Obama's Proposed Budget Shows a Strong Commitment to Public Lands

On February 1st, the administration announced its proposed budget for FY 2011.  The budget requested $12.2 billion for the Department of the Interior to effectively manage our public lands.  Of this sum, hundreds of millions are dedicated to programs that the Sierra Club has been strongly and persistently advocating.

• $171.3 million would be dedicated to Interior's Climate Change Adaptation program, an integrated strategy for managing to make our habitats more resilient to climate change.
• $106.2 million increase for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to begin Secretary Salazar's bold new vision to protect Treasured Landscapes.  Total funding for the LWCF for both the U.S. Forest Service and Interior is $619.2 million, on track for the full funding of $900 million by 2014.
• $71.4 million for key restoration projects also under the Treasured Landscapes umbrella: Chesapeake Bay, California's Bay Delta, the Gulf Coast, the Everglades, and the Klamath River Basin.

• $73 million in investments in responsible renewable energy development, a $14.2 million increase from last year.

 
Photo courtesy of the National Landscape Conservation System

The Sierra Club applauds this budget.  Not only does it demonstrate the administration's clear commitment to passing comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation, it also recognizes the necessity of helping our lands and wildlife adapt to warming temperatures.

You can read the DOI's press release here and the Sierra Club's here.