DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
AT A GLANCE:
2006 Discretionary Budget Authority: $10.6 billion
(Decrease from 2005: 1 percent)
Major Programs:
• Bureau of Indian Affairs
• Bureau of Land Management
• Bureau of Reclamation
• Fish and Wildlife Service
• National Park Service
• U.S. Geological Survey
MEETING PRESIDENTIAL GOALS
Promoting Economic Opportunity and Ownership
• Developing the Nation’s energy resources efficiently and responsibly to reduce the Nation’s
reliance on energy imports.
• Supporting local economies through recreation on Federal lands.
• Helping local economies find self-sustaining ways to manage historical properties and promote
heritage tourism through the Preserve America Initiative.
• Including local communities in stewardship and decision-making on Federal lands through the
Cooperative Conservation Initiative.
Supporting a Compassionate Society
• Supporting the replacement and renovation of Indian schools to create a safe learning environment
for Indian schoolchildren.
Making Government More Effective
• Assessing the condition of National Park Service facilities and setting performance goals to
prioritize repair and replacement projects.
• Expediting the removal of existing Abandoned Mine Land dangers within 25 years.
• Enabling the sale of public lands in Nevada while ensuring taxpayers are compensated fairly.
• Shifting certain costs of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program to power customers.
181
182 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
MEETING PRESIDENTIAL GOALS—Continued
• Proposing or modifying fees related to land and mineral use to shift $27 million in costs to those
directly benefiting from the resources.
• Terminating $90 million in State recreation grants that support activities that are not Federal
responsibilities.
Agency-specific Goals
• Reforming and reorganizing tribal trust programs and activities to provide greater accountability
to the beneficiaries.
• Promoting outcome-based performance by setting goals of establishing healthy, sustainable fish
and wildlife populations.
• Improving water management and restoring ecosystems in California’s Central Valley through
the collaborative California Bay-Delta program.
• Preventing water crises and reducing conflict over water in the West through the Water 2025
program.
THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2006 183
PROMOTING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND OWNERSHIP
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)
0
5
10
15
20
Millions of acres
Oil ANWR and Gas Development Area in
Source: Department of the Interior.
Entire Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Dedicated Wilderness
1002 Area
Development Area
Note: For presentation purposes, the Development Area is shown
oversized so that it is visable on the chart.
Reducing the Nation’s dependence on foreign
energy sources is a top Administration priority.
The United States imports approximately half
of its daily oil consumption of 20 million barrels.
Although the United States produces almost all
of the natural gas it uses, it will have to import
more natural gas in the future because of growing
demand and restrictions on developing energy
resources on public lands.
The Administration supports authorizing
the limited exploration of the region with
the most promising oil reserves—commonly
referred to as the “1002 Area”—within ANWR,
using the strictest environmental standards.
The Department of the Interior (DOI) estimates
that the 1002 Area holds between 5.7
billion and 16 billion barrels of recoverable
reserves, or, at peak production, up to one million barrels per day of new domestic oil supply. In
addition, the development footprint from production would only cover about one-tenth of one percent
of the 1002 Area. (See accompanying chart.)
Outdoor Recreation on Public Lands
Millions of people each year visit our national parks, forests, refuges, and public lands. These areas
offer unparalleled outdoor recreational opportunities, ranging from exploring mangrove thickets at
Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge in Florida to hiking on the Appalachian National
Scenic Trail. DOI manages an array of natural and cultural wonders, including 388 national parks
or park units, 546 national wildlife refuges, and 261 million acres of public land administered by the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
The American Recreation Coalition estimates that outdoor recreation generates $250 billion of
economic activity annually. Americans pursuing recreation opportunities on Federal lands support
Preserve America
American history comes alive in historic buildings, cultural sites, and communities that celebrate their historic
settings. Thousands of historic and cultural sites are the pride of local communities everywhere. Many
of these communities have the opportunity to use historical sites to promote heritage tourism and economic
development. The President’s Preserve America initiative provides $12.5 million in 2006 for upfront planning
and associated assistance to communities looking for ways to preserve their local heritage in a self-sustaining
manner. For example, Virginia City, Montana, attracts visitors with one of the best-preserved gold mining
towns in the West. As Americans travel, they seek to reconnect with our Nation’s rich history and diverse
culture; the Preserve America initiative will help communities meet this growing demand for heritage tourism.
184 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
PROMOTING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND OWNERSHIP—Continued
1998 2000 2002 2004 2006
0
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
Funding in millions Visitor satisfaction
National Park Service Funding and
Visitor Satisfaction
Operations Funding
Backlog Funding
Visitor Satisfaction
Source: Department of the Interior.
travel-related industries, equipment makers
and suppliers, and many “gateway communities”
adjacent to public lands, from Bar Harbor,
Maine to Moab, Utah. Access to these Federal
lands does more than just generate tourist
dollars; it also attracts new investments and
industries and fosters healthier and more
active communities.
To better serve these visitors and protect the
resources that attract them, the 2006 Budget
continues to support operational funding for
Interior’s land management agencies. Operational
funding for parks, refuges, and public
lands will be 20 percent higher than in 2001.
The result of this support has been consistently
satisfied visitors. Every year since 1998, about 95 percent of park visitors have rated the overall
quality of services in national parks as good or very good. In addition, 97 percent of visitors to BLM
public lands in 2003, and 90 percent of visitors to wildlife refuges in 2002, were satisfied with their
experience.
The humpback chub and other native fish in
Grand Canyon National Park struggle to compete
with trout previously brought to the area by
humans. To help the native fish recover, NPS is
working with partners to remove non-native fish
from Colorado River tributaries. The Arizona
Game and Fish Department, Glen Canyon Dam
Adaptive Management Program, the Navajo
nation, and other partners have matched Federal
funds almost three to one, helping to restore
another key link in the national park’s ecosystem.
Cooperative Conservation Initiative
The Administration wants to promote conservation and
stewardship of our Nation’s lands and other natural resources.
Local involvement is critical to enduring, successful, effective
and long-lasting conservation results and was emphasized
in the President’s recent Executive Order on the Facilitation
of Cooperative Conservation, E.O. 13352. The Department’s
Cooperative Conservation Initiative (CCI) consists of a
variety of volunteer, partnership, and cost-share conservation
programs in the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Bureau
of Land Management (BLM), and the National Park Service
(NPS). The CCI embodies the purpose of the Executive
Order by promoting collaborative actions that support the
use, enhancement, and enjoyment of natural resources. In
addition, the CCI allocates $126 million in Federal matching
funds for resource conservation and restoration projects,
ranging from FWS coastal habitat restoration to BLM grazing
management improvements and wetlands restoration. The
use of matching funds improves cooperative relationships
with local stakeholders and increases the impact of conservation
efforts. As partners invest time, money, and energy into
projects, the CCI gives landowners and communities a stake
in local conservation efforts.
THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2006 185
SUPPORTING A COMPASSIONATE SOCIETY
Supporting Indian Schools
Quality education is critical for the future of tribal governments and individual Indians. The Bureau
of Indian Affairs (BIA) serves approximately 48,000 students and resident-only boarders (about
seven percent of all Native American children) in 184 elementary and secondary schools and dormitories
located in 23 States. In April 2004, the President signed Executive Order 13336, which establishes
an Interagency Working Group, including representatives from the Departments of Education
and the Interior, to assist American Indian and Alaska Native students in meeting the challenging
academic standards of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 in a manner that is consistent with tribal
traditions, languages, and cultures. In 2006, BIA will continue aggressively implementing this law
through its partnership with the Department of Education, and through its efforts to establish leadership
programs and rehabilitate additional reservation schools.
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Bureau of Indian Affairs
School Facility Condition Index
Percent of schools
receiving good or fair rating
Percent of schools
Source: Department of the Interior.
In 2000, the President committed to spend
nearly $1 billion to address the then-backlog
of Indian school construction projects. The
Administration has met this commitment,
and has provided more funding for BIA school
construction and repairs in just four years
than the previous Administration did in eight
years. In 2001, only 35 percent of BIA schools
were in good or fair condition. With the efforts
funded in the 2006 Budget, over 65 percent
of all schools, or almost double the amount in
2001, will be in good or fair condition. The
overall Facility Condition Index (FCI), a tool for
assessing the condition of a building, will have
improved from a poor rating (0.266) to a fair
rating (0.101), keeping BIA on target to reach
its FCI goal of .10 in 2008.
The new Wingate Elementary School is a K–8th
grade facility located southeast of Gallup, New
Mexico. The school can accommodate more than
825 students, including boarding students housed
in brand new dorm facilities. The campus design
embodies the elements important to the Navajo
culture. An elementary and middle school connected
by an administration wing with media center and a
hogan-shaped Navajo culture room are the major
components of the school. In keeping with Navajo
tradition, all entrances to the buildings face east. The
school is scheduled to be occupied in February 2005.
186 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
MAKING GOVERNMENT MORE EFFECTIVE
Maintaining our National Parks
Mount Rainier National Park proposes major investments in 2006 to
improve visitor services.
Over the past four years, NPS has developed
a way to measure its performance in
maintaining national park facilities. This
measurement framework enables the Park
Service to prioritize funding and demonstrate
results more effectively. Using its new
management system and regular facility
assessments, NPS has developed a Facility
Condition Index (FCI) to show results. This
industry standard provides the starting point
for determining what investments are needed
to achieve acceptable conditions and how to
measure progress towards reaching that goal.
With passage of the 2006 Budget and the Administration’s
surface transportation reauthorization
bill, national parks will have received
$4.9 billion over five years formaintenance and
construction, which is a 40-percent increase in annual funding from 2001 to 2006. With the funds
expected through 2009, NPS assets such as park buildings will be brought to acceptable condition
overall, as measured by the FCI average. Park roads, however, remain a concern, underscoring the
need to increase park roads funding, as proposed in the Administration’s surface transportation authorization
bill.
Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Restoration
The Congress passed the 1977 Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) to reclaim
abandoned coal mine lands. The AML program pays for the reclamation through coal fees, which
expire in June 2005. More than $3 billion in unfinished health and safety work remains, potentially
affecting more than 3.5 million Americans who live less than one mile from abandoned coal mines.
A 2004 Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) assessment found the Office of Surface Mining
effectivelymanages the program and coordinates with coal-mining States, although the program’s design
hinders the timely cleanup of abandoned coal mine lands. SMCRA’s funding allocation formula
distributes grants to eligible States and Tribes even if they have no high priority sites remaining.
AML Goals and Accomplishments
Current
Program
Budget
Proposal
Acres Reclaimed Annually................................................. 6,900 8,200
Years to Eliminate Health and Safety Problems ........ 47 25
Corrects SMCRA Allocation Problem............................ No Yes
THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2006 187
This delays clean-up in some areas and contributes to poor water quality and other health and safety
problems.
The Administration proposes to extend the coal fee and to modify SMCRA in a way that both corrects
the diversion of dollars away from the most serious problems and pays the certified States and
Tribes only their share of AML fund balances over 10 years.
Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (SNPLMA)
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
Millions of dollars
SNPLMA Revenues
Actual Receipts
Original CBO
Scoring
Source: the Congressional Budget Office. Department of the Interior and
Note: Data through 2004 are actuals. Projected peak in 2005 is due in
part to a lag in receipt of payments from 2004 land sales.
SNPLMA, passed in 1998, sets aside funds
from the sale of public lands around Las Vegas
for specific uses in Nevada. Under SNPLMA,
15 percent of revenues are provided directly to
State and local entities, and the remainder of
the proceeds are devoted to both Federal and
local projects in Nevada without further consideration
by the Congress. This situation reduces
accountability in the programs funded by
public land sales.
The program was established with the
understanding that a substantial portion
of the revenues generated would be spent
to acquire and conserve other lands around
Nevada. In fact, a 2006 PART review found
that as SNPLMA land sale receipts have
risen dramatically in the last few years, the
available funding has outpaced land acquisition needs, and these excess funds are increasingly being
diverted to other activities. Only eight percent of funds approved for the latest round of projects are
dedicated to land acquisition. Meanwhile, 67 percent of these funds have been dedicated to purely
local projects, which do not reflect the highest priorities of the Nation. For example, $16 million of
land sale receipts were earmarked for the first phase of a recreational shooting range outside Las
Vegas.
When SNPLMA was originally passed, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that proceeds
from land sales under the bill would be roughly $70 million per year; receipts will be 17 times
that level in 2005. The 2006 Budget proposes to amend SNPLMA to redirect 70 percent of all receipts
to the Treasury, where land sale receipts have historically been deposited. This proposal serves the
general taxpaying public while still providing roughly four times the level of spending in Nevada
than originally anticipated in 1998. The proposal would not change the amount of revenue currently
provided to State and local entities, only the portion dedicated to Federal spending in Nevada.
Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program
The Administration proposes to redistribute costs of this multi-State project to power customers
who are using the dams and power plants, originally built during the 1950s and 1960s, in part to
support irrigation. Much of the planned irrigation is technically impractical or economically unjustified,
and will never be developed. Approximately $500 million of unpaid construction and operation
costs could be recovered from power customers who benefit from the finished facilities.
188 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
MAKING GOVERNMENT MORE EFFECTIVE—Continued
Recovering Costs for Energy Permitting
To ensure the Government receives fair compensation for the use of the Nation’s land and minerals,
the Budget proposes and modifies several fees related to mineral development, including expanded
permit processing fees for onshore minerals and a new permitting fee for Outer Continental Shelf
(OCS) leases. In addition, OCS rental rates, which have not increased in 10 years, will rise with the
rate of inflation. These fees support the Administration’s efforts to charge for Government services
where the direct beneficiary can be identified. This will shift the costs from taxpayers and allow DOI
to better process lease or permit applications as demand increases. The proposed fees are expected
to generate approximately $27 million in 2006, thereby reducing the cost to taxpayers for operating
these programs.
State Recreation Grants
The 2006 Budget terminates funding for Land and Water Conservation Fund State recreation
grants. These grants support improvements to State and local parks that are more appropriately
funded through State funding or bonds than Federal resources. A PART review found the current
program could not measure performance or demonstrate results.
THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2006 189
Update on the President’s Management Agenda
The table below provides an update on DOI’s implementation of the President’s Management
Agenda as of December 31, 2004.
Human Capital
Competitive
Sourcing
Financial
Performance E-Government
Budget and
Performance
Integration
Status
Progress
DOI has made progress in many areas. The Department developed and received provisional certification for a
new five-level Senior Executive Service performance management system, incorporated diversity strategies into
bureau workforce plans, and began to incorporate goals into performance plans of all employees. Competitive
sourcing reviews project savings of $3 million annually for at least five years, and, to date, only one permanent
Interior employee of the 5,032 reviewed has been involuntarily separated. In financial performance, however,
DOI continues to face challenges in Indian trust reform. DOI also must continue efforts to implement the new
Financial and Business Management System. In addition, Interior certified and accredited over 80 percent of
its information technology systems (up from 10 percent in 2003); received the E-Gov Institute’s Excellence in
Enterprise Architecture Award for leadership in government transformation; and matured its Investment Review
Board. Finally, the Department expanded implementation of Activity Based Costing and continued tracking the
costs of achieving performance goals.
Initiative Status Progress
Real Property Asset Management
Interior has completed comprehensive condition assessments for most assets and is on schedule to finish them
all by the end of 2006. DOI now uses a Facility Condition Index to monitor asset conditions and determine
funding priorities.
190 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
AGENCY-SPECIFIC GOALS
Reforming Management of Indian Trust Responsibilities
DOI has responsibility for the investment of, and disbursement and reporting to individual Indians
and Tribes on, financial assets generated from leasing and other commercial activities on Indian
lands. DOI developed a Comprehensive Trust Management Plan to guide trust reform, undertook
a reengineering effort, and adopted a targeted strategic plan as part of its efforts to improve performance
and provide greater accountability to its beneficiaries.
A key step to reform is the American Indian Probate Reform Act of 2004, which the President signed
into law in October 2004. The Act provides a clearer method to pass down individual Indian land
ownership from one generation to the next; creates a uniform Federal Indian probate code; and facilitates
the consolidation of Indian land ownership to restore economic viability to the land. The 2006
Budget includes funding to help eliminate a backlog of 23,000 probate cases, as well as to process the
projected 4,500 new probate cases that will occur each year. This will help to make sure that no new
cases are added to the current backlog. The Administration continues to support the Indian Land
Consolidation Program as an additional way to help address the fractionation of individual Indian
land interests. The 2006 Budget proposes $34.5 million for the program. In addition, the Budget
includes $135 million for the Office of Historical Trust Accounting to continue an accounting in accordance
with the five-year plan filed with the U.S. District Court. This amount may be revised as
legal issues pending before the Courts are resolved.
Reforming Tribal Priority Allocation Funding
Tribal Priority Allocation (TPA) funds provide basic tribal services, such as Tribal Courts, social
services, adult vocational training, child welfare, and natural resources management. TPA gives
Tribes the opportunity to further Indian self-determination by establishing their own priorities and
moving Federal funds among programs.
Indian Tribes are becoming more business-oriented and are seeking more control over their lands
and economic and cultural decisions. In addition, BIA is helping to expedite key energy and mineral
resource development opportunities through the timely processing of joint-venture development and
lease agreements.
The Administration believes TPA could be improved by targeting funding to the areas of greatest
need. The funding process used today is a formula allocation based on historical funding levels established
in the early 1970s, and has remained essentially unchanged. To improve program accountability,
DOI will consult with Tribes on how best to focus program funds on areas of need, considering the
incentive effects of any such reallocation. The Administration will continue to support Tribes that
continue to strive for self-determination with funding and technical support.
Salmon eggs: a result of the FWS Fish
Hatchery Program.
Effective Fish and Wildlife Service Programs
The Migratory Bird Management and the National Fish Hatchery
programs of FWS exemplify the Department’s efforts to improve
program performance and become more results-based. The Migratory
Bird Management program developed new goals during the 2006
PART process, including a newmeasure that examines the percent of
migratory birds that are at healthy and sustainable levels. This outcome-
oriented goal, along with targeted annual measures, will help
THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2006 191
Whooping Cranes at Arkansas National Wildlife Refuge.
ensure the program achieves what is expected:
healthy, sustainable migratory bird populations. The
President’s 2006 Budget proposes an increase of $5.7
million to help achieve this and other program goals.
Similarly, the Budget includes an increase of $2.3
million for National Fish Hatchery operations to
increase the percent of threatened and endangered
aquatic species populations that become self-sustaining
in the wild; the number of priority recovery tasks
implemented for listed or threatened species; and the
number of restoration tasks implemented for native
aquatic species.
California Bay-Delta Restoration
As part of the new CALFED partnership, people who benefit from
projects, such as potentially raising Shasta Dam, would share in the
costs along with the State and Federal governments.
The Administration requests $35 million for
the Bureau of Reclamation to fund a newly-authorized
ecosystem restoration, water quality,
water supply, and flood protection program
known as CALFED. The overall Federal
request for CALFED is over $150 million for
seven agencies. This adaptive management
program in California’s Central Valley and the
San Francisco Bay-Delta assists California
in proactively addressing conflicts over water.
The program, operated in conjunction with
the State of California and local entities, will
ensure that all project partners pay a share
of project costs according to the benefits they
receive. The CALFED program has many
different components; the program will be
managed to ensure that progress for these
components is achieved in a balanced manner.
Water 2025
Water is the scarcest resource in some of the fastest growing areas of the country. Water 2025
proactively addresses potential future water conflicts in areas of the West where such conflicts are
likely to occur. The program focuses resources on high-risk areas, emphasizing improvements in
water efficiency, conservation, and water markets. It promotes collaboration, improves technology,
and removes institutional barriers. The 2006 Budget requests $30 million for Water 2025, allocating
competitive grant funds equally among the Bureau of Reclamation’s five regions.
192 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Department of the Interior
(In millions of dollars)
Estimate 2004
Actual 2005 2006
Spending
Discretionary Budget Authority:
Bureau of Land Management .......................................................................... 1,776 1,699 1,737
Minerals Management Service........................................................................ 171 174 167
Office of Surface Mining..................................................................................... 296 297 299
Legislative proposal ........................................................................................ — — 58
Bureau of Reclamation/CUPCA...................................................................... 954 966 907
US Geological Survey......................................................................................... 938 935 934
Fish and Wildlife Service ................................................................................... 1,303 1,292 1,323
National Park Service ......................................................................................... 2,259 2,315 2,249
Bureau of Indian Affairs...................................................................................... 2,306 2,296 2,187
Office of the Special Trustee ............................................................................ 209 228 304
All other .................................................................................................................... 485 465 478
Subtotal, excluding item below........................................................................ 10,696 10,667 10,643
Additional Wildland Fire Suppression ........................................................... — 99 —
Total, Discretionary budget authority ................................................................. 10,696 10,766 10,643
Memorandum: Budget authority from enacted supplementals ............... 100 98 —
Total, Discretionary outlays ................................................................................... 10,542 11,101 11,072
Mandatory Outlays:
Existing law ........................................................................................................ 2,599 2,569 1,703
Legislative proposal ........................................................................................ — 6 417
Total, Mandatory outlays ........................................................................................ 2,599 2,563 2,120
Total, Outlays.............................................................................................................. 7,943 8,538 8,952
Credit activity
Guaranteed Loan Commitments:
Indian guaranteed loan program..................................................................... 88 67 67
Total, Guaranteed loan commitments................................................................ 88 67 67
