For Immediate Release

May 23, 2007

INTERIOR BILL BOOSTS FUNDS FOR NATIONAL PARKS, PUGET SOUND;
RESTORES FUNDING FOR FOREST SERVICE, EPA & INDIAN HEALTH

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee today reported a bill that provides $15 million for EPA’s Puget Sound restoration program next year, Subcommittee Chairman Norm Dicks said Wednesday.

            The expansion of the Puget Sound Program was part of a $50 million increase for geographic cleanup programs in the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget, including directed efforts in the Chesapeake Bay, the Great Lakes, Long Island Sound and other waters that affect multiple states.  It will escalate the federal government’s participation in the estuary cleanup program at a time when the State of Washington has launched the Puget Sound Partnership, a coordinated effort to reduce pollution and promote fishery health in the Sound.

            The Puget Sound funding was included in what Rep. Dicks called “the best conservation budget we’ve had in more than a decade.”   As the first legislation drafted since he became Chairman of the Interior and Environment Subcommittee, the appropriations bill for the next fiscal year includes many of his environmental priorities, including:  

-- A $199 million increase for the operations of National Parks, including Mount Rainier, Olympic and North Cascades National Parks in Washington.  Rep. Dicks has fought in recent years for additional funding to cover personnel and other fixed cost increases that have eaten into operation budgets and forced a reduction of hiring of rangers and seasonal park staff.  In addition, $85 million has been provided for critical repair and maintenance projects and $50 million is recommended for the Centennial Challenge Program, which will be matched by private donations to provide another $100 million for “projects of national significance” within the National Park System.

-- $65 million for “Legacy Road and Trail Remediation” in the Forest Service budget to fix roads in environmentally sensitive areas, roads damaged by recent storms and roads which may harm community water systems.  Washington State has a large backlog of washed out roads on Forest Service lands, and the creation of this national program is expected to have a substantial impact there next year and in coming years. 

-- An increase of $56 million for National Wildlife Refuges, a 14 percent increase above the current year to help counter a severe staffing shortfall.   National Wildlife Refuges have lost 600 full-time equivalent personnel in the last three years, including in the Pacific Northwest. 

-- An increase of $200 million for wildfire management at the outset of what appears to be an active forest fire season.  The Bush Administration budget proposal for the next fiscal year included a cut of more than $100 million for fire protection activities. 

-- Indian Health programs were also a high priority for the Subcommittee, including the account that funds the Seattle Urban Indian Health Board clinic, which was not funded in the Bush Administration’s FY 2008 budget proposal.  The bill recommends a total of $3.38 billion for the Indian Health Service, a boost of $204 million over current levels and $113 million beyond the recommendation in the Bush Administration’s FY 2008 budget proposal.

-- The Subcommittee also took a more aggressive stance on global warming, following a series of hearings held this spring to explore the impact of altered climate conditions on public lands and wildlife.  In FY 2008 the bill recommends a total of $267 million for climate change activities -- $200 in EPA’s budget and $67 for Interior agencies.  It adds $44 million to existing climate change programs in EPA and the U.S. Geological Survey and it establishes a two-year “Commission on Climate Change and Adaptation” to begin to address the question of strategies for addressing global warming.  The Commission will be headed by the President of the National Academy of Sciences, and it will include officials from federal agencies with major climate change responsibilities.

-- Funding for the National Endowments for Arts and the Humanities will increase in the next fiscal year, with each endowment’s budget rising to $160 million.  

-- The bill also recommends a boost in appropriations for the Land & Water Conservation Fund, increasing FY 2008 spending by $70 million over the current year and $183 million over the Bush budget proposal.  The Fund is used to purchase critical additions to national parks and for preservation of environmentally-significant land for recreational uses. 

-- Three other programs important in Washington and other western states are the Forest Legacy program, boosted by 10 percent to $62.79 million, the Cooperative Endangered Species Program, funded at $81 million, and the State Wildlife Grants program, which is boosted by $17 million to $85 million for the next fiscal year in the bill.  

            Rep. Dicks noted in remarks to the Subcommittee markup session today that the panel was able to take these significant steps forward on conservation funding because of a higher priority assigned to environmental spending in the House-passed budget as well as cuts he proposed in existing programs totaling $400 million.

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