Office Of The Secretary-For Immediate Release |
Contact: Frank Quimby
|
Feb. 3, 2003 |
202-208-6416
|
Presidents 2004 Budget for Interior
Emphasizes
Indian Trust Programs and Conservation Partnerships
WASHINGTONPresident Bushs proposed FY 2004 budget of $10.7 billion
for the Department of the Interior provides dramatic funding increases for Indian
trust programs and expands opportunities for conservation partnerships. It also
enhances law enforcement and security for the Nations monuments and public
lands and protects communities through increased funding for fire management.
Through a Water Initiative, the proposed budget creates a foundation for innovations
in water conservation, water management, and improved technology.
Fulfilling Interiors Trust responsibilities to American Indians
is a number one priority. Our proposed $168.5 million increase for Trust management
and related activities would bring our annual Trust budget to over one-half
billion dollars, Secretary Norton observed.
The proposed 2004 Interior budget also emphasizes Secretary Nortons commitment
to leaving a legacy of healthy lands and thriving communities. This budget
underscores the Presidents commitment to Interiors strategic missions
of protecting natural and cultural resources, serving communities, and providing
scientific information to decision makers, Secretary Norton said in unveiling
the budget proposal today.
Preserving our natural resources, safeguarding communities from the ravages
of wildfire, and improving security and law enforcement at our parks, refuges
and national monuments are priority initiatives in the 2004 funding request,
Norton emphasized.
Key to achieving these goals is Secretary Nortons vision of cooperative
conservation. Partnering across America, we can broaden our successes
to conserve Americas natural, cultural, and historic treasures,
Secretary Norton noted. Our $113.2 million Cooperative Conservation Initiative,
which invests in several conservation grant programs, will help us extend a
hand to work with the Nations many citizen stewards.
Complementing the Departments cooperative conservation commitments is
a continued investment in taking care of National Parks. The Presidents
2004 budget request proposes $705.8 million to fulfill the Presidents
pledge of addressing the maintenance backlog in the parks. It also requests
$8.5 million more funding for the Natural Resource Challenge, bringing the cumulative
total increase to the program under President Bushs leadership to over
$104 million.
Building partnerships lies at the heart of all these efforts, said
Secretary Norton. Interiors strength lies in its 70,000 employees,
200,000 volunteers, and the many partnerships we are building with States, Tribes,
local governments, affiliated Island communities, nonprofit organizations, and
citizen stewards. Our budget provides the tools through which these partnerships
can flourish, Norton said.
The FY 2004 proposal of $10.7 billion is about 25 percent higher than the 2000
appropriations level of $8.6 billion, and represents an increase of $344 million,
or 3.3 percent, over the amounts called for in the Presidents 2003 budget
request. Permanent funding that becomes available as a result of existing legislation
without further action by the Congress will provide an additional $3 billion,
for a total 2004 Interior budget of $13.7 billion.
Reflecting the Departments multiple missions, the budget proposes $2.6
billion for resource protection to fund programs that improve the health of
landscapes, sustain biological communities, and protect cultural resources.
The budget proposal also includes $5 billion to serve communities through fire
protection, generation of scientific information, education investments for
American Indians, and through activities to fulfill responsibilities toward
American Indians, Alaskan natives, and the nations affiliated island communities.
Interior lands include many working landscapes where ranchers, energy partners,
and other entrepreneurs help maintain thriving American communities and a dynamic
economy. The 2004 proposed budget includes $1.5 billion for resource use, providing
access to these resources and advancing the Presidents National Energy
Plan.
An $11 million Water Initiative would invest in desalination technology, water-saving
technologies for irrigation systems, and strategies to improve water management.
No challenge in the 21st Century is greater than that of securing and
managing water for our future, said Secretary Norton. Our Water
Initiative will help us stretch existing water supplies.
Another $1.4 billion in FY 2004 budget investments would improve access to recreational
opportunities. This request includes a $5.2 million increase to the Bureau of
Land Management, host of more than 60 million visitors annually, to provide
recreational venues for a growing population in the West.
Major Initiatives in the 2004 Budget Proposal
Trust ProgramsFulfilling our Trust responsibilities remains one
of our greatest challenges, Norton said. We inherited a legacy of
inadequate management of Trust accounts. We propose major investments to reverse
that legacy. And, going forward, we need to create a more manageable Trust portfolio
by consolidating lands, where feasible. Our budget lays the groundwork for this
better future.
The proposed $168.5 million increase for management reforms will help the Department
meet its trust obligations to Tribes and individual Indians. This increase improves
services to Tribes and individual Indians with $15 million to support reorganization
of trust functions, providing an organization that meets fiduciary standards,
is accountable at every level, and staffed with people trained in the principles
of trust management.
Another $29.5 million will help rebuild Bureau of Indian Affairs information
technology infrastructure to support trust and non-trust programs; and $4.5
million will accelerate a new strategy to administer, manage, search, retrieve,
and store trust records.
An increase of $112.5 million for the Office of Historical Trust Accounting
will support the Departments plan to conduct a historical accounting for
individual Indian money accounts and to account for funds in Tribal accounts.
An additional $13 million for Indian land consolidation will expand pilot efforts
to reduce the fractionation of individual land ownership interests into a nation-wide
program.
Indian EducationThe budget request includes $292.6 million in school construction
funds for seven replacement school projects, and to repair schools identified
in the Indian school maintenance backlog. The Presidents goal is to eliminate
the backlog by 2006. The budget request for Indian education continues the Presidents
commitment to Leave No Child Behind with a robust $528.5 million school operations
budget request.
Cooperative ConservationOur budget lays the foundations for leaving
a legacy of healthy lands and thriving communities, Secretary Norton announced.
Our request presents a blueprint for fulfilling the Presidents vision
of a new environmentalism of citizen stewards and cooperative conservation.
We are again proposing this Initiative, structuring it around our bureau Challenge
Cost Share programs and our cooperative conservation grant programs.
The Cooperative Conservation Initiative, funded at $113.2 million, will empower
citizen stewards to conserve and protect natural resources while also achieving
important community and economic goals. The Initiative builds on existing conservation
partnership programs and will provide new and expanded opportunities for landowners,
land managers, and others to
participate in projects that foster innovation and create incentives for stewardship
and also provides funds for a public lands volunteers program.
Included in the CCI request is an increase of $9.1 million for the Partners
for Fish and Wildlife program, the largest increase ever provided to this program.
The Fish and Wildlife Service will partner with 2,500 additional landowners
on the programs waiting list. These new partnerships will restore an additional
19,298 acres of wetlands; 83,601 acres of native grasslands, forest and other
uplands; and 241 miles of riparian and in-stream habitat over 2003 levels.
Land and Water Conservation FundThe Presidents budget fully funds
the Land and Water Conservation Fund at $900.7 million. The LWCF proposal calls
for $187.2 million for federal land acquisition in Interior and the USDA Forest
Service and $160 million in traditional state grants (an increase of $10 million
over FY 2003 budget proposal). Reflecting the Presidents goals, the Interior
LWCF program seeks to promote cooperative alliances, leave land on state tax
roles, and achieve conservation goals by emphasizing innovative alternatives
to fee simple title purchases, such as conservation easements and land exchanges.
This emphasis also enables Interior land management agencies to focus more funds
on caring for lands already under their management.
The LWCF budget includes $553.5 million for innovative conservation programs,
including state and tribal wildlife projects, endangered species and wetlands
conservation, USDA forest stewardship and urban and community forestry, private
landowner stewardship and incentive grants as well as the Secretarys Cooperative
Conservation Initiative.
The Private Stewardship grants and the Landowner Incentive Program recognize
continuing opportunities for conservation of endangered and threatened species
through partnerships with private landowners. The budget request includes $50
million for Private Stewardship grants and the Landowner Incentive program.
Interest in the State portion of the program is high, with over 80 grant requests
received, totaling $61.0 million for the programs first year.
Natural Resource ChallengeAn $8.5 million increase is requested for the
fifth year of the NPS Natural Resource Challenge. This program enhances monitoring
of natural resources; helps eradicate exotic species; and provides natural resources
information for the public. Beginning with the 2002 budget, the President has
requested a cumulative total of $104.5 million for the Natural Resource Challenge.
NPS Backlog The Presidents budget proposes a $2.4 billion budget
for the National Park Service, an increase of $8.3 million above the Presidents
FY 2003 proposal that also maintains a historically high commitment of $705.8
million to address the maintenance backlog in the parks. The budget requests
an additional $9 million for cyclic maintenance. This increase will provide
additional funds for regular maintenance activities and will help the NPS keep
pace with its maintenance needs and prevent additional projects from becoming
deferred.
The budget includes an additional $8.2 million for the repair and rehabilitation
program, including a $2.6 million increase for comprehensive condition assessments
at parks. Data collected through the condition assessments will be used in 2004
to evaluate progress in eliminating the deferred maintenance backlog.
Refuge CentennialMarch 14, 2003 marks a milestone in the history of wildlife
conservation in Americathe Centennial anniversary of the national wildlife
refuge system. The 2004 budget builds on last years historic $56.5 million
budget increase for the national wildlife refuge system by requesting a total
of $402.0 million for refuge operations and maintenance, an increase of $25.5
million over 2003. The total budget request for the Fish and Wildlife Service
is $1.3 billion.
Invasive SpeciesThe Department is participating in an interagency performance
budget on invasive species coordinated by the National Invasive Species Council.
The performance budget links spending levels with levels of performance. The
2004 budget proposes $9 million for the Departments portion in this interagency
effort. The increase will allow Interior to participate in the control and management
of tamarisk and giant slavinia in the southwest; to conduct ballast water research;
to control and eradicate nutria in the Chesapeake Bay and in Louisiana; to plan
for early detection and rapid response to eradicate outbreaks of sudden oak
death in eastern hardwood forests of the Central Appalachian Mountains; and
to develop a marine invasive species early detection warning system.
Conserving Americas FisheriesThe 2004 budget enhances the federal
contribution to aquatic resource conservation partnerships, by providing an
$8.8 million increase for the FWS fisheries program. The request includes an
$8.1 million increase for the national fish hatchery system for priority recovery
and restoration tasks; increasing fishing opportunities for the public; and
advancing shared applied science. Also included is a $1 million increase to
combat aquatic nuisance species, part of the larger, coordinated interdepartmental
effort.
Office of Surface Mining: The Presidents budget request for OSM would
allocate $281.2 million in FY 2004 for state and federal programs to protect
the environment during coal mining, assure prompt reclamation after mining,
and clean up abandoned mine lands. This is $1.8 million more than the amount
budgeted for FY 2003. The 2004 request includes $106.7 million for the Regulation
and Technology Account and $174.5 million for the Abandoned Mine Land Account.
The request will enable OSM to continue directly administering federal regulatory
and reclamation programs in states that do not operate their own surface mining
programs as well as on federal and Indian lands.
Healthy Forests/Wildland Fire Through partnerships we are enhancing
our fire program, Secretary Norton said. Building a legacy of healthy
lands and thriving communities means applying a healing hand to the landscape.
We are doing that through our Healthy Forests Initiative.
The budget proposes $698.7 million for wildfire prevention and suppression and
Healthy Forest initiatives in fiscal year 2004, a $45 millionor 7 percentincrease
over last years budget proposal. The request includes continued funding
for a robust fuels treatment program at $186.2 million400 percent above
spending in 2000to lessen the risk of catastrophic wildfire. The proposal
also calls for $282.7 million for fire preparedness, including an increase of
$5 million for aviation contract costs; $195.3 million for fire suppression;
$24.5 million for rehabilitating burned areas; and $10 million for Rural Fire
Assistance.
Law EnforcementThe budget calls for increases of $46.2 million for Interiors
law enforcement and security programs. The money would be used to hire additional
personnel, provide more training, improve law enforcement operations in border
areas and key visitor sites, and fund security construction projects. About
$26.8 million is slated for infrastructure improvements at the Jefferson National
Expansion Area in St. Louis, Mo.; Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia,
Pa.; and the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.; $13.3 million is earmarked
for strengthening law enforcement and security operations at key Interior visitor
sites; and $6 million would be used to increase protection and law enforcement
at Interior parks along U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada.
Science and Stewardship: All of the Departments efforts require good information.
Scientific information is the cornerstone for Interiors natural resource
management activities, providing a basis for making decisions about resource
protection, resource use, recreation, and community-based programs. The USGS
has the principle responsibility within Interior to provide its bureaus the
earth and natural science information and research necessary to manage the Nations
natural resources.
The Presidents 2004 budget proposes $895.5 million for the USGS, a net
increase of $28.2 million over the FY 2003 request. That includes a $4.1 million
increase to expand invasive species research and develop a model for a national
early warning invasive species detection network for land managers. It also
includes a $3 million increase for the Science on the DOI Landscape initiative
to provide dedicated funds for enhanced science support to Interiors bureaus
to meet their high-priority science needs.
Western Water Including the special $11 million water initiative, our
budget proposes $878 million for the Bureau of Reclamation, including $58 million
for the Animas-La Plata Project; $170.1 million for the Central Valley Project;
$20.8 million for the Klamath Project; $34.1 million for Central Arizona Project:
$17.4 million for the Middle Rio Grande Project; and $15 million for the California
Bay-Delta Restoration Project.
more
Energy DevelopmentThe 2004 budget request includes a net increase of $3.6
million for BLM energy-related programs, including expanded energy development
on the Alaska North Slope. The increase will help support the development of
renewable energy on public lands and accelerate the processing of applications
for permits-to-drill.
The budget for the Minerals Management Service proposes a program increase of
$4.8 million to meet increased workload brought about by the demand for Outer
Continental Shelf program services, to employ innovative business processes
and advances in electronic technology in the offshore program, and to investigate
the energy resource potential found in methane hydrate formations. The MMS will
also invest $3 million to operate and maintain its minerals revenue management
and royalty-in-kind systems.
The 2004 BIA request includes a $2 million increase for grants to Tribes to
evaluate mineral resource potential on tribal trust and restricted lands. The
request also includes $1 million to help Tribes expedite the development of
tribal regulations governing mineral leasing and permitting, and rights-of-way
of tribal lands required under the Energy Policy Act, 2002.
RecreationThe 2004 request includes a number of investments in BLM, NPS,
and FWS programs to improve access to Interior lands and enhance recreational
opportunities and experiences at parks, refuges, and on public lands, while
protecting vital natural and cultural resources. A net increase of $5.2 million
will enable BLM to provide quality recreation opportunities and will enhance
public health and safety for the growing number of outdoor enthusiasts who utilize
BLM administered lands for a variety of purposes.
Payment in Lieu of TaxesThe Presidents proposal calls for $200 million
to compensate states for federal lands that cannot be taxed by local governments,
an increase of $35 million over the proposed 2003 budget. The FY 2004 budget
proposal would move the program from BLM to Department Management accounts to
reflect the fact that the lands on which the payments are made are administered
by the NPS, FWS, and USDA Forest Service, as well as by the Bureau of Land Management.
SummaryOur ability to leave a legacy of healthy lands and thriving
communities depends on how well we work together across landscapes and across
communities, Secretary Norton noted as she set forth the Departments
2004 proposed budget. Our 2004 budget provides a blueprint and lays the
foundations for those partnerships.
DOI