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Federal agencies charged with preserving and managing natural resources, public lands and recreation received mixed news this week as part of President Bush's proposed fiscal 2008 budget recommendations. The total $10.7 billion budget proposal for the Department of Interior represents an estimated $318 million increase over current funding, but it would be a $200 million less than was appropriated for fiscal 2006.
Several agencies would see an increase in funding. Others must expect to tighten their belts yet again in the coming year after experiencing budget restrictions as a result of the failure by Congress last year to pass relevant appropriations measures.
While the administration offered budget contrasts with the figures approved as part of the continuing resolutions, or CR, to keep government agencies operating this year, in many cases there is a substantial financial difference between the 2008 requests and actual appropriations for fiscal 2006.
Also within the recommendations released by the White House Office of Management and Budget on Monday were some key policy proposals that may raise controversy in Congress as lawmakers counter the president's recommendations and requests.
What follows is an edited review of reports about the budget for key agencies written by Land Letter staff that have appeared in other E&E news services during the week.
Interior again plans land sales
When Dirk Kempthorne was President Bush's nominee for Interior secretary last May, he broke from administration policy and told a Senate committee he opposed selling public lands to pay down the federal deficit. But hidden deep in Interior's fiscal 2008 budget request, the controversial proposal reappeared.
"On the sale of public land for deficit reduction or for operating expenses, I do not favor that," Kempthorne, the Idaho governor, told the Energy and Natural Resources Committee on May 4, 2006.
The proposal to direct the sale of over $350 million in Bureau of Land Management lands over 10 years, with 70 percent of proceeds going to the U.S. Treasury to help pay down the budget deficit, was a nonstarter in Congress, and Kempthorne's statement was interpreted as a sign the plan was dead.
Yet the Bush administration this week quietly revived the proposal, which the White House Office of Management and Budget now states could bring in $186 million over five years and $334 million over the next decade.
At issue is the Federal Lands Transactions Facilitation Act, which provides for selling BLM lands classified for disposal under resource management plans at the time the law was signed in 2000. The law allows Interior to spend proceeds for land acquisitions of high-value areas in national parks, wildlife refuges and national monuments. Under its land management plans, BLM identifies lands the agency proposes to sell or exchange.
The Agriculture Department also revived a plan to sell up to 300,000 acres of national forests. The proposal got a rough reception from key Hill Democrats.
House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) pronounced the proposal "dead on arrival."
"Selling off our public lands and forests and using budget gimmicks is no way to fund the preservation and use of our nation's natural, cultural and recreational resources," said House Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee Chairman Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.).
"It's a sad commentary that the administration would completely ignore the overwhelming opposition that its misguided land sell-offs created last year by releasing a nearly identical proposal," said Michael Francis of the Wilderness Society. "The American people do not want their lands sold off to remedy the administration's poor fiscal decisions."
'Healthy Lands Initiative'
For the public lands the Bush administration decides to keep, Interior unveiled the "Healthy Lands Initiative," a plan to funnel money to areas in the Rocky Mountains scarred by the recent increases in oil and gas development.
Interior is requesting $22 million in new funding for BLM, the Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Geological Survey that will help restore up to 500,000 acres. The administration hopes the funds will help attract an additional $10 million from state, local and tribal governments, as well as from conservation groups and the energy industry.
The program will help Interior "stay ahead of the curve," Kempthorne said. "We do not want to get to the point where a species may be threatened and have to considered as endangered."
For instance, some environmentalists want the sage grouse to be listed under the Endangered Species Act, and a critical habitat designation could bring energy production to a halt in some areas. Rollin Sparrowe of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership said the administration is asking the wrong people for the money. "It's striking that they're asking the Congress to pay for restoration measures when it should be the companies that are footing the bill," Sparrowe said.
House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.), who has opposed the increase in oil and gas drilling, said the program was the sign of an administration in denial, at best.
"It is heartening to see that the Bush administration recognizes it has a problem in these areas," Rahall said. "It's like the 'Five Stages of Grief.' Our parks are crumbling and our public lands are under assault, so at least the establishment of these initiatives tells us the administration is now beyond the stage of denial."
Meeting energy policy goals
Interior's budget report put a special emphasis on the department's contributions to meeting the goals of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, "to enhance the availability of affordable gas, oil and alternative energy sources."
Among key initiatives are plans to increase the processing of applications for permits to drill from 7,736 in 2005 to over 12,000 in 2008. Installed wind power capacity on BLM lands is expected to increase to 3,200 megawatts over the next decade, while two recent applications for solar facilities on BLM land would bring an estimated capacity of 1,750 MW. The agency is also in the process of completing new five-year plan for oil and gas leasing on the outer continental shelf and will promote research into exploitation of oil shale resources.
In all, the department said, its requested combined budget for energy projects would be $481 million, an increase of $25.5 million compared to current funding.
A major share of that, $141 million, is for BLM's energy and minerals program.
BLM's oil and gas management budget would increase $5.9 million to $121.2 million in fiscal 2008, including $3 million more to support increased inspections and monitoring of oil and gas operations, "for BLM's oversight capabilities to match the pace of industry's on-the-ground operations," according to Interior.
However, the administration once again wants Congress to repeal a section of the Energy Policy Act. Interior called on Congress to repeal a last-minute provision from the energy bill that limits BLM's ability to increase charges for oil and gas drilling permit applications. The proposal could net the federal government about $20 million annually.
The budget also calls for oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a plan that under the Democratic Congress may have as much hope as the proposed land sales.
The budget request for the Minerals Management Service, which manages offshore oil and gas leasing and royalties, includes $4 million to carry out the upcoming 2007-2012 offshore leasing program.
The total proposed budget for the agency is $297.2 million, which includes an estimated $137.5 million in offsetting receipts, such as offshore leasing payments. The direct appropriation for MMS would be $161.5 million, according to the budget request.
The funding includes $1.3 million to acquire the "expertise and resources" needed to manage increasing exploration and development in ultra-deep Gulf of Mexico waters, according to MMS.
The budget plan also proposes an increase for MMS's Minerals Revenue Management program that aims to ensure accurate collection of royalties from federal and Indian leases. The budget seeks $82.4 million for the program, an increase of $3.2 million, according to MMS.
The agency has come under fire by critics who say it lacks a robust system for ensuring oil and gas companies pay their full royalties for federal lands production.
Elsewhere, the budget says MMS would save $3 million by requiring industry to share in the cost of environmental analysis for renewable energy.
President passes hat for NPS centennial bash
President Bush wants to secure $3 billion over the next 10 years for the administration's National Park Service centennial challenge but needs at least $1 billion in donations and the help of Congress to make it work.
The fiscal 2008 budget request released Monday includes a call for $1 billion -- $100 million over each of the next 10 years -- in donations from the public, friends groups and corporations for the centennial challenge. Bush also calls for Congress to provide funds to match donations "dollar for dollar" up to $100 million per year.
In addition to calling for private donations, Bush wants to commit $1 billion in new money over 10 years to Park Service operations as part of the centennial challenge. The fiscal 2008 budget includes a $258 million increase over fiscal 2006 for park operations, including the first $100 million installment of the 10 year pledge.
"This is an unprecedented increase in the Park Service operating budget and sets the stage for the centennial challenge," said Blake Selzer, of the National Parks Conservation Association. The $1.97 billion request for NPS operations is 14 percent above fiscal 2006 and the highest increase ever proposed in the agency's history, according to NPCA.
Selzer called the proposed matching funds for donations "a serious proposal" but said NPCA wants to see more details about the program first.
On Capitol Hill, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rahall was not so kind, saying the administration should focus on funding the core mission of Interior Department agencies. "While many Americans value the role of private philanthropy in supporting our National Park System, the administration's increasing reliance on the private sector in this capacity is troubling," Rahall added. "Our national parks are national treasures -- and their funding is a national responsibility."
Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), a member of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, said he was happy the White House proposed an overall Park Service increase but concerned about the reliance on outside donations and questioned whether future administrations will support the 10 year plan.
"It's projected over 10 years and he'll be here for less than two," Hinchey said. "A bit of a fabrication is going on here."
The president made a pitch for the initiative during an appearance Wednesday at the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. "Congress needs to hear loud and clear how important this initiative is," Bush said. "And I fully hope the citizens groups who are concerned about the parks beat a hasty trail to the Congress and remind the Congress about what we have done and what we need to do as good stewards of the parks."
Park Service Director Mary Bomar, who appeared with the president, called the plan an exciting prospect for her agency.
"I'm telling you, there is a great buzz going on in the national parks with our folks," Bomar said at Shenandoah. "But the bottom line is really to take care of the visitors in America. And what that budget does, bottom line is it puts our staff out in the parks to make sure that our visitors receive the very best experience."
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