FY 2005 Federal funding for parks, recreation, and trails finalized

From the American Hiking Society

After returning to Washington, DC for a "lame duck" session in November, the 108th Congress completed its unfinished business including the FY 2005 spending bills. Congress bundled nine appropriations bills— including the Interior bill, which funds trail and recreation programs in national parks, forests, and public lands— together into an "omnibus" bill that was signed by the President earlier this month.

Some trail and recreation programs in the USDA Forest Service and National Park Service received small increases, but other conservation programs suffered. In addition, all Interior programs were affected by a 1.4% across-the-board cut.

National parks gained the most, with a $74-million increase for national park operations. Although most parks remain underfunded with natural and cultural resources and visitor experiences in jeopardy, many parks will not be forced to face devastating budget cuts this year. However, the National Park Service's Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance program received a negligible increase which will continue to limit its ability to help communities across the nation protect their natural and recreational resources.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund, a critical source of land acquisition funding for parks and trails, received about a $15 million decrease from the previous year, with its federal program funded at $166 million and its stateside program receiving $92.5 million. Two bills in the 108th Congress, the Get Outdoors Act and Americans Outdoors Act, would have increased funding for the LWCF, but the bills did not pass at the close of Congress in fall 2004.

The President is currently drafting his budget for the next fiscal year (FY 2006) which will affect funding for:

• the day-to-day operating and maintenance budget of the National Park Service (NPS) and the national trails administered by NPS
• Forest Service Recreation Management and Capital Improvement and Maintenance for trails
• Bureau of Land Management Recreation Management and National Landscape Conservation System
• the Land and Water Conservation Fund
• NPS's Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance program

From the American Hiking Society: www.americanhiking.org/policy/current/funding.html.