NOELLE STRAUB Star-Tribune Washington bureau | Posted: Tuesday, February 5, 2008 12:00 am
WASHINGTON - President Bush's proposed 2009 budget would shrink the funding for every land management agency except the National Park Service.
Under Bush's plan, the U.S. Forest Service discretionary budget would fall $373 million from 2008 levels, to $4.1 billion. Money for state and private forestry programs, research, maintenance, management and law enforcement would decrease from 2008. Dollars would be cut from wildfire preparedness, hazardous fuels suppression and other fire operations but would be boosted for fire suppression.
The overall U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service budget would shrink by $65 million from 2008 levels, the Bureau of Land Management by $30 million, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs by $100 million. While Bush proposes the levels as a first step, Congress has ultimate say over how much gets spent.
The Park Service would see an overall slight increase of $14 million, to $2.4 billion. While its operating budget would shoot up by $161 million, its finances for construction and maintenance would drop by $46 million and land acquisition would fall by $48 million.
The overall requested Interior budget for fiscal year 2009 of $10.7 billion would be a drop of $638 million from 2008 levels. Interior officials said cuts were made mostly in construction, land acquisition and congressional projects, while the land management bureaus got a 4 percent increase in their operating budgets.
While acknowledging that there are areas where people would say "we wish you could have done more here, or you would have addressed this," Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne added, "But I think Congress will be happy to see many of the additions they have included we have retained and built upon."
The budget drew immediate criticism from key Democrats on Capitol Hill. House Natural Resources Chairman Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., said the budget was skewed in favor of oil and gas drilling above other public uses of land.
"This budget axes forest programs, undercuts our wildlife refuges, puts programs to save endangered species under the knife, neglects the needs of our national parks, and puts a stopper in important water programs," Rahall said.
The National Parks Conservation Association praised the boost in operating funds for national parks, but criticized cuts to "other critical park programs that undermine this much-needed operating increase." It said the construction cuts would diminish the ability to address a multibillion-dollar maintenance backlog.
The operational increase for the Park Service will allow another 3,000 seasonal park rangers, Kempthorne said.
The Forest Service, which falls under the Agriculture Department, asked for $982 million for fire preparedness, hazardous fuels reduction and other fire operations, a decrease of $115 million from 2008. However, it proposed to boost suppression funding from $846 million to $994 million.
The BLM budget would shrink the amounts spent on land management and endangered species, but increase the amounts spent on oil and gas management.
Interior wants to put $22 million toward the Healthy Lands Initiative in southwest Wyoming and seven other states. Kempthorne said would allow the government to protect sage grouse habitat and other landscapes in the West.