Ohio Division of Wildlife - The Wildlife Fund and management process

Sportsmen often hear elected officials vowing to protect the wildlife fund from any raids for political convenience. The wildlife fund is the vehicle to ensure sufficient cash reserves to capture all the available PR/DJ monies. The USF&W Service requires a 25% match for funds. The Division must fund the entire project up front in order to capture the 75% federal match. The wildlife fund is established in the Ohio Revised Code (ORC).

ODNR Division of Wildlife Assistant Chief Sue Howard adds, "In order to be eligible to receive our apportioned federal dollars from the PR/DJ programs, there must be language in the ORC that prevents license revenue from being used for any other purpose than the administration of the wildlife agency. If that language is altered or removed from the ORC, the ability to get the federal funding will be gone. It could even result in the state having to pay back previous funds."

Of course, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USF&W) oversight requires the Division to report all projects and use of the PR/DJ monies which is subject to federal audits. While many sportsmen may understand the license sales and federal PR/DJ monies, the Division of Wildlife budget and management processes are less understood. I asked Howard to walk me through the internal management process.

Howard explains, "Since 1986 the Division has operated under a comprehensive management system (CMS) to plan and implement our projects. The CMS provides a framework for all agency decision making, budgeting, and project evaluation. CMS is an ongoing multiple phase process that incorporates inventory, strategic and tactical planning, operational planning, and evaluation. We look at where we are now in terms of money, projects and staffing levels across all of the aspects of the Division. The Strategic Plan and Tactical Plan enter into the process next. The Strategic Plan is a 20-year long range plan. The Tactical Plans are in the range of five to ten years. The Operational Plan then drives the implementation details to meet the goals. Operational Plans are developed on a two-year cycle with the evaluation component performed every year. The final step is the Control and Evaluation. Did we accomplish our plans? Performance reports are completed every year and submitted to the USF&W Service. Based on our performance, the operational planning and project reports, the USF&W Service will determine whether to approve any new grants."

The CMS is a fully documented process on how the planning and financial management is handled within the Division. It allows the Division to take advantage of the USFWS’ comprehensive management plan funding option (CMP). This provides a framework to receive federal reimbursement under the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs. The federal CMP option allows the USF&W Service to approve projects up front with the reimbursement based on the CMS planning system versus project by project funding. Ohio is one of only five states that has the approval from the USFWS to operate this way.

Implementing the CMS process requires the focus of the management team at the Division of Wildlife. The Executive Planning Group (EPG) is responsible for making decisions on implementing the processes and performing the steps described in the CMS. Howard explains, "The EPG is comprised of the Chief, Assistant Chiefs, the five District Managers, Group Administrators and the Federal Aid Coordinator. The EPG members come from all different areas within the Division. We discuss strategic direction, the district operations, any new program concerns, and how the programs are doing. Basically we give the Chief feedback so decisions can be made regarding the strategic direction of the Division.

"The functions, scope and participation of the EPG is a documented process. The EPG combined with CMS are processes that fulfill the USF&W Service requirements and evaluation of how the Division of Wildlife performs the assigned mission. The defined processes ensure that the function is not dependant on any one person or administration to accomplish the mission.

Howard continues, "Annually, prior to deciding on projects, we review last year's direction and accomplishments. There may be new emerging issues, such as diseases or aquatic nuisance species, that require action. We talk about program and budget direction with the Chief based on the semi-annual budget forecast and planning meetings at the EPG. The Business Administrator monitors the funding and cash flow throughout the year with updated projections provided to the EPG in June and December. We discuss license sales, federal aid balances, expenditures, staffing levels, and cash balances in funds. We ensure there is sufficient cash reserved to capture all the federal aid dollars available to the Division. The Chief, along with Susie Vance and I, put together the annual reports on the previous year’s accomplishments and the direction for the next year. The budget allocations for the next year will be sent to all managers in February prior to the future planning cycle that begins July 1st."

As part of the CMS, every Division employee has the opportunity to be involved in the process and provide input. Vance adds, "Each group has an Advisory Team identified to discuss project planning and provide input from a cross section of employees. Their task is to look at projects over the last year. They review what worked or what didn't work. The advisory teams may be involved in writing projects and providing federal aid requests."

This effort creates a culture throughout the Division that every employee’s opinion counts, has a voice in the process and are part of the success of every project. It contributes to the passion that Division employee's have about their jobs and conservation in Ohio. The combined efforts are to ensure that all the monies are spent wisely and to the full benefit of wildlife conservation.

It is a Division wide process that is pro-active in managing the budget resources and applying those resources in the right place at the right time. It involves having the right mix of personnel and programs.It is a Division wide effort to manage the resources and budget to be as efficient as possible.

Outdoor writer and hunter education instructor Larry S. Moore is a long-time volunteer leader for Buckeye Firearms Foundation and winner of the 2005 USSA Patriot Award, the 2007 League of Ohio Sportsmen/Ohio Wildlife Federation Hunter Educator of the Year and the 2010 National Wild Turkey Federation/ Women in the Outdoors Hunter Education Instructor of the Year.