Beyond Federal Aid

State-based Conservation Revenue Survey Results

Publicly funded conservation is facing numerous challenges. Many state fish and wildlife agencies have responded to these challenges with unique policy mechanisms aimed at improving and diversifying funding streams.

However, these efforts had never been inventoried nation-wide, leaving a gap in our knowledge of state agency funding. In the summer of 2021, all AFWA Directors received a survey to collect information on dedicated revenue. Our team has fully identified, organized, and catalogued these revenue mechanisms.

Key Takeaways

• All 50 states provided funding data (n=50) 
• AFWA member agencies collected $3.7 billion in dedicated revenue in FY 2019 
• The average AFWA member agency collected $75 million in dedicated revenue annually 
• The median AFWA member agency collected $62.6 million in dedicated revenue annually 
• 69% of dedicated revenues in AFWA member agencies in FY 2019 came from three sources 
• Hunting/Fishing/Trapping Licenses (43%), Pittman-Robertson (18%), & Dingell-Johnson (8%) 

Download the report here 

 If you have any questiosn about this project, or would like to discuss how we might proide more specific insights for your agency, please don't hesitate to contact Charlie Booher at [email protected]