# DNR looking at shutdown



## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

DNR looking at shutdown unless state's budget addressed soon

http://www.mlive.com/outdoors/statewide/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/118833181260090.xml&coll=1

09/01/07 By Bob Gwizdz

The latest word around the Capitol on the proposed hunting and fishing license fee package is there's probably enough bipartisan support to make it go, but it isn't going to happen until the state gets the rest of its fiscal house in order. 

And that's the rub. If you've watched what's been going on, the budget bills that have proceeded so far spend far more money than is available to fund them. Since there seems to be no stomach for either a tax increase or the kind of dramatic cuts in services it'll take to make things work, the process is in a stalemate. 

Because the state's fish and wildlife operations are almost entirely self-sufficient, passing the license fee bill would leave the state's sportsmen in good shape as hunting season begins. But the Legislature is not willing to deal with these issues in piece-meal fashion; any budget agreement will have to be a combination of cuts and revenue enhancements, and lawmakers are not about to start the process on the money-raising end. That would only give some the opportunity to grandstand on the subject.

Whether that strategy is wise is a matter of conjecture. It's sort of like having a car that's still running but needs an engine overhaul and front-end work. Do you wait until you can get it all fixed at once -- and risk having a wheel fall off in the meantime -- or do you fix what you can immediately? So far, the answer is to wait. 

So with only a month to go before the new fiscal year begins, the Department of Natural Resources is making plans to shut down entirely if there's no budget agreement by Oct. 1. 

About the only DNR staffers who will remain active during a shutdown will be fire suppression personnel and Report All Poaching (RAP) telephone operators. Some fish, wildlife and law enforcement staff will be on call in case of emergency -- say, reports of a deer with chronic wasting disease or an especially egregious poaching violation -- but the day-to-day operations will cease. Conservation officers will not patrol. Parks and campgrounds will be closed. 

As for spending reforms, we can't expect a lot of the DNR as the agency has already cut its budget a number of times to stay afloat. The agency has reduced seasonal and temporary employee numbers drastically and there are fewer COs and fire officers on staff than at any time in recent memory. There's not a lot left to cut without eliminating programs. 

There will be some internal changes at the DNR -- the state plans to move human resources functions out of individual departments and put them all under civil service, for instance -- but those moves will not save any money in the short-term, only through long-term attrition. Similarly, there is talk of centralizing accounting departments state-wide. But the work still needs to be done. The only immediate change is how the money is routed -- the DNR will pay for services instead of directly to personnel -- not how much is spent. 

But with some high-profile dates coming at the beginning of the fiscal year -- opening day of waterfowl season in southern Michigan is Oct. 6, remember -- some sportsmen may find popular, man-hour intensive programs (such as the managed-area waterfowl hunts) are unavailable in the short-term. 

Over the course of the next decade or so, the DNR should have enough money to function at a relatively constant level -- presupposing, of course, that the fee increase bill passes. In the immediate short-term, however, we are likely to see disrupted services. 

So let's hope the Legislature gets off its collective duff and deals with the state's budget ASAP. 

Opening days of hunting seasons and peak salmon migrations, both rapidly approaching, are not the optimal time for furloughing the entire conservation officer corps.


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## deputy (Feb 2, 2002)

recent hunters ed class the Co stated there are only 125 officers in the field


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## MuskyDan (Dec 27, 2001)

I have contacted most of the legislatures and had conversations with them on "their" thoughts about the license hike. Don't plan on it passing anytime soon!!! Better get your thinking caps on fellas if you want to keep your "entitlement" I forsee some major changes in the DNR as we know it!


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