National Wildlife Refuge Association (NWRA) Priority Programs
In the Fiscal Year 2009 Omnibus Spending Bill
March 11, 2009 – FY 2009 Omnibus spending bill enacted
Funding the Department of the Interior and other Government Agencies until
September 30, 2009
NWRA submitted testimony to the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees for Interior, Environment and Related Agencies in early 2008. To read NWRA’s testimony for FY 2009, visit: http://www.refugeassociation.org/new-publications/Testimony.html.
NWRA priorities identified in our FY 2009 testimony and funded in the bill include:
- $462.8 m for the National Wildlife Refuge System - Operations and Maintenance
- $1 m for the VIMP program
- $52.9 for the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program
- $75 m for State Wildlife Grants
- $7.5 for the Natio
al Fish and Wildlife Foundation
- $42.45 for FWS Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Projects
NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM (NWRS)
Operations and Maintenance: $462.8 million -- $28.7 million increase
The package includes $462.8 million for refuge operations and maintenance, roughly $3.08 per acre for the now 150 million-acre System. This represents a $28.7 million increase over FY08.
The request of the Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement (CARE), chaired by NWRA, and the almost 190 NWRA Refuge “Friends” Affiliates, was $514 million. NWRA, CARE and Friends will keep this request for FY 2010, putting the NWRS on the path to receive base funding of at least $765 million annually by FY 2013, the end of President Obama’s first term.
Note: The high point in refuge funding came in FY 2004 ($391.5 m), the year of the Refuge System Centennial. Adjusted for inflation, this number would have to be at least $466.5 million, so the NWRS is still playing catch up but after years of stagnant and declining budgets, is much closer.
| |
FY 2008 |
FY 2009 Omnibus |
| NWRS |
$434.1 m |
$462.8 m |
| Operations |
$296.6 m |
$323.3 m |
| Maintenance |
$137.5 m |
$138.6 m |
The increase for the NWRS includes $19.3 m for wildlife and habitat; $2.7 m for visitor’s services; $4.5 m for law enforcement; $1 m for invasives programs; $234,000 for continued work on Comprehensive Conservation Plans (CCPs); and $1 m for the challenge cost share program.
VOLUNTEER INVASIVES MONITORING PROGRAM (VIMP)
Congress again continued funding the successful NWRA-initiated Volunteer Invasives Program by allocating $1 million, bringing to $5.5 million the total since the program’s inception in FY03.
For additional information on the VIMP program visit: http://www.refugeassociation.org/New-invasives/vimp.html.
PARTNERS FOR FISH AND WILDLIFE PROGRAM
The Partners for FWS program also received a boost with funding of $52.9 m – a $2.8 m increase.
| |
FY 2008 Enacted |
Omnibus |
| Partners |
$50.1 m |
$52.9 m |
The Partners for FWS Program helps protect critical refuge buffers and corridors and is one of the tools used by the NWRA to faciliate our Beyond the Boundaries (BTB) initiative. For more information on NWRA’s BTB work, visit: http://www.refugeassociation.org/new-publications/SOS.html.
LAND AND WATER CONSRVATION FUND (LWCF)
The FWS received $42.5 m through the LWCF for FY 2009. This represents an increase of $7.9 million over FY 2008. To learn more about LWCF, visit: http://www.refugeassociation.org/new-publications/LWCF_report.html
Land Acquisition:
$42.5 m including:
| Refuge |
State |
Amount |
| Alaska Maritime NWR |
AK |
$400,000 |
| San Joaquin NWR |
CA |
$900,000 |
| Crystal River NWR |
FL |
$1.5 m |
| James Campbell NWR |
HI |
$7 m |
| Driftless Area NWR |
IA |
$250,000 |
| Upper Miss NFWR |
IA, IL, MN, WI |
$500,000 |
| Patoka River NWR |
IN |
$500,000 |
| Clarks River NWR |
KY |
$750,000 |
| Silvio O Conte NWR |
MA, VT, NH, CT |
$3.815 m |
| Blackwater NWR |
MD |
$1 m |
| Northern Tallgrass Prairie NWR |
MN, IA |
$500,000 |
| Rocky Mountain Front Conservation Area |
MT |
$1 m |
| Rainwater Basin WMA |
NE |
$500,000 |
| Lake Umbagog NWR |
NH |
$1 m |
| Great Swamp NWR |
NJ |
$750,000 |
| Supawna Meadows NWR |
NJ |
$1.5 m |
| Rhode Island NWRC |
RI |
$700,000 |
| Dakota Tallgrass Prairie WMA |
SD, ND |
$500,000 |
| Lower Rio Grande Valley NWR |
TX |
$500,000 |
| Rappahannock River Valley NWR |
VA |
$1.5 m |
| Canaan Valley NWR |
WV |
$2.25 m |
| Ohio River Islands NWR |
WV |
$500,000 |
FWS CONSTRUCTION ACCOUNT
The FWS received $35.5 million for it’s construction account, this includes funding for large scale restoration projects as well as visitor’s centers. This represents a $2.4 million increase over FY 2008 and includes the following:
| Refuge |
State |
Amount |
| Cahaba River NWR, P&D VC |
AL |
$300,000 |
| San Fran Bay NWR, salt ponds |
CA |
$4 m |
| Kealia Pond NWR, P&D, VCO |
HI |
$750,000 |
Ohio River Islands NWR, Erosion control
|
WV |
$800,000 |
| Patuxent Research Refuge, Safety reconstruction |
MD |
$3 m |
| Tennesse NWR, P&D, VCO |
TN |
$800,000 |
| Theodore Roosevelt NWR, P&D, VC |
MS |
$600,000 |
Nisqually NWR, Estuary restoration
|
WA |
$750,000 |
OTHER ITEMS IN THE BILL
- Congress directs the FWS to use the funds provided for sustainable energy enhancements ($2 m) at NWRs and fish hatcheries to install alternative and renewable energy applications such as solar, wind and geothermal energy. They should be small-scale projects that can be used as demonstration projects for the public and surrounding communities
- Payments In Lieu of Taxes (PILT) - $14.1 m, $120,000 increase over FY 2008
- North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) - $42.6 m, $666,000 increase
- Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act - $4.75 m, $320,000 increase
|
