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37 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, December 16, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 9, 2004 ODFW only nicked by budget cuts By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune There’s very little blood on the knife Gov. Ted Kulongoski used to whittle the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s proposed budget for the next two years. Released last week, Kulongoski’s proposed budget calls for no new cuts to the four areas Oregonians have said are their highest ODFW priorities: field biologists, hatcheries, landowner assistance programs and enforcement of fish and wildlife laws. In fact, the $228 million proposal includes three new positions for the yet-finished Hatchery Research Center, a $7 million facility near Fall River meant to study how hatchery fish differ from wild fish. The two most visible programs missing from the proposal are a commercial fishing program in Youngs Bay along the lower Columbia River and the loss of $279,175 of general fund money the ODFW wanted to buy trout from private hatcheries. That includes money to buy about 9,000 legal-sized rainbow from the Desert Springs Trout Farm near Summer Lake for release in Jackson County. Advertisement But Cole Rivers Hatchery on the Rogue River alone raises about 200,000 rainbow trout for release, so losing the Desert Springs fish should make little difference here, biologists say. "The Desert Springs fish are a good fish, and it’s a good program for us," says Russ Stauff, the ODFW’s Rogue Watershed manager. "But we still have 200,000 Cole Rivers fish that still give an opportunity for lots of kids and families." Beyond that, agency leaders say, the public should see precious little change in ODFW services for the next two years, despite deep cuts expected in social service agencies and others dependent on general-fund dollars. "I guess you could say we only got nicked," says Steve Williams, the assistant administrator of the ODFW’s Fish Division. "It’s a very good budget." The proposal will be delivered next month to the Oregon Legislature, which will hold public hearings and debate each agency budget before passing them sometime in spring or summer. Natural-resource agencies like the ODFW represent only a small sliver of the state’s general fund money. Their budgets are generated primarily from fees and federal money, which traditionally isn’t targeted by cost-cutting lawmakers. "This is just the governor’s proposal and it could change quite a bit before it’s passed," says Jim Myron, one of Kulongoski’s natural-resource policy advisors who worked on the ODFW budget. "But so far, I’ve had good vibes from interest groups and a small number of legislators I’ve talked to," Myron says. When it comes to money and legislative flak, the ODFW rarely had flown under the radar like it is now. Dogged for years by legislators and governors because of shoddy budgets, overspending and poor public image, the agency often played the whipping-boy role in Salem. The 2001 Legislature made it clear it would not pass an ODFW budget unless the Fish and Wildlife Commission fired then-Director Jim Greer, a favorite target among critical legislators. Lawmakers even forced the ODFW to move its headquarters from Portland to Salem last year, in part to keep a closer rein on the agency. But ODFW-bashing appears no longer to be Salem’s top participatory sport. "Those days seem to be over, and that’s no small accomplishment," says Chuck Smith of Medford, who served on public advisory committees for the past six ODFW budget proposals. Smith and most ODFW-watchers attribute the improvements to two areas. First, the increases in hunting and fishing fees approved last year gave the agency not only enough money to operate but also generated a $2 million carry-over into next year that will help fill funding cracks. Second, the past two budget proposals under the agency’s legislative-savvy director, Lindsay Ball, have matched reality. Gone is the ODFW of a decade ago, when it ran out of money without even knowing it. "I’ve sat through this process for the past six budgets, and I can definitely see the difference," says Smith, area manager for Timber Products, Inc. "Their big emphasis in the past two budgets is understanding what you’re going to spend and spend just what you said you would. "Fiscal responsibility keeps you out of trouble with the Legislature," Smith says. The budget proposal cuts only two current ODFW employees in Salem — a fish-screen engineer and a water-quality specialist in the hydroelectric program, says Kris Kautz, the ODFW’s deputy director for administration. ODFW will help them look for new jobs inside and outside the 1,380-employee agency before their jobs expire July 1, Kautz says. In all, the governor’s budget proposal for the ODFW is just $2 million shy of what the agency requested. The ODFW would have had more cuts, but the federal government recently agreed to continue funding Pacific salmon restoration efforts, saving about $4.5 million for other state programs, Kautz says. Myron, from the governor’s office, says natural resource agencies like the ODFW likely won’t get their budgets skewered by legislators this year. The main reason is because less than 2 percent of the general fund goes to natural-resource departments. "We’re hopeful this could be a quick and productive session for the natural-resources departments," Myron says. In other words, supporters hope the legislative knife, like the governor’s, shows little OFDW blood. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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