The final negotiations on spending levels for the remainder of fiscal year 2011 proved to be less devastating to conservation programs than proposed in earlier versions of the bill, reports the Wildlife Management Institute. Programs such as the North American Wetland Conservation Act (NAWCA) fund and the Land and Water Conservation Fund were recommended for elimination or massive reductions (see March 2011 ONB) in the House-passed H.R.1, causing sportsmen's conservation organizations to raise loud objections in the press and on Capitol Hill. Those outcries were apparently heard, as Congress' final cuts were less damaging then anticipated. However many programs received cuts of one-third the 2010 levels, and concern mounts as to how deep cuts will be for 2012.

"We all share [Congress'] desire to reduce our national debt and balance our budget," stated Steve Williams, President of the Wildlife Management Institute during his remarks at the opening session of the 76^th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources conference In Kansas City, last month. "However, the recent slash-and-burn approach to reducing the federal budget could not have occurred with careful consideration of which conservation programs work and which do not. Consider this, the [proposed] cuts to these programs occurred in a portion of the federal budget related to water and land management, which amounts to about one half of 1 percent of the entire federal budget. ?Their actions could not have taken into account the non-federal funds that are leveraged by these funds or the ecological services that these programs provide for the public. In each case, the return on the investment of federal dollars pays public dividends in excess of that original investment."

In the final FY2011 spending bill that was enacted into law on April 15, funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund was set at $301 million?a 33-percent reduction from last year, but up $244 million from what was proposed in H.R. 1. Of this amount,? $22 million is for U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) acquisitions, $55 million for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) acquisitions, ?$95 million for National Park Service acquisitions (which include the State Acquisition Program, likely at $40 million), $33M for USDA Forest Service acquisitions, $53 million for the Forest Legacy program, and $12 million for Department of the Interior property appraisals. The North American Wetlands Conservation Fund ended up at $37.5 million, down 21 percent from FY10, but it was slated for elimination in H.R. 1. Similarly, the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants program was set to be zeroed out by H.R. 1, but ultimately was funded at $62 million?a reduction of 31 percent from 2010 and the lowest level for the program in its 10-year history.??

Agriculture conservation programs will also receive less funding for the remainder of the year, including the Wetlands Reserve Program (down $119 million from FY10), the Conservation Stewardship program (down $39 million) and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (an $80 million drop). At the agency level, the Natural Resources Conservation Service will face a $118 million drop in their overall operations budget.

"Congress clearly heard from wildlife professionals, hunters and anglers that the proposed cuts would be devastating for conservation efforts across the country?particularly for programs like the Land and Water Conservation Fund, NAWCA, State Wildlife Grants, and others that have had such a strong return on the investment," commented Mark Humpert, Director of Wildlife Policy and Science for the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.

Most of the environment-related legislative riders originally proposed in H.R. 1 were removed from the final bill, including one that would have undermined the Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to partially restore protections for some wetlands and streams. However, the final spending bill does include language that would halt funding for implementation of the BLM's new Wild Lands Policy and reinstate the 2009 decision by the USFWS to remove wolves from the Endangered Species Act.

With the struggle over FY2011 finally completed, Congress is now turning attention to the FY 2012 funding levels, and all sides are emphasizing that budget cuts have only just begun. The potential future impacts to critical conservation programs as decision makers drill deeper into the debate will be on the radar screen for all conservation groups in the coming months. Said Humpert, "We thank Congress for hearing our concerns, but are prepared to jump right back in the trenches as these cuts [to NAWCA, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and others] will have a notable impact and we need to ensure that the debates over the 2012 budget don't dig deeper." ?(jas)