As it does every year, the county Board of Supervisors will distribute money collected from Fish & Game fines, and this year it is looking to spend a chunk of it on programs that benefit youngsters and wildlife.

Supervisors will have $15,000 to distribute when they meet Tuesday. Its fines committee is recommending that some $2,500 of it go to operating expenses, $1,000 to research projects that arise during the year, and $2,500 to field equipment for habitat studies involving elk, pronghorn, kit foxes, western pond turtles, and marbled murrelets.

The committee suggests that an additional $6,000 go to such programs as a junior fish day at Lopez Lake; a junior pheasant hunt; a collaborative program with the Boy Scouts of America to talk about conservation at local schools; and hunter safety programs.

Robert Cone of the county administrative office, who works with the fish and game committee, told The Tribune that most of the fines come from fishing or hunting without a license.

They are levied by the California Department of Fish & Game, which keeps half the money and sends the other half back to the county where it was collected.

Cone said the county fish and game committee that recommends where the money goes has five members, one from each county supervisor district.

The Board of Supervisors meeting begins at 9 a.m. at the County Government Center, 1055 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo.