The Ohio Division of
Wildlife’s Fiscal 2018 Report shows that the agency took in six
million more dollars than it spent.
However, this annual
checkbook accounting notation is not always the case; some years the
Wildlife Division spends more than it receives. That is because the
Wildlife Division periodically undertakes projects that requires it
to dip into the Wildlife Fund’s cash reserves.
For Fiscal 2018, the
Wildlife Division had revenues of $87.84 million dollars and
expenditures of $81.42 million.
And Mike Luers, the
Wildlife Division’s assistant chief in charge of money matters,
that means “numbers are exciting.”
“In Fiscal 2017,
our expenditures were more than our revenues but that was because of
the way the federal aid reimbursement dollars came in,” Luers said.
“It’s all about timing.”
Among the items
found in the 2018 Fiscal Year monies-out column was $17.75 million
for wildlife management, a grouping that features habitat management,
monitoring wildlife populations, research, and developing regulatory
mechanisms based on these accounting titles.
Fish management
required spending $12.36 million, and mirrors that used for its
wildlife sibling but for the state’s aquatic resources. instead
Another $13.26
million went to capital improvements. This heading – among some of
its listings – went toward “repair, maintenance, renovation, and
construction” of a host of diverse infrastructure needs like
fishing access sites, boat ramps, hatcheries and the like.
Smaller slices of
the pie went for support of the state’s wildlife officers in the
form of salaries, health care and the like to the tune of $10.05
million, which is not reimbursable, said
Meanwhile, the
Wildlife Division disbursed $11.34 million for a catch-all “district
and statewide operations” that enfolds management, licensing,
environmental review and research, and even wetlands habitat
restoration.
Another $5.51
million went to law enforcement, separate from the wildlife officers
employee-related expenditures such as vehicle replacement and repair,
watercraft and ATVs, the agency’s training accadey and supplies.
And the agency believed enough in information the public that it
spent $6.48 million on information and education, plus another $2.90
million on wildlife agency administration.
An interesting item
is that the Wildlife Fund was tapped for $1.77 million for so-called
central support and human resources; an expenditure that goes to the
parent Ohio Department of Natural Resources for various services and
human resources costs provided by the department. However, this
amount is fully funded by the Ohio General Assembly approved state
General Fund.
In all, the Wildlife
Division’s 2018 expenditure pie chart features nine slices, two
less than the agency’s revenue generators. The big ticket income
items include $44.47 million in so-called federal aid, or 51 percent
of the revenue the agency received during Fiscal 2018. This is a term
that largely implies money from the federal government’s two
revenue-generating streams that come from taxes consumers pay on
various firearms, ammunition, archery equipment, and fishing tackle.
“Most of those
capital improvement dollars went for the purchase of the Jesse Owens
State Park and Wildlife Area, which were reimbursed by the federal
aid dollars,” Luers said. “The federal government approved
reimbursement within one week, which showed a real collaborative
effort on everyone’s part.”
In terms of fishing
license license sales, anglers contributed $4.04 million while
hunting licenses provided $10.71 million. Before anglers grouse that
they paid more but got less, it must be noted that the Wildlife
Division collected another $8.56 million in deer tag sales, $1.43
million in turkey license sales, and $364,148 in state duck stamp
sales. Anglers do not have to pay any specialized fees.
Lesser amounts
include $1.77 million in General Revenue funds, and $2.62 million in
a portion of the state’s motor fuel tax. This item is based on the
assumption that angler-boaters fill their rigs up with gas and thus
should have some of the resulting gas tax dollars go to support their
interests.
Ohio’s Wildlife
Diversity and Endangered Species Fund generated $706,903.
And an “other
revenue” source was accorded $3.16 million, such as royalties from
oil and gas leases, cooperative farming practices, and salvaged items
no longer used by the agency but sold as salvage.
Perhaps
interestingly, the collection of fines by the Wildlife Division for
offenses against the state’s fish and game laws really do not
contribute much to the monies in column. In Fiscal 2018, the Wildlife
Division collected just $370,200 in fines, or less than one-percent
of the total, and which goes into a special account, Luers said.
“There’s very
little money there, maybe $700,000, and we use it for projects not
covered elsewhere and which do not have to follow federal
reimbursement criteria,” Luers said.
For Fiscal 2019, the
Wildlife Division has been awarded some state bond revenue money for
dam repair work at the agency’s Veto Lake and Knox Lake, Luers said
also.
“We’ve been
entrusted with all of these resources, and we work to protect them,”
Luers said.
JFrischk@Ameritech.net
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