Department Of The Interior
dEPARTMENT Of ThE iNTERiOR
Funding Highlights:
• Protects national parks with $100 million in additional funds to operate and maintain park
facilities and resources and $25 million to leverage private donations for park projects.
• Conserves new Federal and State lands and protects endangered species with appropriations
of about $420 million from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, with annual increases to
reach full funding of $900 million by 2014.
• Assists State and Federal land management agencies with over $130 million in additional funding
to monitor, adaptively manage and assess the impacts of climate change on the Nation’s lands,
fish and wildlife.
• Creates educational and job opportunities for young people through expanded environmental
education activities and new programs to encourage them to hunt and fish responsibly.
• Strengthens Native American communities through an increase of over $100 million for
enhanced law enforcement and education.
• Anticipates future costs for catastrophic wildfires with a new contingent funding reserve of $75
million for the Department of the Interior.
• Invests over $50 million to promote renewable energy projects on Federal lands and waters.
• Encourages responsible development of oil and gas resources and closes loopholes that have
given oil companies excessive royalty relief for offshore leases.
The President’s 2010 Budget includes $12 bil- ations (plus inflation) to protect the investments
lion for the Department of the Interior (DOI) to made through the American recovery and re-
undertake initiatives to protect and preserve investment Act of 2009, and maintain facilities
America’s national parks and public lands, con- and natural resources� An additional $25 million
serve wetlands and wildlife habitat, strengthen will provide matching funds to leverage private
Native American communities, enhance outdoor donations in preparation for the 100th anniver-
opportunities for young people, and promote en- sary of the National Park Service�
ergy security with a focus on clean renewable
sources and strategies to address climate change�
Conserves New Lands. While Americans
can take great pride in our existing national
Protects National Parks. The President is parks and other public lands, there are many
committed to preserving the Nation’s national landscapes and ecosystems that do not have
parks, with a $100 million increase in park oper- adequate protection� One way to protect these
77
78
A NEW ErA OF rESPONSIBILITy
Department of the Interior
Discretionary budget authority in billions of dollars
16
Actuals, including emergencies
In addition, the Recovery Act
includes $3.0 billion.
14
Projections
12
11.7
12.0
11.2
11.0
11.3
10
8
6
4
2
0
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
landscapes is to increase funding through the tion Act (NAWCA) activities to acquire, restore, or
Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to protect wetlands used by migratory waterfowl and
acquire and conserve new parks and public lands, other birds� This is the first step in fully funding
with a focus on ecosystems that do not yet have NAWCA at $75 million by 2012�
the protection they deserve� The Budget increas-
es LWCF funding for DOI by over $80 million,
Encourages youth Education and in-
bringing the total request for the Departments volvement. The President is keenly aware of the
of Agriculture and the Interior to approximately important role that hunters and anglers play in
$420 million in 2010� This will put the Adminis- the conservation of the Nation’s wildlife and nat-
tration on track to fully fund LWCF programs at ural habitats� The Administration seeks to forge
$900 million by 2014�
a broad coalition to address great conservation
challenges, and America’s hunters and anglers
Assesses and Responds to the impact of Cli- play an important part� To help preserve the na-
mate Change on Wildlife. Climate change poses tional traditions of hunting and fishing shared by
a threat to America’s fish and wildlife, as natural families across the country, the Budget provides
habitats are modified more rapidly than plants funding to help States establish creative pro-
and animals can adjust� Scientific analyses are grams and strategies to encourage young people
needed to understand the breadth of these chang- and minority populations to responsibly hunt and
es� Federal land management agencies, States, fish� The Budget also expands opportunities for
and Tribes all need to update land management youth education including internships to instill
and species recovery plans to reflect the impacts environmental awareness� These programs will
of climate change on wildlife� They also need to receive increases of over $50 million�
monitor how wildlife is adapting and accelerate
projects, such as protecting migration corridors, to
Strengthens Native American Communi-
help wildlife adjust� The Budget includes increas- ties. The Administration supports the principle
es of more than $130 million, of which $40 million of tribal self-determination and will work to im-
is shared with the States for wildlife adaptation� prove tribal law enforcement and education� The
Additionally, the Budget increases funds by $10 Budget includes over $100 million in increased
million for North American Wetlands Conserva- funding to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for law
DEPArTMENT OF THE INTErIOr
79
enforcement and education� Additional funding is provides an added incentive for oil companies to
also available through the Departments of Jus- either start producing or relinquish the leases so
tice and Education� These funds will strengthen that others may bid on them�
tribal courts, detention centers, and police pro-
grams to help Native Americans protect their
Provides a Better Return to Taxpay-
communities� The Budget also increases funding ers from Mineral development. The public
for tribal colleges and scholarships and provides receives over $12 billion annually from fees, roy-
funding earlier in the academic year, giving the alties, and other Federal payments related to oil,
colleges greater financial security�
gas, coal, and other mineral development� yet,
that return could be improved by closing loop-
Establishes a dedicated fund to fight holes, charging appropriate fees, and reforming
Wildfires. The Budget establishes a dedicated how royalties are set� The Budget proposes a
fund for catastrophic wildfires and fully funds the number of actions to ensure that Federal taxpay-
10-year average suppression costs, coupled with ers receive their fair share, such as:
program reforms that ensure fire management
resources are focused where they will do the most
• Using a new excise tax on offshore oil and
good� This $75 million discretionary contingent
gas production in the Gulf of Mexico to close
reserve provides funding that is only available
loopholes that have given oil companies
for fighting catastrophic wildfires after the ap-
excessive royalty relief� This new tax will
propriated 10-year average is exhausted� This
begin in 2011, after the economy has had time
funding and the associated reforms provided in
to recover�
the Budget will improve wildfire operations and
promote safe, cost-effective and accountable re-
• Terminating payments to coal-producing
sults from investments made in managing fire on
States that no longer need funds to clean up
landscapes�
abandoned coal mines�
invests in a Clean Energy future. DOI will
• Charging user fees to oil companies for
play a central role in achieving the President’s
processing oil and gas drilling permits on
vision for a clean energy future
— advancing our
Federal lands�
national security, environmental security, and
economic opportunity� The Department will help
• Increasing the return from oil and gas
lead the way when it comes to enhancing the Na-
production on Federal lands through
tion’s domestic energy supply and moving toward
administrative actions, such as reforming
a clean energy economy� Our public lands, and the
royalties and adjusting rates�
offshore resources that we control already provide
close to one-third of our entire domestic supply of
Conserves Western Water. The Bureau of
oil and gas resources� The Budget includes over reclamation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs
$50 million in increases to conduct the environ- support the development, management and res-
mental evaluations and technical studies needed toration of water and related natural resources in
to spur development of renewable energy proj- 17 Western States and tribal lands while balanc-
ects, assess available alternative resources, and ing competing uses of water� Consistent with this
mitigate the impacts of development�
objective, the Budget provides funding in 2010 for
a western water conservation initiative, which
Ensures Responsible Production of En- includes the Bureau of reclamation’s water re-
ergy on federal Lands. DOI will take steps to use and recycling (Title XVI) program� The goal
ensure that oil and gas companies diligently de- of this effort is to assist local communities’ avail-
velop their oil and gas leases or risk losing them ability of water by encouraging voluntary water
(“use or lose”)� One step is to charge a new fee on banks, wastewater treatment, and other market-
non-producing leases in the Gulf of Mexico� This based conservation measures�
