President Bush
continued to build on the legacy of cooperative conservation established
in his first term by supporting programs in the 2006 budget that promote
partnerships with the American people to conserve our nation's land
and water, wildlife and other natural resources.
The Interior, Agriculture, and Commerce departments and the Environmental
Protection Agency all fund key partnership programs that will empower
states, tribes, local communities, conservation groups, private landowners
and others to undertake conservation projects. These projects range
from wetlands restoration efforts occurring along Ball Bay on Upper
Klamath Lake; to the removal of invasive plants in Palm Beach, Fla.;
to the development and implementation of self-regulating strategies
to mitigate the trend of declining marine populations in Kenai Fjords,
Alaska.
The funding
supports the president's executive order signed last year on "Facilitation
of Cooperative Conservation." The order directs the secretaries
of the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, and Defense and the administrator
of the Environmental Protection Agency to promote conservation partnerships
and to empower local participation in programs and projects that protect
and conserve natural resources and the environment.
"From his
first day in office, the president has made it clear that he believes
the best thing we can do for conservation is to tap into the energy,
ingenuity and love for the land of the American people," said Interior
Secretary Gale A. Norton. "This budget reaffirms the president's
commitment to cooperative conservation."
"The heart
of voluntary conservation programs is cooperative conservation,"
said Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns. "Partnerships at the local,
state, and federal levels with landowners, tribes, government agencies
and nongovernmental organizations are critical in this effort."
Agriculture Department
The president's budget for
the Agriculture Department for fiscal year 2006 supports the direction
provided in the executive order. With the budget, the department will
continue to implement cooperative conservation in all relevant programs.
The fiscal year 2006 budget includes increases in several programs that
support cooperative conservation, including a 4.1 percent increase for
the Conservation Reserve Program, the federal government's largest conservation
program on private lands. The $2.02 billion for the Conservation Reserve
Program supports USDA's goal of partnering with landowners to protect
land, water and wildlife by planting grass and trees on retired agricultural
land.
In addition to the Conservation Reserve Program key commitments in Agriculture's
conservation budget include:
-
" $657
million for the Conservation Technical Assistance Program that provides
technical capability, including direct conservation planning and implementation
assistance, to help people plan and apply conservation on the land.
The president's budget reflects an increase of $37 million for assisting
owners and operators of animal feeding operations and an increase
of $11 million for the Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative specifically
targeted at invasive species.
-
$274 million
for the Conservation Security Program that provides financial and
technical assistance to promote the conservation and improvement of
soil, water, air, energy, plant and animal life on tribal and private
working lands.
-
" $60
million for the Ground and Surface Water Conservation program. This
$9 million increase provides for cost-share and incentive payments
to carry out water conservation activities, including irrigation improvements,
conversion to less water intensive crops, and dryland farming.
In FY 2006, the USDA Forest
Service will emphasize collaborative action and partnerships by leveraging
more than $500 million in partnership and collaborative work to restore
watersheds, reduce hazardous fuels, and conduct joint research, construct
trails, educate our youth and support economies in rural communities.
The Forest Service's State and Private Forestry program will provide
a total of more than $253 million, including:
-
$37 million,
an increase of $5 million from FY 2005, for the Forest Stewardship
Program to provide technical and financial assistance to states to
help nonfederal landowners manage and conserve forest resources.
-
$27 million
in Urban and Community Forestry to protect America's natural resources
by providing technical and financial assistance to local governments
with a nationwide emphasis on maintaining, restoring and improving
the livability of communities and urban areas through management of
natural resources.
-
The Forest
Service's Wildland Fire Management program will provide $49 million
in forest health, state fire assistance and volunteer fire assistance
programs. In addition, the Forest Service's FY 2006 budget will assist
in cooperative conservation through:
Interior Department
The president's budget for
the Interior Department includes an increase of $75.1 million, or 24.6
percent, for a suite of cooperative conservation grant and partnership
programs administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau
of Land Management and the National Park Service. These programs emphasize
local input and cooperative decision making to achieve land management
and resource goals. As a package, they are specifically designed to
address conservation goals on both federal and private lands.
The 2006 budget includes:
-
$40 million,
an 84 percent increase, for the popular Landowner Incentive program,
which provides cost-share grants to states to help landowners protect
and manage habitat for threatened, endangered and at-risk species
on their property.
-
$10 million,
a 45 percent increase, for the Private Stewardship Grant program that
provides cost-share grants to individuals and groups engaged in conservation
projects to benefit threatened, endangered and at-risk species.
-
$44.8 million,
a 140 percent increase, for challenge cost share grants to allow Interior
agencies to work together with adjacent communities, landowners and
citizens to achieve common conservation goals on federal lands.
-
$74 million,
an increase of 7 percent, for the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants
program that provides cost-share grants to assist states and tribes
to undertake wildlife conservation projects in partnership with local
communities, private landowners and other partners.
-
$49.9 million,
a 33 percent increase, for the North American Wetlands Conservation
Fund that provides grant support for the highly successful, multi-nation
North American Waterfowl Management Plan to conserve, restore and
enhance wetlands and other waterfowl habitat throughout the continent.
-
$14.9 million,
an increase of 27 percent, for the Coastal Program that supports partnership
efforts to conserve and restore wetlands in coastal areas, including
elimination of invasive species.
-
$12.9 million,
a 26 percent increase, for Migratory Bird Joint Ventures to create
six new joint ventures to support the goals of the North American
Waterfowl Management Plan and other conservation partnerships, such
as Partners in Flight, the U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan and the
North American Waterbird Conservation Plan.
Commerce Department
The president's budget for
the Commerce Department includes funding for a variety of cooperative
conservation programs through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
"The budget reflects the administration's support for NOAA's strategic
goals, supports improved performance in NOAA and maintains essential
environmental services for the nation," said Retired Navy Vice
Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, under secretary of commerce for oceans
and atmosphere and NOAA administrator.
The budget includes:
-
$19.6 million
for actions, coordinated with regional, state and tribal entities,
aimed at protecting Pacific salmon stocks.
-
$7.4 million
in programs that support the Western Governor's Association's call
for a National Integrated Drought Information System, including $4
million for a Water Resources Initiative to support development of
a nationwide water resources forecasting capability, which will provide
America with economically valuable water and soil conditions. This
increase supports a national water- quality monitoring and prediction
system.
EPA
The president's budget includes
increased funding for key EPA programs such as watershed protection,
Brownfields redevelopment, and the Great Lakes Legacy Program that are
built upon effective community involvement and partnerships.
The president's budget is
requesting $50 million, an increase of nearly
$28 million, for the Great Lakes Legacy Program, which is a large-scale
collaboration among the federal government, the Great Lakes states,
local communities, tribes and others.
The president's budget also
calls for $210 million, a $46.9 million
increase, in the Brownfields Program that will accelerate the cleanup
and renewal of contaminated lands.
"Through programs such
as these, EPA continues to build on the four
cornerstones of new technologies, market incentives, collaborative networks
and results to achieve greater gains in environmental protection,"
said EPA Acting Administrator Steve Johnson. "We are able to foster
healthy communities and leverage billions of additional dollars to improve
our nation's air, land and water."
|