Status of NOAA Coral Funding for next year

[Roger B Griffis]

Re:  Status of funding for coral reefs in NOAA's FY 2001 budget

Coral-List:  I have received numerous requests to post information on
the status of NOAA's FY 2001 funding for coral reef activities.  Here is
a brief status report.  This is provided for informational purposes only
and should not be taken in any way as any sort of request.  Thank you.

Status report:

The Congress has not completed their appropriation process concerning
NOAA's budget for next year (FY 2001).  The House passed their proposed
budget for NOAA (Department of Commerce) several weeks ago.  The Senate
Commerce, Justice, State (CJS) appropriations committee is currently
finalizing their decisions on NOAA's FY 2001 budget.  The Senate is
expected to move the CJS appropriation quickly to full Senate
consideration.  I do not know the schedule for House-Senate conference
meetings on appropriations.

>From the current information, it appears that NOAA's coral reef funding
next year may be completely eliminated.  The President's FY 2001 budget
request to the Congress included a total of $16 million for NOAA for
priority coral reef actitivies.  This request was $10 million above the
FY 2000 NOAA coral reef funding level of $6 million.  FY 2000 was the
first year NOAA received any funding specifically requested for coral
reef activities.  The FY2001 NOAA coral reef request of $16 million was
specifically designed to implement priority actions of the U.S. Coral
Reef Task Force National Action Plan for Coral Reef Conservation.

The House FY2001 budget zeroed out all of NOAA's coral funding.  This
included
elimination of the $6 million provided to NOAA's National Ocean Service
this year (FY 2000) which allowed NOAA and the U.S. Coral Reef Task
Force to begin ambitious efforts to
(1) map all U.S. coral reefs,
(2) build a comprehensive coral reef monitoring program,
(3) provide funding to states and territories to help them implement
their coral reef management plans, and
(4) support education and outreach efforts regarding sustainable use of
coral reefs.

In addition, the House provided zero funding for the requests in the
President's budget for new NOAA funding for coral reefs..  The
President's FY2001 NOAA budget requested an increase of $10 million for
new activities to protect and sustainably manage valuable coral reef
habitats.  $5 million of this new funding would provide the National
Marine Fisheries Service with the first ever funding specifically to
address fisheries impacts on coral reefs, and help support Fishery
Management Council conservation and management actions for these
important habitats that support so many commercial and recreational
fisheries.  $5 million would support needed research, restoration, and
monitoring activities, and possibly increase support to states and
territories with coral reef management responsibilities.

We do not yet have the final report from the Senate appropriations
committee.  Initial information suggests that the Senate committee's
FY2001 NOAA coral reef budget may be similar to the House mark for coral
reef funding.

This is a very troubling situation.  The House funding levels (zero)
will eliminate NOAA's activities to implement the U.S. National Action
Plan including NOAA's ability to support state and territorial efforts
to protect and sustainably manage coral reefs.

For further information on NOAA's coral reef activities, please contact
me at P: 202-482-5034 or email roger.b.griffis at noaa.gov.
For information on the U.S. Coral Reef TAsk Force please see their web
site at http://coralreef.gov/.
For information on the President's FY 2001 Budget Request for Coral
Reefs (both Department of Commerce and the Department of the Interior)
please see
http://coralreef.gov/coral00budsum.pdf
For general information on NOAA please see NOAA's web site at
http://www.noaa.gov/

Thank you.

Roger Griffis
P: 202-482-5034
F: 202-501-3024
email: roger.b.griffis at noaa.gov
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