The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF) is the comprehensive wildlife and boat agency which strives to connect people to quality wildlife-related experiences through hunting, angling, boating, wildlife watching, and education. The Agency plans to continue providing quality access to the land and waters of the Commonwealth so more people can enjoy the full natural diversity of the state.

Customer service must be available when and where our customers need it through technology or partnership with others.  The challenges of changing Virginia demographics, to a more urban population that is more removed from wildlife, motivates the Agency to educate all our customers so they can support our new vision and mission in a safe and lawful manner. Agency permitting and enforcement operations will protect the wildlife resources and habitats and will be uniform and consistent throughout the state and use the latest tools such as K9 units, geospatial information systems, tracking techniques, thermal imaging and other technological advancements.

The Agency’s policies and regulations will be science-based to protect and improve the biological diversity of the state. This protection also requires response to threats from disease, invasive species and competing land use plans.  It is imperative that DGIF monitors, anticipates, and responds to these threats.

In order to deliver on these goals, the Agency must establish a sustainable financial model. DGIF’s FY 2019 revenue model consists of 32% from license sales, 32% from federal grants, 24% from special designated fund transfers, and 13% from boating and other funds. Our current revenue distribution is unsustainable if maintained as we have seen a 6% decline in annual license revenue over the past four years. With the implementation of an internal agency strategic vision and priorities, DGIF hopes to find additional operational efficiencies with a focus on R3 (Recruitment, Retention, and Reactivation) efforts. Working with administrative, legislative, and constituent groups, DGIF will foster general public support for its mission and programs so as to remain a primarily self-funded agency. 

The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF) is committed to providing effective and high quality technology initiatives internally and externally. DGIF constituents are increasingly tech savvy and expect to find many services online. The department’s new customer centric and integrated Go Outdoors Virginia and boat registration solution is a major online initiative that is expected to reduce costs and increase exposure to, and efficiencies of, agency services to the public. Go Outdoors Virginia has reduced boat application and renewal processing times; allows customers to carry their hunting and angling licenses electronically; and has given the Agency a reference point for data that is an important driver for our R3 efforts, which was not readily available in years past.  

During FY 2019, DGIF continued upgrading its technology infrastructure to the most current platforms for servers and end user PCs, and while realizes efficiencies were able to remove two servers. 

The Commonwealth’s transition to a modern ERP system (Cardinal) also provides the agency with opportunities to revamp and revitalize its internal financial systems.  DGIF is analyzing the integration of enterprise shared services for procurement and human resource management along with budgeting and expenditure functionality found in Cardinal.

DGIF recognizes the need to constantly look for ways to enhance and expand agency services offered to constituents through online or mobile devices. 

The Department is charged to conserve Virginia’s game and inland fisheries resources and to provide opportunities for all to enjoy wildlife, inland fish, boating, watchable wildlife and related outdoor recreation. To address our mission, the Department owns and maintains 42 Wildlife Management Areas totaling over 208,907 acres, has 37 public fishing lakes, owns or partners on 226 public boating access sites and maintains a vast infrastructure system of roads, parking lots, bridges, trails, houses, work compounds, shooting ranges, fishing piers, boat ramps, 64 dams, a large vehicle/equipment fleet, and a variety of wildlife habitats. The Department’s support facilities includes a headquarters facility in Henrico County, 2 leased and 2 owned regional offices, 5 leased office/storage facilities, 4 warm water hatcheries, that hatch and rear warm water fish, amphibians and mollusk species. These stations provide 2-5 million fish for annual stocking in Virginia waters. The Department has 5 cold water hatcheries engaged entirely in trout production, from egg collection, to raising stocking sizes. Over a million trout are reared each year and stocked in the 2,800 miles of trout streams. As the Department begins its next 100 years of service, its aging infrastructure will require continuous maintenance and upgrades to keep facilities operable.  A priority, the Dam Safety Program, is addressing the current 38 regulated dams for public safety. The Department continues renovation and construction of facilities and program areas for accessibility by all Virginians.