U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program Grants Awarded to the State of Colorado, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, From July 1, 2016, Through June 30, 2018

We audited the costs claimed by the by the State of Colorado, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (Division), under grants awarded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) through the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program. The audit included claims totaling approximately $87.5 million on 147 grants that were open during the State fiscal years that ended June 30, 2017, and June 30, 2018. The audit also covered the Division’s compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and FWS guidelines, including those related to the collection and use of hunting and fishing license revenues and the reporting of program income. We found that the Division complied, in general, with applicable grant accounting and regulatory requirements. We found, however, grant funds totaling approximately $3.1 million that were idle since the Division does not require subrecipients to begin work on their projects within a reasonable time period from the grant start date. We also determined that the State potentially diverted license revenue in the amount of $56,759 due to the loss of control of vehicles purchased with license revenue that were required to be transferred to State Fleet Management. In addition, we found that the Division had (1) unreported barter transactions, (2) difficulty identifying the funding source for equipment, (3) inadequate support for in-kind contributions, and (4) not completed the prior recommendation for its land inventory reconciliation. The FWS concurred with our eight recommendations and three repeat recommendations and will work with the Division to implement corrective actions.