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CAPITOL FLYER
Thursday, February 1, 2007
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Capitol
Flyer is intended to keep you abreast of the latest developments
in Washington affecting the National Wildlife Refuge System.
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Table of Contents:
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President's FY 2008 Budget Expected Next Week
With his State of the Union speech out of the way, President Bush is putting the finishing touches on his budget request for federal programs and agencies in fiscal year (FY) 2008. The president's budget request is scheduled to go to Capitol Hill next week and will act as the starting point for the FY2008 appropriations process in Congress.
While official numbers in the president's request will not be known until February 5, budget forecasters do not expect increases for the Department of the Interior. The funding request for the Refuge System is expected to fall short of the $451 million funding level requested by the Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement (CARE) for FY2008.
As of press time, a $463.5 billion continuing resolution (CR) to provide funding for FY2007 was still being debated by Congress. Last year's Congress left 9 of the 11 fiscal spending bills unfinished, and as a result, the CR packages these at approximately the same level as FY2006 for the rest of FY2007.
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Region 3 Workforce Plan Released-Calls For 20% Reduction
As a result of rising personnel costs coupled with the declining budget for the National Wildlife Refuge System, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) Midwest Regional office (Region 3) has issued its Workforce Management Plan. It is the third plan of its kind, following similar plans in the Northeast (Region 5) and Southeast (Region 4) issued last year.
Thirty-five permanent field positions were left vacant between 2005 and the end of 2006, a 10% reduction. According to the plan, an additional 36 positions will be cut by the end of FY 2009, totaling 71 abolished positions, or 20% of the workforce. The refuge program staff in the regional office has been similarly reduced by 12% between 2004 and 2006. As a result of the plan, an additional three refuges will join the list of unstaffed refuges in the region.
Similar plans are expected over the next couple months from the remaining FWS regions, including Regions 1 (Pacific), 2 (Southeast), 6 (Mountain-Prairie), 7 (Alaska) and the California/Nevada Operations office.
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Duck Stamp Legislation Introduced in New Congress
Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) has introduced the Wetlands Loan Act of 2007 (S. 272). The bill, which has widespread support from the NWRA and several conservation and sportsmen groups, is aimed at accelerating the conservation of wetlands in the near-term by borrowing $400 million against future Migratory Bird Conservation and Hunting (Duck) Stamp revenues.
The additional revenues would be used primarily to purchase conservation easements or acquire property from willing sellers for conservation and restoration of wetlands and grasslands valuable to migratory waterfowl as breeding grounds-lands that have come under increasing development pressure from competing land use interests. The cost of the loan would be offset by an incremental increase in the price of the Federal Duck Stamp.
All waterfowl hunters age 16 and older are required to purchase and carry the current Migratory Bird Conservation and Hunting Stamp, but conservationists, stamp collectors and others also purchase the stamp in support of habitat conservation. Ninety-eight percent of the proceeds from the $15 Duck Stamp go into the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund, which purchases wetlands for the Refuge System. Further, a current Duck Stamp can be used for free admission to any refuge open to the public. Duck Stamp dollars have been used to acquire land at hundreds of refuges in nearly every state in the nation.
Duck Stamps are available at post offices, national wildlife refuges, some national retail chain stores, and various sporting-goods stores nationwide. Because of the important role stamp proceeds play in conserving vital refuge wildlife habitat, the NWRA strongly encourages all refuge enthusiasts - hunters or otherwise - to buy the stamp!
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Negotiations Begin for New Bison Range AFA
As reported in the last issue of Capitol Flyer, officials at the Department of the Interior (DOI) reversed U.S. Fish and Wildlife Director Dale Hall's decision to terminate the annual funding agreement (AFA) with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) at the National Bison Range in Montana, when they issued a press release announcing the Department's intentions to renew negotiations with the CSKT for a new AFA at the end of December.
On January 22 and 23, Tribal officials and former Bison Range employees, FWS employees and DOI officials met to discuss some of the differences between the groups, including accusations of a hostile work environment, poor performance and future management of the range. The DOI officials in attendance included Associate Deputy Secretary of the Interior James Cason, Indian Affairs Director Pat Ragsdale, acting DOI Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks David Verhey, and FWS Director Dale Hall.
Interior officials insist that a new agreement should be put in place, however, questions remain as to what the agreement will look like. Tribal officials are working on a new AFA draft to submit to DOI later this month.
Meanwhile, the employee grievance filed by FWS staff at the Bison Range is still unresolved. Further, Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT) has requested a formal investigation into the Bison Range situation by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
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Senators Introduce Conservation Incentive Bill
On January 31, 2007, Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) introduced S. 469, a bill that would make the newly expanded tax incentives for conservation easement donations permanent. Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) cosponsored the legislation.
The current law, passed in 2006, increases the period over which taxpayers can carry forward deductions for conservation easements to 15 years from five years. It also raised the cap on deductions to 50 percent from 30 percent of the donor's adjusted gross income, and to 100 percent for qualified landowners. Together, these changes provide farmers and ranchers with incentives to donate their land for conservation purposes, thereby giving up rights to develop the land in the future.
Currently, the 2006 law will expire at the end of this year. S. 469 would prevent that, by permanently ensuring donations of conservation easements are a possibility for modest income level landowners.
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Take
Action!
You can make your voice heard by utilizing the Refuge Action Network (RAN), a free, fast and easy way to respond to important national wildlife refuge alerts. Using the RAN system, you can send an e-mail or fax (even if you don't own a fax machine) to your elected officials with a click or two of your mouse.
Please
visit the NWRA Web site or contact Michael Woodbridge,
Director of Government Affairs, at 202.333.9073 or mwoodbridge@refugenet.org
for more information.
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Capitol
Flyer, a monthly e-newsletter from the NWRA, is prepared by Michael
Woodbridge, NWRA's Director of Government Affairs.
For additional information, please contact mwoodbridge@refugenet.org. |
