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American Fisheries Society * American Fly Fishing Tackle Association * American Sportfishing Association * Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies * B.A.S.S LLC * Bear Trust International * Berkley Conservation Institute, Pure Fishing * Boone and Crockett Club * Catch-A-Dream Foundation * Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation * Delta Waterfowl * Ducks Unlimited * Houston Safari Club * Izaak Walton League of America * Mule Deer Foundation * National Marine Manufacturers Association * National Shooting Sports Foundation * National Wild Turkey Federation * National Wildlife Federation * North American Grouse Partnership * Orion the Hunter’s Institute * Pheasants Forever * Public Lands Foundation * Quail Forever * Quality Deer Management Association * Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation * Ruffed Grouse Society * The Conservation Fund * The Nature Conservancy * The Wildlife Society * Tread Lightly! * Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership * Trout Unlimited * Whitetails Unlimited * Wild Sheep Foundation * Wildlife Forever * Wildlife Management Institute June 21, 2011
Our group of hunting, fishing, fish and wildlife, and land conservation organizations represents millions of Americans committed to the conservation of our nation’s fish and wildlife, water, land, productive soils, oceans, and places for outdoor recreation, and to the industries and rural communities these resources support. We are writing to express our deep concern about the fate in the budget negotiations now underway of Federal programs that sustain our nation’s natural resources. As you know, conservation programs are grouped in "Function 300" of the Federal budget. This is America’s "natural resources budget" which spans a number of programs across the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce and other departments. It represents the sum of our country’s remarkable, successful, and bi-partisan 100-year effort to conserve the natural resources that are a foundation for the health, safety, prosperity, national security, and quality of life of the American people. With federal spending on land, water, ocean, and fish and wildlife programs just 1.26% of the federal budget in 2010, it is clear that this spending is not a primary cause of the current federal budget crisis. Over the past 30 years, Federal expenditures generally have increased dramatically over 100% in real terms. At the same time, spending on natural resources has been stagnant with negligible growth of just about 2% from 1980 to 2009. And yet, immense progress has been made in improving the health and quality of our environment. Our water, air, bays and estuaries are cleaner. Many fish and wildlife species have been restored to sustainable levels. Risks from toxic chemicals have been reduced. Land and water valued for fish and wildlife habitat, outdoor recreation, boating, and historic importance have been set aside for public use. The cost-share and reserve programs of the Conservation Title of the Farm Bill have demonstrated that government can partner with farmers, ranchers and forest land owners to protect and restore natural habitat on millions of acres and reduce soil erosion and other impacts of farming while increasing agricultural productivity. Marine fisheries have been restored. Water resources for human consumption, industrial use and agriculture have been better protected. The result of our investments in conservation has been to help secure the use and enjoyment of America’s natural resources on into the future. Such use remains a large and essential part of our country’s economy. According to USDA, Farm and farm-related employment includes about 24 million jobs. Estimates by the American Forest and Paper Association are that forest management and forest dependent industries account for approximately 5 percent of the total U.S. manufacturing GDP, produce about $175 billion in products annually, and employ nearly 900,000 people. According to NOAA, commercial fishing supports one million full and part time jobs and generates $116 billion in revenue. A study by US Fish and Wildlife Service found that hunting, angling and wildlife-dependent recreation contribute $122 billion annually to our national economy. Much of this economic activity is located in rural areas where there are fewer other options. Natural resources-based products represent a significant proportion of the export sector so essential to our economic health. And government investments in conservation have leveraged billions of dollars in non-federal capital for conservation including the personal resources of America’s private landowners. The recent flooding along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers is a good example of the need for continuing conservation funding. The protection of natural floodplains, in places like the Atchafalaya Basin in Louisiana, allowed floodwaters to be diverted from the main stem of the river saving costly damage to urban areas. In a time of economic constraints, continuing investment in such "natural capital" can be the least-cost and most effective way of avoiding the risks of natural hazards and meeting human needs. But now, we fear that ongoing budget negotiations could result in top line cuts that, without even considering the merits of the nation’s key conservation programs, will result in devastating impacts for the future of America’s environment. These fears, in fact, have been realized in the House-passed FY 12 Agriculture and Related Agencies Appropriations bill which imposes severe reductions to many Farm Bill Conservation Programs. These programs help keep our citizens on working farms, ranches, and forests that produce agriculture and forest commodities while maintaining natural resources and environmental quality. Further, these programs provide benefits to the rural economy through hunting and angling opportunities provided by these private lands. Of course we recognize the need to reduce the size of the Federal budget, and conservation should do its share. There is room for creativity and for improving the coordination, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of individual programs, but the House-passed budget resolution for FY 12 cuts all natural resource programs by 18% from 2010 levels and proposes to cut this group of programs by a total of 46% by 2016. The Federal budget cannot and should not be balanced on the back of conservation. The natural resource budget should not be cut disproportionately to the budget as a whole. Sufficient funding should remain to keep protection and conservation of America’s exceptional environment operational and successful. In 1912 Theodore Roosevelt said, "There can be no greater issue than that of conservation in this country". Over the last century, in good times and bad, with broad bi-partisan support, America has invested in the conservation of land and water, productive soils and fish and wildlife habitat for the benefit of the American people. We have done so in the belief that, regardless of the other demands of society, each generation has a responsibility to pass on to the next natural resources that are healthy, clean, productive and beautiful. We hope and trust the current budget negotiations will not abandon this responsibility. Thank you for your consideration. CCs:
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