Arkansas Advocate: Dozens of services would cease if Arkansas lawmakers fail to pass Game and Fish budget

Austin Booth, director of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, gives a presentation on May 21, 2024. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate)

Article by Mary Hennigan, Arkansas Advocate

Obtaining a fishing permit, registering to hunt squirrels this season, or earning a boating license ahead of peak summertime are just a few of the services that would no longer be possible for Arkansans come July 1 if lawmakers don’t reconvene and pass a budget for the state’s Game and Fish Commission.

Earlier this month, lawmakers ended a 30-day fiscal session with one appropriation bill in limbo: a Game and Fish Commission budget. A proposed $190,000 salary cap for the commission’s director caused issues for some lawmakers as it was higher than several cabinet secretaries. On the final day of the session, the Senate approved an amended bill that changed the director’s salary cap to $157,216, but the House of Representatives had already adjourned.

Commission staff is actively working through “a laundry list” of services that may be affected if Game and Fish didn’t have a budget, commission spokesperson Randy Zellers said Tuesday. Still, concerns of lawmakers not approving a budget aren’t getting in the way of work that the commission currently needs to get done. Almost all of the employees who typically work in the field are still doing so.

“Conservation doesn’t stop because we’re worried about what may happen next week or the week after,” Zellers said.

A special session to discuss a budget for the Game and Fish Commission is expected before the start of the fiscal year on July 1, House Speaker Matthew Shepherd, R-El Dorado, told commission members on May 16. He expressed confidence that the House, Senate and governor’s office would work together “to take care of getting a reasonable appropriation passed.”

(According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Shepherd says there are “tentative” plans for a special session June 17 to address the Game and Fish budget and cut income taxes.)

Austin Booth, the commission’s director, mirrored that same confidence during an interview Tuesday following a presentation at the 2024 Rural Development Conference in Hot Springs.

“I think the possibility of a lapse in appropriations actually happening is incredibly unlikely,” Booth said. “I’ve been really grateful to the governor’s office and the House and Senate leadership to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders hasn’t announced a special session yet. On Tuesday, spokesperson Alexa Henning provided this statement: “I’m not going to get ahead of any announcements but all options are on the table.”

The stakes

Optimism is in the air for getting a Game and Fish Commission budget on the books by July 1, but what would really happen if an appropriation wasn’t approved?

In short, the entire Game and Fish Commission would shut down. All employees that fall under the commission’s umbrella would be without jobs, from the top director to the chief of fisheries, even the staff photographer.

Residents would likely see the immediate effects in the absence of game wardens, trained personnel who enforce laws on Arkansas’ waterways and provide protection to endangered species. Game wardens wouldn’t be around to maintain order on lakes for the Fourth of July or conduct search and rescues if needed.

Arkansas’ nine Nature Centers operated by Game and Fish Commission employees would close, removing a free outing for the whole family, right when kids are out for summer break. The centers provide a location where residents can learn about native species through educational programs and museum-style exhibits.

The Game and Fish Commission operates nine Nature Centers in Arkansas. (Screenshot/Game and Fish Commission map)

The state’s five fish hatcheries would be forced to stop operations, which would influence the quality and number of species stocked in Arkansas’ public waters. Each year, the commission distributes between 12 and 15 million fish into waterways to enhance anglers’ experience — a few million of which are designated specifically for ponds in underserved counties.

Habitat renovations, including the ongoing project at Lake Conway, would be paused.

Five shooting ranges managed by the Game and Fish Commission wouldn’t be monitored, which would affect residents’ ability to hone their skills in archery and trap, skeet, sporting clays and target offerings.

Biologists wouldn’t receive pay, which would halt traveling educational services the commission offers to schools, libraries, churches and other organizations. The programs span several topics, including ATV safety, wild game cooking techniques, firearm safety courses and wildlife identification.

The commission also offers an internship program for college students pursuing a conservation career. Without a budget, those students would lose an opportunity that’s often a deciding factor in landing a permanent job after graduation.

A delayed impact of losing the commission budget would be the lack of conservation efforts in the state, Zellers said. While the average Arkansan may rarely experience this service, not being able to maintain land, and ultimately not being able to plan for the state’s future, would have a significant impact on conservancy.

“We don’t want to say anything that’s gloom and doom, but at the same time there’s a lot of serious business that could be affected,” Zellers said.

The Arkansas Advocate is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to tough, fair daily reporting and investigative journalism that holds public officials accountable and focuses on the relationship between the lives of Arkansans and public policy. This service is free to readers and other news outlets.