Economy is "ravaged"? Vital resources for protecting historic places – such as the Historic Preservation Fund and its support for state and tribal historic preservation offices, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and National Heritage Areas – would by decimated by this proposal.

Patrick, when I read the Bernhardt quote "the budget proplosao aims to "restore fiscal sanity in Washington."

As it was set up, FLREA was to assess fees for entrance into national parks and some park programs, with the revenues dedicated to paying for enhancements in the parks and to address the deferred maintenance backlog across the park system. For the Park Service, the appropriation would drop to $2.7 billion under the president's proposal, an amount that if approved would continue a reduction in the agency's budget and drew condemnation. National Parks Traveler is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit media organization.

“Federal preservation programs and policies are essential to protecting places that tell our American story. The national park service is on a downward spiral with no end in sight.

On one hand, the Fiscal 2020 budget proposal President Trump released Monday either restores fiscal sanity to the federal government or it is so outrageous it shouldn't have been printed and will be Late last week Bernhardt without great explanation told the Park Service to put a hold on any new projects utilizing FLREA funds until he could personally review them, as well as projects already underway. "The administration seems to find it acceptable to propose to cut hundreds of rangers out of our national parks.”. "This budget is the Republican approach to governing in a nutshell: cut taxes for the super-rich and then, when it’s time to fund national priorities, lecture us about tightening our belts," said U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Arizona, chairman of the House Natural Resources Commitee. This isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on, it’s dead on arrival in Congress, and printing it was a waste of time.”. ", "In doing so, the Department of the Interior’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget request strikes a reasonable balance and includes several important legislative proposals to address longstanding problems like the National Park Service’s maintenance backlog," he said. Editor's note: This provides additional details and reaction. U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20240. feedback@ios.doi.gov National Parks Traveler 2019-2020 Annual Report, Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument: Don't Drink The Water, RVing The Parks | Ten Best Tips For National Park RVing, Musings From The Parks: Day After The Election Edition, Review | Leave It As It Is: A Journey Through Theodore Roosevelt’s American Wilderness, Wolf Shot And Killed At Grand Teton National Park.

"If you think environment conservation is an unaffordable luxury, you’ll love this plan. Smith said some of the funds would go towards such projects as rehabilitating the Eagle Lake Carriage road at Acadia National Park in Maine, and rehabilitating the Kennecott Leach Plant foundation at Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Parks in or near urban areas get a lot of enthusiastic school field trips, and events like BioBlitzes get a lot of students and parents. The Latest Articles from the National Parks Traveler.

Since President Trump assumed office in January 2017, he has shown little outward interest in the National Park Service or its farflung collection of unique parks, battlefields, seashores, and monuments. "But these proposed funding cuts will impact every state and Congressional district in the country. Every time Republicans take control, the people suffer as the economy is ravaged and the infrastructure of our national treasures declines. From where I sit, people do care. It is either the best of times or the worst of times for funding the Interior Department and its many bureaus, including the National Park Service, depending on whom you ask.

The Fiscal 2020 budget proposal President Trump released Monday either restores fiscal sanity to the federal government or it is so outrageous it shouldn't have been printed and will be rejected outright by Congress. That led to another controversial move, the decision by acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to authorize the use of a quarter-billion dollars from the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act accounts to pay for maintenance and custodial workers to return to the parks. That action continues to be litigated in court today.

It is either the best of times or the worst of times for funding the Interior Department and its many bureaus, including the National Park Service, depending on whom you ask. Very depressing news. We are counting on Congress to reject it outright," said John Garder, senior director of budget and appropriations for the National Parks Conservation Assocaition. My perspective is that when EPA gets cut by 1/3, Medicare gets a proposed decrease in funding of $850B over 10 years, and so many other things, the protests & outrage over those mask the dismay over proposed reductions in park funding. It all adds up to a proposed cut of $460.4 million for the Park Service. We are in danger of losing our national parks and the nation does not care.

The U.S. Department of the Interior protects America's natural resources and heritage, honors our cultures and tribal communities, and supplies the energy to power our future. The president and his first Interior secretary, Ryan Zinke, also drew much contempt in environmental and conservation circles in December 2017 when Trump issued an executive order greatly reducing the size of both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase national monuments in Utah. "Yet the administration is determined to increase funding by the billions for a controversial border wall that will block wildlife migration, disrupt water flow and destroy delicate park ecosystems.

For Interior, the budget proposal slashes funding by 14 percent, to $12.6 billion. President Trump's FY20 budget proposal calls for a 14 percent cut to the Interior Department/NPS.

He waited until midway through 2018 to nominate a director for the Park Service, and that nomination died in December without full Senate consideration and the candidate, Grand Teton National Park Superintendent David Vela, has yet to be renominated. This onslaught of budget cuts only compounds challenges already facing our parks and public lands," said NPCA President and CEO Theresa Pierno. Download the entire Fiscal Year 2020 Interior Budget in Brief (3.9MB), U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20240. feedback@ios.doi.gov, Stewarding Conservation and Powering Our Future, Toggle Dyslexia-friendly black-on-creme color scheme, U.S. House of Representatives: Committee on House Rules (for Pen and Ink Committee Marks), American Association for Budget and Program Analysis, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Appendix A: Comparison of 2018, 2019, and 2020 Budget Authority, Appendix B: Maintaining America's Heritage, Appendix D: Land and Water Conservation Fund, Appendix G: Mineral Revenue Payments to States, Integrity of Scientific & Scholarly Activities, Policy Library: Departmental Manual, HR, Secretary's Orders, Wildland Fire Management, Expanding Public Access to Grow the Outdoor Economy, Collaborative Conservation of Wildlife, Habitat, and Cultural Resources, Fulfilling Our Trust and Insular Responsibilities.

“The Park Service is already operating on shoestring budgets, and due to years of additional cuts, our parks are dealing with crumbling facilities and too few rangers and other staff to serve visitors," she added.

The president’s budget requests $12.5 billion for the Interior Department, $2 billion less than 2019, a 14 percent decrease. "All of this threatens the ability to protect our cultural and natural resources from the Jefferson Memorial at the National Mall to miles of trails throughout Zion National Park.". Why he initiated the review has not been revealed -- neither Interior nor Park Service staffers could say why on Monday -- and Park Service officials in Washington have not said how many projects and how many dollars are involved in the review.

President Trump's budget proposal, while hailed by his team at Interior, contains line after line after line of cuts in NPS funding, from operations (down $52.4 million) and the Historic Preservation Fund (down $64.2 million), to Construction (a $113.4 million decrease) and Land Acquisition and State Assistance (down $176.1 million).

We need to oppose this in anyway possible.

You may track the progress of this budget request through the Congressional appropriations process from this page.