For 2000, the budget includes $23.8 billion in discretionary funding, an increase of $400 million above the 1999 level. Mandatory spending in this function is a combination of spending by the nation's land management agencies and receipts related to the use of public lands. For 2000, mandatory spending and receipts essentially cancel each other out. The President's budget includes a variety of proposals to protect natural resources and improve the environment. Among these proposals are the Lands Legacy Initiative, Superfund orphan shares, support for salmon habitat, and continued support of the California Bay-Delta initiative.

· National Park Service (NPS) The budget includes $2.3 billion for the NPS, an increase of $321 million above the 1999 level. Approximately one-third of this increase is directed toward park operations, and the remaining two-thirds are associated with the President's Lands Legacy Initiative.

· Fish and Wildlife Service The budget includes $1.6 billion for Fish and Wildlife Service programs for 2000. This represents an increase of $56 million above the 1999 level. Within this amount, the budget includes $724 million for resource management, an increase of $63 million above the 1999 level.

· Forest Service The budget includes $3.5 billion for the Forest Service, an increase of $82 million above the 1999 level. Within this amount, the budget includes $1.4 billion for Forest Service operations, an increase of $58 million above the 1999 level.

· Bureau of Land Management (BLM) The budget includes $1.4 billion for BLM, an increase of $92 million over the 1999 level. Within this amount, the budget includes $641 million for management of lands and resources, an increase of $22 million above the 1999 level.

· Lands Legacy Initiative For 2000, the budget includes $1 billion for the Lands Legacy Initiative. This represents a $571 million increase above 1999. This initiative devotes increased resources to acquiring land for our national parks, forests, and wildlife refuges. It also provides significant new resources to states and communities for preservation of local green spaces and increases protection of our oceans and coasts. The majority of funding for this initiative ($900 million) comes from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), marking the first time any administration has requested full funding from the LWCF. Overall, for 2000, the budget more than doubles funding for programs included in this initiative above the 1999 level.

Lands Legacy Initiative (in millions of dollars)
	1999	2000	Change from 1999	Funds from LWCF
Great Places
Federal Land Acquisition
National Park Service	148	172	25	172
Fish & Wildlife Service	48	74	26	74
Bureau of Land Management	15	49	34	49
Forest Service	118	118	0	118
National Marine Sanctuaries	14	29	15	15
Great Places Subtotal	343	442	99	428
Green Spaces/ Smart Growth
Open Space Planning Grants	0	50	50	50
Conservation Grants	0	150	150	150
Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund	14	80	66	66
Forest Legacy Program	7	50	43	43
Urban & Community Forestry	31	40	9	9
Farmland Protection Program	0	50	50	50
Smart Growth Partnership	0	10	10	10
Urban Parks & Recreation Recovery	0	4	4	4
Coastal Zone Management Act Program	58	90	32	32
National Estuarine Research Reserves System	4	19	15	15
Coral/Coastal Dredge/Fisheries Habitat Restorations	2	45	43	43
Green Spaces/ Smart Growth Subtotal	116	588	472	472
Total	459	1,030	571	900
Sources: FY00 Interior Budget in Brief, FY00 Budget Appendix

· Natural Resources Conservation Service The President's budget includes $1.4 billion for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an increase of $151 million above the 1999 level. The NRCS carries out many of the Department of Agriculture's efforts to provide locally led conservation assistance for land users. Major programs carried out by the NRCS are the Wetlands Reserve Program and the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program.

· Bureau of Reclamation The budget includes $900 million for 2000 for the Bureau of Reclamation, an increase of $100 million over the 1999 level. The budget increases funding for the California Bay-Delta initiative by $20 million above the 1999 level, for a total of $95 million.

· Army Corps of Engineers The budget includes $1.2 billion for Army Corps of Engineers general construction, a decrease of $200 million below the 1999 level. For operations and maintenance, the budget includes $1.8 billion, an increase of $182 million above the 1999 level.

· Harbor Services User Fee The Administration proposes to impose a Harbor Services User Fee to replace the Harbor Maintenance Tax, which was found unconstitutional last year as it applied to exports. The fee will raise an average of $980 million annually through 2004. The budget deposits receipts from this fee into a Harbor Services Fund and uses the proceeds to offset Army Corps of Engineers costs associated with maintaining ports.

· United States Geological Survey (USGS) The budget includes $839 million for 2000 for the USGS, an increase of $38 million above the 1999 level.

· National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) The budget includes $2.5 billion for NOAA, an increase of $303 million above the 1999 level. Within this amount, the budget includes $100 million for a new program that provides grants to states, tribes, and localities to assist in the recovery of Pacific coastal salmon stocks.

· Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Operating Programs The President's budget provides $3.7 billion for the EPA's operating programs for 2000, which include most of the agency's research, regulatory, and enforcement programs. Also included are grants to state, local, and tribal governments to assist them in enforcing environmental laws and measuring environmental improvements. This is an increase of $191 million above the 1999 funding level.

· Superfund The President's budget provides $1.5 billion in funding for the Superfund program, an amount equal to the 1999 level. Combined with continuing administrative reforms of the program, this funding level will help meet the President's pledge to complete the clean-up of two-thirds of Superfund hazardous waste sites by 2002.

The President's budget includes the reinstatement of the Superfund excise taxes, which expired in 1995. In addition, the Administration proposes that $200 million be made available from Superfund annually without further appropriation to cover cleanup costs allocated to "orphan shares." Orphan shares are the portions of cleanup costs attributed to private parties that are no longer viable. This is the third year that the orphan share proposal has been included in the budget.

· Water Infrastructure Financing Overall, the President's budget includes $1.8 billion for water infrastructure financing programs, a decrease of $774 million from the 1999 level. These programs provide grants to states, tribes, and local governments to protect water resources and provide safe drinking water. Within this account, the budget provides $825 million for state and tribal drinking water revolving funds, an increase of $50 million from last year's funding level. For grants to clean water revolving funds, the budget provides $800 million, a significant decrease of $550 million from the 1999 funding level. The Administration believes that this decrease will have a limited impact on the program and will still allow EPA to meet its long-term goal of having the clean water revolving funds provide an average of $2.0 billion in financial assistance annually.