President’s Budget Is Out of Touch With American Conservation Values

The President’s Budget showcases the Administration’s real priorities for the year. That’s because, once all the talking is over, what gets funded is what gets done. This year, the budget lays out a disturbing under-investment in the parks, forests and wildlife refuges that form a critical piece of what makes America a beautiful and unique country. This budget weakens protection of America’s lands and includes provisions that would make it easier to sell public lands for private profit. Then it adds insult to injury by using ‘smoke and mirrors’ budget tricks to try to mask these cuts.

Clearing away the sleight-of-hand, this budget:

* Falls far short (to the tune of almost $600 million) of the President’s claim that he is “fully funding” the Land and Water Conservation fund;

* Assumes revenue from opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling;

* Opens the door for a sell-off of wildlands managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

In good times and in bad, we have always invested in the places and wildlife that make America special. This budget is out of touch with mainstream American values and priorities. Americans want and deserve a consistent commitment to conservation spending.