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CAPITOL FLYER
Friday July 1, 2005
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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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Appropriations
Update
On
June 29, the Senate passed its fiscal year (FY) 2006 Interior- Environment
appropriations bill, which provides funding for the Department of
the Interior, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS)
National Wildlife Refuge System. The overall bill provided $26.3
billion, which is $100,000 more than the House- passed Interior
bill.
The
operations and maintenance account for the Refuge System was approved
at $393,894,000. This funding level is exactly equal to the Administration's
FY2006 request, but $500,000 less than the House-passed level. As
with the House bill, this funding level is good news in light of
the 2% decrease for the overall Interior bill.
In
its report accompanying the bill, the Senate Interior Appropriations
Committee provided $9,400,000 for the administration's Challenge
Cost Share (CCS) program, this is a decrease of $354,000 from the
Committee's recommended level for FY 2005. Also, $1.4 million was
allocated for Spartina control at Willapa National Wildlife Refuge
(NWR) and $540,000 for conservation at Don Edwards NWR.
Also
of interest, the committee report recommended $72 million for State
and Tribal Wildlife grants, which is $2,972,000 above the enacted
level, $2 million below the administration's request, and $7 million
above the House recommendation.
The
Committee recommended $31,811,000 for construction, a decrease of
$20,847,000 below the enacted level and $9,395,000 below the House
recommendation. Some construction projects included are for visitor
centers, including: Crab Orchard NWR, IL; Hanford Reach National
Monument/Saddle Mountain NWR, WA; Kodiak NWR; and Ohio River Islands
NWR, WV.
The
Committee recommended $40,827,000 for land acquisition, an increase
of $3,822,000 over FY2005, a decrease of $165,000 below the administration's
request, and $25,890,000 over the House recommendation. The committee
report also specifies $500,000 from Acquisition management funding
for an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the land exchange
at Yukon Flats NWR.
If
you would like further information or have questions on the FY06
budget or appropriations, please contact Michael Woodbridge, Assistant
Director of Government Affairs, at mwoodbridge@refugenet.org
or 202.333.9073.
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Transportation
Update
The
Transportation Reauthorization Bill continues to make slow process
through Congress. The bill, H.R. 3, would provide billions of dollars
for transportation improvements across the country, authorizing
funding for programs through 2009, including the Refuge Roads program.
The bill, after being passed in different versions in the House
and the Senate, is now in conference where Senate and House members
are attempting to reconcile any differences between their respective
bills.
The
Transportation Bill conferees settled on an overall funding level
of $286.5 billion, which is closer to the level passed by the House.
Although members pushed to pass a final bill by the recent June
30 deadline, a three-week extension was necessary. Congress now
has until July 19 to pass the bill. They remain hopeful that the
legislation will find its way to the President's desk before the
summer recess, which starts in early August.
One
area of the bill to be reconciled between the House and Senate is
refuge roads. The Senate version of the bill calls for $29 million
a year to support refuge roads, while the House version calls for
only $20 million. The Refuge Roads Program funds construction and
maintenance of roads and trails within the National Wildlife Refuge
System. Every dollar for refuge roads from the Department of Transportation
is a dollar that the Fish and Wildlife Service doesnŐt have to take
away from wildlife management. The Refuge System faces a backlog
of $2.1 billion for refuge roads needs.
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IRS
Starts Team for Conservation Easement Abuses
The
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has assembled a committee dedicated
to tracking down individual donors and conservation groups that
have made large amounts of money through lax tax incentives for
donating conservation easements.
Specifically,
the IRS is targeting high dollar donors. Once identified, they are
looking for patterns of abuse, patterns that show a trend of donation
for eventual profit off of conservation.
Some
of the new additional measures being taken by the IRS include requiring
conservation groups to identify individual donors who donate through
their respective groups. Furthermore, when large easements are donated,
the IRS is now requiring a monetary appraisal of the land donated.
Congress
has also considered making reforms to the current system. Senator
Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Vice Chairman of the Congressional Joint
Commission on Taxation, has recently pushed reform to end tax incentives
for those individuals and groups who donate conservation easements.
The
NWRA, along with other conservation organizations, is urging Congress
not to revise conservation tax incentives in a way that could hinder
private land conservation. You can contact Congress on this issue
by using the NWRA's
Refuge Action Network.
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Bill
Codifying Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program Advances
On
Tuesday, June 28, 2005, the Senate unanimously passed the Partners
for Fish and Wildlife Act. The bill, sponsored by Senator James
Inhofe (R-OK), authorizes $75 million a year for the FWS' Partners
for Fish and Wildlife Program from 2006 to 2011. The Act was cosponsored
by Sens. Thad Cochran (R-MS), Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) and James Jeffords
(I-VT).
The
Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program provides incentives and assistance
for private landowners to improve the natural habitats on their
own land. These are voluntary agreements that have proven to be
very effective in providing wildlife habitat on private lands. In
17 years, the program has protected over 670,000 acres of wetlands
and produced over 33,000 agreements with private landowners.
Congressman
John Sullivan (R-OK) has introduced similar legislation in the House
(H.R. 2018). The bill was referred to the Resources Committee; however,
no hearings have taken place.
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OMB
Natural Resources Official Nominated for EPA Post
On
June 1, 2005, President Bush nominated Marcus Peacock to become
the Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA). Prior to his nomination, Peacock was an associate director
for Natural Resources, Energy and Science at the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB), where he was in charge of reviewing the budgets
and policies of the natural resources, energy and science agencies
of the federal government, including the National Wildlife Refuge
System.
In
the 106th Congress, Peacock served as Staff Director on the House
Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Oversight and
Emergency Response. Peacock has also served as the government's
lead point man regarding the President's budget and performance
integration agenda.
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Weimer
Nominated for Interior Position
Pending
Senate confirmation, R. Thomas Weimer will be the next Assistant
Secretary of the Interior for Policy, Management, and Budget. Currently,
Weimer is serving as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and
Science at the Department of the Interior, a post he was nominated
to in 2004 by Interior Secretary Gale Norton.
Prior
to working at the Department of the Interior, Weimer worked for
the House Committee on Science. Specifically, he worked on the subcommittee
staff for Interior and Insular Affairs. His other experience includes
the National Academy of Engineering and the Sandia National Laboratories
in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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Take
Action!
If
you received this issue of Capitol Flyer directly from the NWRA,
your e-mail address is registered with the Refuge Action Network.
But have you taken action on refuge issues? Help make a difference
on refuge issues by utilizing the NWRA's
RAN e-advocacy tool. It's fast, easy and effective!
Please
visit the NWRA Web site or contact Michael Woodbridge, Assistant
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 Assistant Director of Government Affairs.
For additional information, please contact mwoodbridge@refugenet.org.
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