The Biden-Harris administration presented the president’s fiscal year 2023 budget to Congress on Monday. It includes substantial national park and conservation funding, with increases across the board.
President Joe Biden’s fiscal year 2023 budget allots $10 billion in funding to support a wide array of conservation initiatives. Top actionable items on the list include $4.9 billion for increased land and water conservation, $3.6 billion for the National Park Service (NPS), and $1.5 billion for the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Wildland Fire Management program.
The proposed budget reflects increases in each amount from the fiscal year 2022 numbers and seeks to address two key issues it identifies: climate challenges and increasing parks visitation.
DOI Funding Details
The proposal outlines an $18.1 billion budget for the DOI, up 19% from 2022’s allocation. This year’s proposal identifies “worsening drought, increased weather risks, more extreme wildfires, profound threats to wildlife and habitats, warming water temperatures, and new threats from invasive species” as priority challenges, the DOI said in a statement.
Of this, $4.9 billion will support healthier lands, waters, and ecosystems the department manages. Another goal the administration outlined for the funding block is to broaden support for local conservation efforts through partnership and grant programs.
Its overarching goal is to meet the America the Beautiful initiative’s goal to conserve 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030. The objective, the DOI says, is to address the planet’s changing climate and impacts on nature.
NPS Funding Details
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