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On Friday, the Biden administration released its 2022 budget proposal for the Interior Department. The initial budget request of $17.4 billion is 16.3% higher than the department's enacted fiscal 2021 funding level. The budget proposal highlights the administration's climate, jobs, and conservation priorities.
Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement, "President Biden's funding request provides much-needed resources to Tribal Nations, prioritizes racial justice and equity, and invests in healthy lands, waters, and a clean energy economy that will create good-paying jobs."
The budget lays out an intended $200 million investment in science-based conservation, which would support the goal of protecting 30% of America's lands and waters by 2030.
Additional spending items include $4 billion for Interior tribal programs, $20 million to expand National Park Service access, $550 million to clean up abandoned mines and orphaned oil and gas wells, and a $550 million-increase from 2021 levels to research and implement climate change solutions.
Can a wildlife refuge help a community’s fight for environmental justice?
South of Albuquerque, industrial sewage plants and paint facilities have created a legacy of air pollution, contaminated groundwater, and Superfund sites. But Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge, an urban wildlife refuge, could help change that. Learn how a collaborative local process helped designate the new refuge, which is driving community benefits, protecting local health, and demonstrating how protecting nature can serve all Americans.
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What we expect out of the Biden administration is true consultation, true listening to tribes, to be part of the solution."
