2014 BLM, US Fish and Wildlife, National Park Service Budget Highlights

[bigtex]

As most know, Congress passed the 2014 budget in January, the budget year ends on Sept 30, 2014. The following budget items are things I saw of interest after reading over the Dept of Interior (land management agencies except Forest Service) budget.

• Department wide the budget is $275 million or 2.3 percent below the funding level requested by the 2014 request and $653 million or 5.9 percent above the 2013 enacted level (sequester)
• Out of the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and US Fish and Wildlife Service. USFWS is seeing the smallest increase since sequester funding, and the smallest amount they requested in 2014
• BLM will see a 6.2% increase from the sequester, yet are 3.2% below their 2014 requested level
• NPS will see a 6.8% increase from the sequester, yet are 2.8% below their 2014 requested level
• USFWS will see a 3.3% increase from the sequester, yet are 8% below their 2014 requested level
• BLM land acquisition will be $1.7M below the sequester level and $13M below the requested 2014 level
• USFWS received $107M below their request for "resource management"
• USFWS land acquisition will be $2.6M above the sequester level yet $16M below their 2014 request
• NPS operation budget is $139M above the sequester level, yet $48M below their 2014 request
• NPS land acquisition and state assistance is $1.5M above the sequester level and $2.2M below their 2014 request
• The bill includes a provision designating the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge in the State of Washington as the “Norm Dicks Visitor Center”

Of course my personal bias is towards law enforcement. The USFS, BLM, and USFWS have essentially stopped hiring law enforcement positions nationwide since the sequester, from what I have heard that trend will continue. The busiest USFS LEO position in WA which happens to be one of the busiest in the country will remain vacant, a recently vacated high use LEO position in E WA for the USFS will also remain vacant. BLM's two LEO positions in WA are filled but nationwide vacancies are not being filled. I am unaware if USFWS LE is fully staffed in WA, however again, vacancies are not being filled.

[Bordercop]

I spoke to the local US Forest Service LEO and he said they expect to hire in 2015. I may try for a position. I miss patrol.

[bigtex]

I spoke to the local US Forest Service LEO and he said they expect to hire in 2015. I may try for a position. I miss patrol.

If they do it wont be much. Not sure if you saw my post about USFS doing a self inflicted cut of 15% for FY 2014 for LE, but they also just requested a 1% self initiated cut for their 2015 LE budget, equates to about a $1M cut, even though the agency is looking at a 10% increase.

[Bordercop]

Yea, life in the feds is very tight now.

[bigtex]

Yea, life in the feds is very tight now.

Just doesn't make sense why the USFS is doing it. In 2014 they get more money as an agency, but cut their own LE program by 15%. Then in 2015 they ask for 10% increase as an agency, yet they again cut their LE program by 1%.

From everything I have seen, the only federal land management agency that will get an actual increase for LE in the 2015 budget is the National Park Service. US Fish and Wildlife is looking at basically no loss/no increase. USFS a 1% cut. BLM is difficult to tell because the way they fund field LE staff is idiotic (basically find some money and fund a LEO) but BLM as an agency is looking at an overall cut.

[snowpack]

BT, can BLM lease more land to miners and oil/gas on a small scale to partially fund shortfalls?
I've read that USFS can do projects that result in sales less than $50K per project and that money goes to the individual district rather than the treasury for other projects.

[bigtex]

BT, can BLM lease more land to miners and oil/gas on a small scale to partially fund shortfalls?
I've read that USFS can do projects that result in sales less than $50K per project and that money goes to the individual district rather than the treasury for other projects.

Well here's the thing, BLM brings in BILLIONS in revenue from oil and gas, way more than USFS. So it's odd the govt is proposing to cut an agency that is actually a revenue generator.

Not sure how the smaller projects work in terms of where funding goes.