SALEM a A task force convened to find ways to raise revenue for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Monday will recommend two tax increases to add $86 million to the departments budget.

The next challenge will be selling them to the Oregon Legislature.

The agency, which has a biennial budget of about $370 million, is looking for more money for conservation programs, maintenance and outreach. It gets about a third of its revenue from hunting and fishing license fees, and the remainder from state and federal sources.

After evaluating dozens of options to raise revenue, the task force recommends an income tax surcharge and a surcharge on beverages at the wholesale level.

Task force members acknowledged Monday that the roughly $86 million ask every biennium will be politically challenging.

The state faces a $1.7 billion shortfall going into the next biennium, according to the Governors Office.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown is expected to release her balanced budget Thursday.

The tax forces recommendations will come in a legislative session that will likely be characterized by attempts to both cut costs and raise funds across the board.

Much of the discussion at Mondays meeting revolved around gaining traction for the additional ask a both in terms of support from members of the legislature and from the states hunting, fishing, outdoor recreation and conservation communities.

Many at Mondays meeting pointed to the success of Measure 99 a which passed at the ballot box earlier this month to allocate state lottery funding for outdoor education a as an example of an initiative that leveraged the support of those Oregonians who value outdoor recreation such as cycling or hiking, but dont hunt or fish.

Oregon State Rep. Ken Helm, a nonvoting member of the task force, advised the task force to meet with all members of the Legislature and to gain the support not only of conservation groups, but also of Oregon businesses.

Task force members also met with Rep. Phil Barnhart, D-Eugene, and Rep. Brad Witt, D-Clatskanie, last week.

Barnhart is chairman of the House Interim Revenue Committee, while Witt is chairman of the House Interim Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources.

According to task force members, Barnhart and Witt discouraged them from emphasizing either tax and instead were advised to “lead with” the mission of ODFW and what it plans to do with the additional money.

That money, according to task force recommendations, is to be allocated toward additional conservation activities, improved hunting and fishing opportunities, increasing outreach and education efforts, and the cost of needed maintenance to department infrastructure that has been put off in prior budget years.

The largest chunk of the approximately $86 million target a about $46.7 million a would be dedicated to conservation efforts.

Stakeholders and legislators also appear to want to see more oversight for the departments ongoing work a another bill passed last year is intended to track in the coming years how many hours ODFW workers spend doing work on behalf of other departments.

A final report of the task forces recommendations is expected to be complete by the years end.