Bush Budget Shifts Focus for USGS
President Bush proposed a
budget of $968.5 million for the U.S. Geological Survey in fiscal year
2009, a decrease of $38 million from the 2008 enacted level. The FY
2009 budget focuses on the highest priorities for research while
ensuring that the agency builds the expertise it needs to continue
answering the complex scientific questions that may arise.
The budget includes $34.9 million in program increases and $15
million in fixed costs, offset by $87.8 million in reductions for lower
priority efforts and unrequested increases.
"The USGS is committed to providing timely, objective scientific
information in support of key departmental and presidential priorities,
including Water for America, Birds Forever, Healthy Lands, and Ocean
and Coastal Frontiers," said USGS Director Mark Myers. "The proposed
budget will also strengthen our efforts in climate change studies,
priority ecosystems research and the development of a National Land
Imaging Program."
The 2009 budget includes a net increase of $8.2 million to support the
water census component of the $21.3 million Water for America
Initiative with the Bureau of Reclamation. To support the water census,
the National Streamflow Information Program is funded at $23.8 million,
including an increase of $3.7 million to upgrade 350 stream gauges with
real-time telemetry and to reinstate 50 discontinued stream gauges in
2009. Increases of $3 million for the Ground-Water Resources Program
and $1.5 million for Cooperative Geologic Mapping will provide
additional support for the water census by increasing knowledge related
to groundwater resources.
The Birds Forever Initiative is a joint effort between the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service and the USGS. A proposed $1 million increase to
support this initiative will fund USGS efforts to better understand
large-scale drivers of migratory bird population and habitat change
such as global warming, deforestation and urban development. This
initiative supports monitoring efforts, including the Breeding Bird
Survey and other migratory bird monitoring activities.
The budget also proposes a $3.5 million increase to expand activities
in support of the Healthy Lands Initiative, and the USGS is a
significant partner in this multi-bureau initiative. Continuing work in
southwest Wyoming, the USGS will conduct an ecological assessment in
Healthy Lands Initiative areas to develop a baseline of scientific
information related to wildlife habitat and development activities
occurring or planned. Tools, models, and protocols developed will be
transferred and applied to other areas.
In addition, the proposed budget includes an increase of $7 million for
oceans science in support of the Department's Ocean and Coastal
Frontiers Initiative and completing the work started in 2008 on the
U.S. Ocean Action Plan. Coastal and Marine Geology is funded at $47.4
million. An increase of $4 million will be used to collect data for the
extended Continental Shelf of the Arctic Ocean, working with the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to support the
nation's claim to its mineral and energy rights in the extended
Continental Shelf. An additional $2 million will be used to conduct
merit-based ocean research projects, and $1 million will complete
funding for efforts in seafloor mapping, models to forecast response to
extreme weather events, and developing a water quality monitoring
network.
The 2009 budget reflects a restructuring to create a global change
activity and sustains $5 million of the $7.4 million increase in 2008
for climate change science. The 2009 request of $26.6 million includes
$21.6 million in base funds to continue current global change research,
$4 million to establish a pilot program in Alaska for a national
climate change network, and $1 million for climate change adaptation
studies. These components will provide critical monitoring information
needed for predictive modeling.
The 2009 budget consolidates funding for a new Global Change Activity
totaling $26.6 million that is supported by an additional $4.8 million
in Climate Change Science, bringing total climate change funding to
$31.4 million.
Priority ecosystems studies have a proposed budget of $10.4 million.
The USGS will continue funding for work in the Greater Everglades,
Chesapeake Bay, San Francisco Bay, the Mojave Desert, the Platte River,
and Yellowstone.
Land Remote Sensing is funded at $62.6 million, including a
programmatic increase of $2 million to develop a National Land Imaging
Program. This program will assess the future need for civil,
operational land imaging data and develop a blueprint to determine
future needs for acquisition of satellite data to supplement Landsat 7
imagery.
In order to focus programs on activities that are inherently
governmental and to concentrate on highest priority research, the
President's 2009 budget reduces funding to the Mineral Resources and
the National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) programs. A $24.6 million
net reduction to Mineral Resource Assessments is proposed, which will
result in a 2009 program of $26.3 million. A $10.9 million net
reduction to NAWQA is proposed for a total 2009 program of $54.1
million. The budget also reduces the Earthquake Hazards Program by $5
million, retaining $49.1 million for the highest priority earthquake
research projects.
For more information on the proposed FY 2009 budget, visit www.usgs.gov.