As you know, the State of Oregon operates on a two year budget cycle (a “biennium”) and the long process for establishing the 2027-2029 budget is beginning. For anglers, the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife’s budget should be of interest. On April 7 ODFW had an initial public budget meeting which you can watch here. I encourage you to watch the recording but I’ll provide my observations below.

Overall, ODFW’s budget will continue to be very tight. “Expect continued funding challenges.” They should be able to maintain current service levels but there is “massive uncertainty” in federal funding streams. This is mixed news. While they project no cuts, service levels were significantly reduced in the current budget. For example, fish biologists reporting to the Bend office were reduced from three to two which has had a meaningful impact.

The good news for ODFW is the recent passing of HB 4134, the 1.25% lodging tax, which will provide dedicated funding for a range of conservation projects. This is primarily focused on wildlife but there will be benefits for water quality and fish as well.

I have been tracking and providing public comment on ODFW budgets for many bienniums. One of the most interesting areas are the Policy Option Packages. These are requests for new activities. This time they are not asking for any additional funds for the POPs but are detailing how they would like to use the HB 4134 funds or use funds previously earmarked for other programs. The proposed POPs that would be used for fish include Hood River steelhead monitoring, fish screening and passage, and hatchery improvements.