Fish and Wildlife Service: FY2015 Appropriations and Policy (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Aug. 5, 2014 |
| Report Number |
R43678 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
M. Lynne Corn, Specialist in Natural Resources Policy |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
The annual appropriation for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies provides funds for agencies and programs in three federal departments, as well as numerous related agencies and bureaus. Among the agencies represented is the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), in the Department of the Interior. Many of its programs are among the more controversial of those funded in the bill. On July 23, 2014, the House Committee on Appropriations reported H.R. 5171. The bill provided $1.40 billion for FWS, down 2.0% from the FY2014 level of $1.43 billion contained in P.L. 113-76. The President requested $1.48 billion, an increase of 3.4% over the FY2014 level. In addition, the Administration proposed a number of significant accounting changes. As the committee noted, some of these changes make comparisons with funding in prior years impossible for some accounts. The House committee accepted a few of the Administration's changes, while rejecting others. The committee further made its own changes in accounting, in order to emphasize certain priorities. In combination, the many changes affect a number of comparisons.
Other highlights of H.R. 5171 include the following:
A 9.3% increase in funding for hatcheries and aquatic resources.
Elimination of funding for most acquisition of new refuge lands.
A 187.8% increase in the National Wildlife Refuge Fund, which compensates local governments for the presence of non-taxable refuge system lands.
Elimination of funding for Cooperative Landscape Conservation and Adaptive Science.
There were also several funding restrictions or directives. Among these were the following:
A prohibition on expansion or creation of national wildlife refuges using moneys from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the Migratory Bird Conservation Account, or any other sources without specific congressional approval.
Directives to maintain funds for the fish hatchery and aquatic resources program to continue support for mitigation hatcheries, as well as to secure reimbursement from agencies whose projects produced the need for fisheries mitigation.
A prohibition on funding for any new regulations applying within the United States on lawfully imported ivory.
A prohibition on writing or issuing certain rules or proposed rules under the Endangered Species Act on specified populations of sage-grouse.
A limitation on the ability to close lands under the Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management to hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting, except for temporary closures related to special events or public safety.
General efforts to reduce federal spending will encourage scrutiny of all spending, in FWS as in other agencies.
