Contact: Nicholas Throckmorton, 202.208.5634
February 2, 2004

PRESIDENT SEEKS MORE THAN $1.3 BILLION FOR
U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE IN 2005 BUDGET

President George W. Bush is requesting more than $1.3 billion -- $22.6
million more than last year for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's 2005
budget. The request represents the administrations continuing commitment
to protect Americas natural resources and support conservation partnerships
in communities across the country.

Among the key features of this budget package are an increase for
partnership and cost-share grant programs under the Presidents Cooperative
Conservation Initiative and $2 million for a new Science Excellence
Initiative. Budget increases for hatcheries and migratory bird programs
help to round out a package that will allow the Service to conserve, with
its partners, the nature of America.

"President Bush's budget for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service illustrates
his continued strong commitment to protect and conserve our nations fish
and wildlife and its habitat," said Interior Secretary Gale Norton. "In
particular, the budget significantly boosts funding to support partnerships
with states, tribes, local communities, private landowners and others to
protect and enhance our fisheries, recover species, and increase
opportunities for Americans to enjoy our public lands."

New funding in the 2005 budget to support the Cooperative Conservation
Initiative includes:

      ?     An increase of $20.4 million for a total of $50 million for
Landowner Incentive Grants that provide state and tribal fish and wildlife
agencies grant funds needed to establish or expand habitat protection and
restoration programs on private land for "at risk" species.

      ?     An increase of $2.6 million for a total of $10 million for
Private Stewardship Grant programs that provide cost-share grants to
landowners for wildlife conservation.

      ?     An increase of $10.9 million for a total of $80 million for the
State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Fund that aids wildlife conservation on
State and Tribal lands.

      ?     An increase of $16.5 million for a total of $54 million for the
North American Wetlands Conservation Fund that provides matching grants to
private or public organizations and individuals to carry out wetlands
conservation projects in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

      ?     Increases of $8.4 million for a total of $90 million for the
Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund that helps states increase
participation in a wide array of voluntary conservation projects for
candidate, proposed and listed species. The states award these funds to
private landowners and groups for conservation projects.

      ?     Increases of $2.2 million for a total of $12 million for the
National Wildlife Refuge System's Challenge Cost Share program that
provides grants that match federal and private funds for conservation
projects on refuges.

      ?     New funding of $5 million for the High Plains Partnership under
the Partners for Fish and Wildlife programs. This is a public-private
collaboration initiated to pro-actively conserve declining species and
their habitats and preclude the need for further species listings. The
2005 requested increase will allow the Service to pursue this effort with
state fish and game agencies in the 11 high plain states, agencies within
the Department of Agriculture, private conservation organizations and
private landowners. Sage grouse conservation efforts will receive $300,000
of this money. The Upper Klamath Basin Restoration, another conservation
initiative, will receive an increase of $6.2 million. The initiative will
fund habitat restoration, removal of fish migration barriers, land
acquisition and diminish the likelihood of water crises.

      ?     An increase of $2.9 million for a total of $13.1 million for
Coastal Programs grants for on-the- ground conservation of wetlands and
tidal lands. Controlling invasive species will be a significant focus of
this program in 2005.

"The most effective conservation projects are the ones that are conceived
and carried out at the local level, by the people who live and work on the
land," Norton said. "Our goal is to empower the American people to become
citizen-conservationists, working together to achieve what the government
alone cannot achieve."

The budget request of $2 million for the Science Excellence Initiative is
one of Director Steve Williams priorities. Science excellence is the
foundation for all of the Services work. Through this initiative, the
Service will be taking many steps to increase our ability to acquire and
apply science in the conservation of the nations fish and wildlife
resources. The budget for this initiative is divided up into two
components. One million dollars will be used to shape new approaches to
the science of natural resource conservation. The remainder will be used
to bolster the resources of our partners to help the Service better shape
the direction of conservation efforts and to meet the changing needs of
science-based conservation.

The ever-escalating complexity of natural resource conservation demands
scientific information that is rigorous, timely and relevant. This
initiative supports the underpinnings of good science, promotes good
decision making, and supports continuous learning and professional
development, as well as stronger partnerships with other Federal or state
natural resource agencies, non-profit organizations, and private industry,
Williams said.

Other notable parts of the Services 2005 budget:

      ?     The Migratory Bird Management program would receive more than a
$4.5 million increase for permits and monitoring. This will be an
important step towards identifying and meeting the needs of the program.
An increase of $1.2 million, for a total of $11.4 million for the North
American Waterfowl Management Plan will help manage waterfowl as well as
the 15 Joint Ventures around the country. This successful model for
achieving migratory bird conservation goals through cooperation and
consultation with partners has increased the interest and number of
potential partnerships.

      ?     The Endangered Species program will receive an extra $5.0
million, for a total of more than $17.2 million, in its listing budget to
alleviate the backlog in dealing with new listings and critical habitat
designations. This program has been subject to a great deal of litigation
in recent years, particularly in regards to designation of critical habitat
for already listed species. This increase will address litigation-driven
workloads and should also provide additional funding to address other
high-priority actions that are not the subject of litigation.

      ?     An increase of nearly $1 million for a total of nearly $16.9
million will help address maintenance needs at national fish hatcheries.
The budget also provides an increase of $1 million for hatchery operations,
for a total of $40.1 million.

      ?     The National Wildlife Refuge Systems Law Enforcement budget
would increase more than $3 million.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency
responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and
plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American
people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge
System which encompasses more than 542 national wildlife refuges, thousands
of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69
national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 81 ecological
services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws,
administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations,
restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife
habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their
conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that
distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and
hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
                                   -FWS-
      For more information about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
                 visit our homepage at http://www.fws.gov