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A report prepared for the Minnesota Environmental Partnership, March 2008
We all know that Minnesota is a special place. What makes our state so exceptional are our lakes, rivers and streams; forests and wilderness areas; parks and natural areas; and wildlife. We want to enjoy our state’s natural beauty and way of life, protect it and pass it on to our children and grandchildren.
In Minnesota, like all states, federal funding is critical to state efforts to ensure water quality, protect wildlife habitat, and maintain parks and natural areas. Cuts to federal environmental programs can seriously erode our state’s ability to maintain the safety of our water infrastructure and can result in deterioration and neglect of our outdoor resources.
Unfortunately, in his final budget proposal to Congress, President Bush again proposed serious cuts to environmental programs, continuing a dramatic downward spiral in the nation’s investment in its natural resources. The EPA’s budget alone is cut by $330 million in fiscal year 2009, to $7.14 billion – the lowest requested funding level since 1997.
As part of MEP's mission to achieve the highest quality natural environment for Minnesotans, we work with our member groups to ensure that there is adequate, long-term, stable public funding to protect the health of our climate, landscapes, ecosystems, habitats and people.
To that end, we have prepared a report to show the impact of the President’s proposed Fiscal Year 2009 federal budget on environment and natural resource protection in Minnesota. The report focuses on four areas in which budget cuts will have a particularly negative impact on Minnesota’s Great Outdoors: the State Clean Water Revolving Fund, the Great Lakes Legacy Act, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and the Forest Legacy Program.
These are just four areas that will be negatively impacted by budget cuts. Other federal environmental and conservation programs important to the health and future of Minnesota’s natural resources will also be negatively impacted by the continued legacy of dwindling funds proposed by President Bush.
To make sure that Minnesota remains the special place it is today, for current residents and future generations, we must make a commitment to adequate, long-term, stable public funding of our natural resources.
The President's Proposed Fiscal Year 2009 Federal Budget: Impact on Environment & Natural Resource Protection in Minnesota (PDF copy of the report)
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