President ' s Budget Would Cut USGS by 21 Percent

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) would be funded at $860 million, a 21 percent cut from the fiscal year (FY) 2017 level.
Funding for the water resources program would be reduced by 23 percent to $165 million. The administration’s budget would also reduce support for the natural hazards program by 19 percent. These include programs to monitor earthquakes and volcanoes, which would each be slashed by 21 percent. Other programs would also see deep cuts, with budget for the ecosystems program reduced by 40 percent, core science systems reduced by 20 percent, and science support programs cut by 15 percent. The 40 percent cut to the ecosystems accounts would significantly reduce the agency’s ability to conduct biodiversity-related research and efforts to inform sound conservation and natural resource stewardship decision-making by other federal, state, and local agencies.
The President’s plan would allocate $84 million to the energy and mineral resources programs, a 15 percent increase from the 2017 level, while providing no funds for the environmental health program. The plan also includes a new “administrative initiative to help spur critical mineral resource development” for economic growth and national security.
The agency’s current “climate and land use change program” would be restructured and renamed to “land resources”, which would focus on land imaging, land change science and climate change adaptatio...

Source: Public Policy Reports - February 23, 2018 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news