Higher fees proposed as DNR explains billion-dollar budget request

The Department of Natural Resources seeks $1.07 billion to fund its budget during the upcoming biennium, a $148 million increase over its base budget the agency proposes to partially offset by raising $40 million in new revenue – primarily through increased user fees.

The House Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee heard the request Tuesday, but took no action. This followed an appearance last week by Commissioner Tom Landwehr who testified about the rationale behind the proposal.

At that Feb. 9 meeting, Landwehr said the DNR budget is about 83 percent fee-driven and is largely supported by those who use its services.

“The users support the fees because they see the benefits,” Landwehr said.

In his budget proposal for the DNR, Gov. Mark Dayton recommends several fee increases to fund a system he says is “stretched to the breaking point” after years of cutbacks in staffing and maintenance levels that have been the result of funding shortages.

The proposal calls for a $3 increase in resident fishing licenses and a $6 increase for nonresidents. Resident deer hunters would have to pay an additional $4 each year for licenses, while nonresidents would see a $20 increase.

The DNR says, without those increases, the Game and Fish Fund – the primary source of the state’s fish and wildlife management funding – will be depleted by 2019.

Other dedicated funds the DNR relies on are facing similar shortfalls, and because those dollars are “dedicated” – meaning they come from a specific source and must be used for a specific purpose – fund transfers are not allowed. So, for example, a long winter that hurts fishing license revenue cannot be covered by money made selling more snowmobile licenses. 

Other proposed fee increases include:

• State park passes - $1/daily; $5/annually
• Watercraft licenses - $1-$15, depending on size
• Cross country ski passes - $2/daily; $5/annually
• Snowmobile registrations - $10/annually
• ATV registrations - $5/annually

Erika Rivers, the department’s director of parks and trails, told the committee there’s been a “growing gap” over the last decade between the services Minnesotans expect and what’s been delivered.

“Over the past several bienniums, we’ve been on an endless cycle of budget shortfalls and one-time funding fixes to plug the gap that we see in inflationary costs,” Rivers said.

She said additional funds are needed to maintain and restore existing parks and trails, adding that many dedicated accounts hadn’t increased fees in more than 10 years.

“These fees, I can’t emphasize enough, are really the basis of Minnesota’s outdoor recreation system,” Rivers said.

Rep. Frank Hornstein (DFL-Mpls) asked Rivers for examples illustrating how the public would be impacted if the fee increases were not approved. She told him services such as grooming for snowmobile trails and adjusting dock heights at public water access locations would suffer. 

However, Rep. Brian Johnson (R-Cambridge) asked if the dedicated funds were being depleted due to revenue falling or because expenditures were going up. Although Rivers said that depended on the specific fund and the up-and-down nature of the revenue each receives, Johnson questioned why the funding levels weren’t more stable.

“I’m a little curious how it goes up and down when the boat and the snowmobile and the ATV and all those registrations are multi-year licenses,” Johnson said. “I don’t see how one year would have that much effect.”

Testimony on the DNR’s proposed budget is scheduled to continue at 8:15 a.m. Wednesday.