746,030 17,066,484 124.6% Revenue $28,839,784 $29,809,312 $37,348,614 124.0% The following table shows the top five most visited parks in the last two fiscal years, which account for about half of total visitation in the parks system. Top 5 Most Visited State Parks PARK NAME FY 18-19 # OF VISITORS FY 19-20 # OF VISITORS Lake Pueblo 2,370,789 2,841,036 Chatfield 1,621,544 2,071,075 Cherry Creek 1,930,936 1,824,935 Golden Gate Canyon 1,101,404 1,252,493