The U.S. House of Representatives passed a budget for Fiscal Year 2025 (October 1, 2024, through September 30, 2025) that slashes budgets for the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and U.S. Forest Service. Plus, the budget contains a number of equally harmful policy “riders” (i.e., add-on provisions), including attacks on the Antiquities Act, the Public Lands Rule, and Resource Management Plans across the West.  The House passed the budget by a slim margin along party lines.  All of California’s Republicans voted in favor and all but two Democrats voted against it (with those two not voting at all).  While the Senate’s proposed budget does not include these harmful cuts or riders, Congress will need to resolve these differences in order to pass a final budget.

Some examples of funding cuts in the House budget bill include:

• $1.3 billion for the BLM, $116 million below the fiscal year 2024 enacted level and $208 million below the budget request;
• $3.1 billion for the NPS, $210 million below the fiscal year 2024 enacted level and $461 million below the budget request; and
• $3.6 billion for the USFS (non-fire), $132 million below the fiscal year 2024 enacted level and $350 million below the budget request.

Unfortunately, the bill not only calls for harmful budget cuts, but it has 92 equally harmful policy “riders” (i.e., add-on provisions) that negatively impact endangered species, the environment, and many more things.  Some of the provisions directly related to federal public lands prohibit the funds being used for implementing any of the following:

• The BLM’s newly approved Public Lands Rule;
• The Biden administration’s updated National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Implementing Regulations. NEPA ensures accountability and transparency in governmental decision making;
• The USFS’ Land Management Plan Direction for Old Growth Forest Conditions Across the National Forest System or to propose any similar action;
• Proceeding with a “withdrawal” of any federal public lands from mining activities (i.e., prohibiting mining activities) unless authorized by Congress. The conservation community often uses withdrawals as a tool to provide temporary (20 year) protection for an area that is threatened by mining while other avenues of protection are being considered and developed; and
• Various measures seeking to protect the sage grouse.

Please CLICK HERE for more information and to help keep the pressure on Congress to reject these harmful cuts and riders in the final budget.