FY26 budget outline

[dave54]

Check out the proposals for Dept of Interior and Forest Service.

https://whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploa ... equest.pdf

Transferring smaller and lesser used Parks to states. Roll back National Monuments designations.
Forest Service funding anything not related to timber production, grazing, or minerals is gutted. Slashing matching funds to community wildfire defense programs.

[JayOtheMountains]

Can you provide a reference?

I mean, you started off with "check out the..." I can't check it out since you didn't point me anywhere useful.

[dave54]

OOPS! Added link.

[FrankPS]

Sounds like someone is trying to keep federal spending down. In general, I like that idea.

[balzaccom]

The impact: https://www.sfgate.com/national-parks/a ... 307194.php

[creekfeet]

Sounds like someone is trying to keep federal spending down. In general, I like that idea.

I think most Americans feel this way, but it doesn't feel like making cuts in public land management moves the needle at all. It's already such an infinitesimal part of our nation's budget, and its spent almost entirely on bare bones infrastructure investment like campground maintenance, roads, and trails. Even if you're looking at this from strictly an economic perspective, when access to parks is made more difficult, it has a major financial impact of nearby small businesses that rely on tourism.

Then the other issue is the lack of a coherent plan to manage proposed cuts. For instance, I used to work as a ranger at J-Tree, and stay in touch with a few former co-workers. During the first round of budget cuts to the NPS, a decent portion of the staff was let go. However, for reasons entirely unclear, they were all rehired two months later, and given two months of back pay for doing absolutely nothing. This doesn't strike me as very fiscally responsible.

[Wandering Daisy]

I do not think it has anything to do with saving money. It is all about optics and punishing political opponents. If the park teaches "woke" history- defund it. If it is in a blue state - defund it. Punish the locals- there is loss of tourism dollars to the small nearby communities if states cannot easily pick up the funding. It is interesting that if what I read was true, Trump's Mar-a-Lago was a federal funded park, sent back to Florida evidently not able to fund it, then sold to Trump. Defund parks, sell public land to the untra-rich or open to mining, logging, etc. seems to also be a hidden agenda.

On the other hand, I think some states would actually like to add some federal parks to their own state park system. But I doubt the states were included in the decisions. And for the really small lands, a lot can be done by local volunteer organizations.

[Schleppy]

Defund parks, sell public land to the untra-rich or open to mining, logging, etc. seems to also be a hidden agenda.

Weather or not it's an agenda, it is a foreseeable outcome.

Some states have legislatures that would be very happy to sell or lease federal lands that would come into their sphere of domain. I'm reminded of how quickly Utah was to move on plans for Bears Ears once the national monument status was revoked.

Then again, I'm also reminded of what a s**t show Pinnacles turned into almost immediately after becoming a NP.