The Bureau of Land Management NEWS |
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The Bureau of Land Management NEWS |
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Last updated: 04/04/03
For release: Monday, February 2, 1998
The Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management is requesting a Fiscal Year 1999 budget of $1.23 billion -- a $95.8 million increase over 1998. "This is a very progressive budget request for the BLM," said BLM Director Pat Shea. "If approved by Congress, this budget will significantly enhance the Bureau's protection and management of public land resources for the benefit of all who use and enjoy BLM-managed lands. At the same time, this budget request fits within President Clinton's balanced budget proposal."
To advance its efforts in restoring and maintaining the health of the land, the BLM is requesting $6.8 million to implement the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project to support a sustainable, environmentally sound supply of natural resource products. The budget also proposes $41 million for continued strategic implementation of the President's Forest Plan, which seeks to provide for forest diversity and sustainable timber harvest while improving fish and wildlife habitat; soil, water and air quality; recreation opportunities; and economic stability. In addition, the budget proposes an increase of $16 million and $800,000, respectively, to implement Vice President Gore's Clean Water and Watershed Restoration Initiative and the Southwest Conservation Strategy. "The BLM will aggressively implement the Clinton Administration's clean water initiative," Shea said. "This will include projects to stop water pollution at more abandoned hardrock mine sites, to reduce the Colorado River's salinity, and to restore watersheds."
The budget request also includes $120 million for Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT), which help counties provide vital services to local residents. "This is the largest PILT budget ever requested by any administration," Shea said. "This funding will enable the Federal government to meet its responsibilities to rural communities throughout the West."
For the first time, the BLM has completed its budget request under the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA). The budget proposal provides for results-oriented objectives planned for 1999 and is consistent with the agency's Strategic Plan goals. Shea said the recent appointment of BLM Deputy Director Nina Hatfield would help the agency implement its congressionally mandated Strategic Plan. "As the BLM's Assistant Director for Business and Fiscal Resources, Nina took the lead in developing the BLM's response to GPRA," Shea said.
The BLM's requested 1999 budget is directed toward meeting each of the Strategic Plan goals, which are: to serve current and future publics; to restore and maintain the health of the land; to promote collaborative management; to improve business practices; and to improve human resources management. "The West is changing," Shea said. "A growing and increasingly urban population is placing new demands on the public lands. And the BLM is changing, too. Our Strategic Plan gives us the foundation we need to make sure we pass on our public land legacy to those who come after us. We at the BLM will continue to implement our Strategic Plan, measure our performance, and report our progress to the American people."
Under the BLM's goal of serving current and future publics, funding priorities include $6.4 million for the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah (including completion of its long-range management plan), $11 million for geospatial, cartographic, and other enhancements to the Automated Land and Mineral Record System, and an additional $7.6 million for maintenance of recreation-related and other facilities on BLM-managed lands. Shea, a native of Salt Lake City, hailed the development of the management plan for the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument as "an example of collaborative planning at its best." Shea also touted funding for completing the Automated Land and Mineral Record System (ALMRS), a computerized information system that automates more than 200 years of U.S. land-related history and more than one billion individual land and mineral records. ALMRS will link, for the first time, maps and case files onto a single desktop system, which will enable the BLM and the general public to access information faster and more easily. "When I was confirmed last summer as Director of the BLM, I made ALMRS' completion one of my top priorities," Shea said. "The ALMRS system will provide remarkable benefits for all users of the public lands, and this budget will help us bring those benefits on-line." Shea also noted that the 1999 budget includes a 13 percent proposed increase in funding for the maintenance of recreation sites, roads, trails, and buildings. "Improving the condition of BLM-managed facilities means a safer and more enjoyable experience for the more than 60 million visits expected to occur on the public lands in the coming year," Shea said.
The 1999 budget also supports improvements to landscape health with its proposed $3.5 million in additional funding for controlling noxious weeds and for restoring and improving Western rangelands.
The BLM, an agency of the Department of the Interior, protects and manages 264 million acres of public lands that are primarily located in the 12 Western States, including Alaska. The agency manages an additional 300 million acres of subsurface mineral estate located throughout the country.
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