Restore the Sanctuary’s Budget

By Linda Hunter, Executive Director
Published: February 2007

The newly elected 110th Congress faces a momentous choice as they consider the FY 08 budget. Congress can continue their predecessors’ six-year pattern of relentless and damaging cuts to the federal programs that protect our air, water, climate, wildlife and public lands.  Or they can choose to reverse that trend, and begin to restore funding to key environmental protection and conservation programs.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is responsible for refining scientific understanding of climate change and its impacts; managing and conserving our oceans, expanding scientific exploration and ocean observation, sustaining coastal economies, and forecasting our weather. Yet NOAA has suffered continuing funding cuts and the political battles waged during the appropriations process have taken a heavy toll on NOAA.

The U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, the Pew Oceans Commission and the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative all identified the need to provide additional resources for NOAA. A broad coalition of industry, conservation organizations, academic researchers, and scientific organizations has joined together to support overall funding for NOAA at $4.5 billion. In the last hours of the 109th Congress, major fisheries legislation was reauthorized. A number of new research programs, management authority, and additional responsibilities were bestowed upon the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Regional Fishery Management Councils. All of the changes to the law will require increased funding to implement.

That is one of the reasons why the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative gave an F Grade to the current administration on New Funding for Ocean Policy and Programs.  For a complete look at the 2006 report card on ocean policy click here.

The Initiative is a collaborative effort led by Admiral James D. Watkins and the Honorable Leon E. Panetta, chairs of the U.S. Commission and Pew Commission, respectively. The primary goal of the Initiative is to accelerate the pace of change that results in meaningful ocean policy reform. In the second report card issued, the Initiative explains how watersheds generate half the nation’s Gross Domestic Product. Despite the role oceans and coasts play in supporting our financial well being, they remain poorly understood and underappreciated.

As a consequence, chronic underinvestment has left much of our ocean-related infrastructure in woefully poor condition, and management programs struggling to meet the information demands of decision makers. Maintaining the economic and ecological viability of our oceans and coasts requires decision makers to have access to unbiased, credible, and up-to-date information to make informed decisions, a goal that can only be attained by increasing funding for ocean-related science, management, and education.

The overall failure to provide a substantive increase in funding for ocean science, management, and education in FY 2006 is particularly disappointing given the overwhelming evidence that the health of our oceans and coasts is poor and subject to continuing degradation. This dire situation is further exacerbated by the failure of Congress to pass its FY 2007 spending bills and a continuing effort by the House of Representatives to cut funding for NOAA, the nation’s lead civilian ocean agency, by over $500 million (13 percent)

The Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association joins leading environmental organizations across the nation in asking Congress to reverse this trend making the following recommendations for fiscal year 2008 in regards to funding for our oceans:

FY 08 recommendation:  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-$4.5 billion - an increase of $650 million over FY 06 enacted level of $3.85 billion

The National Marine Sanctuary System, which consists of 13 national marine sanctuaries and the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument, encompasses more than 150,000 square miles of marine and Great Lakes waters and includes our nation’s most diverse marine ecosystems. The National Marine Sanctuary Program also undertakes important education, monitoring, and research projects.

In past years, the National Marine Sanctuary program has been funded at  $50 million or more. In FY 06, only $39.3 million was dedicated to this program. Increased funding is essential to fully implement the sanctuaries’ management plans, including ecosystem-based management and the sustainable use of these national marine treasures.

FY 08 Recommendation:  National Marine Sanctuary Program-$60 million - an increase of $25 million over the FY 06 enacted level of $35 million

Chronic under-funding of ocean programs by Congress must be changed. There needs to be a collective effort to develop a funding strategy for ocean programs that addresses this issue and allows the nation to move forward with the process of strengthening ocean-related programs.

To take action on this important issue, click here.