Statement of

Mark D. Myers, Director

U.S. Geological Survey

Department of the Interior

Before the

Committee on Appropriations,

Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies

U.S. House of Representatives

February 28, 2008

Good morning, Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee. Thank you
for the opportunity to present the Administration\'s proposal for the
budget of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for fiscal year 2009. This
budget preserves the Survey's scientific excellence in our core areas of
biologic, geographic, geologic, and water resources research. It also
provides new funding to address several important Secretarial priorities
that seek to expand our work in water assessment, oceans, bird surveys,
and lead selected Federal efforts in remote sensing. These initiatives
comport with scientific work and accomplishments of USGS and are
outlined in our Science Strategy. This strategy, developed by a cadre of
USGS scientists and professional staff, responds to national priorities
and global trends with USGS scientific excellence and strong
collaboration with partners at the local, State, and Federal levels. The
2009 budget request for USGS is \$968.5 million in current
appropriations, a reduction of \$38.4 million from the 2008 enacted
level of \$1.0 billion.

The Administration\'s 2009 budget proposal continues to focus USGS
research on issues of societal relevance, while reflecting the
President's commitment to reduce the deficit and balance the Federal
budget by 2012. It ensures that USGS maintains the expertise to help
address the scientific and societal challenges that will arise in the
months and years ahead. The budget strengthens USGS efforts in support
of key Administration priorities such as Water for America, Birds
Forever, Healthy Lands, and Ocean and Coastal Frontiers. It maintains
strong efforts to ensure continued availability of crucial data and
research results to governmental, academic, commercial, and
international users, and to provide the fundamental research and
monitoring needed to address increasing concerns about climate change.
The budget reflects \$34.9 million in program increases and
\$15.0 million in increases for fixed costs, which are offset by
\$87.8 million in program reductions.

Water is vital to the U.S. economy in general, and to agricultural
production, energy independence, the viability of communities, and
environmental quality in particular. If the Nation is to manage this
resource well, good information and predictive tools are needed to guide
decisions made by the private sector, localities, Tribes, States, and
the Federal Government. The Committee on Environment and Natural
Resources of the National Science and Technology Council is preparing an
interagency plan for a water census, with USGS playing a key role in
this multi-agency effort. USGS has played an essential role in
monitoring the Nation's rivers for well over a century, and USGS
databases contain information on surface-water and ground-water
resources at 1.5 million sites and more than 64 million chemical
analyses, all of which help local managers assess water availability and
plan for floods and droughts. In cooperation with the Bureau of
Reclamation, the USGS is participating in the Department's \$21.3
million Water for America initiative to avert water crises and ensure
21^st^ century water supplies. Within the USGS, a net increase in the
2009 budget of \$8.2 million, along with an internal redirection, will
provide \$9.5 million to fund the first nationwide assessment of water
availability, water quality, and human and environmental water use since
the 1970s; regional-scale watershed studies; and critical upgrades of
telemetry equipment at streamgages. For purposes of improved geologic
characterization of aquifer systems, the initiative employs the efforts
of both USGS and State geological surveys through the USGS National
Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program.

Within the Department's \$9.0 million Birds Forever initiative, the USGS
is requesting \$1.0 million in 2009. This funding will address threats
that have led to rapid declines in the populations of many migratory
bird species. USGS will complement the efforts proposed by the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service by providing new or increased research and
monitoring capacity to better understand large-scale drivers of
migratory bird populations and habitat change such as climate change,
deforestation, and urban development. This initiative supports
monitoring efforts in the Breeding Bird Survey, Strategic Habitat
Conservation, and other migratory bird monitoring activities critical to
the achievement of migratory bird resource goals and objectives by the
Fish and Wildlife Service and other partners. Additional funding in 2009
will be used to expand the number of Breeding Bird Survey routes
surveyed annually, expand the geographic scope of the Breeding Bird
Survey into Mexico, evaluate and refine methodologies, and enhance both
database management and online data reporting.

The Healthy Lands initiative was a central component of the President's
2008 budget proposal, with the USGS portion focusing on the Green River
Basin of Wyoming. In 2009, USGS requests an increase of \$3.5 million.
Through this initiative, in partnership with the Bureau of Land
Management and the Fish and Wildlife Service, USGS will provide the
essential long-term science for land managers to help protect and
restore the living resources of the basin while facilitating responsible
development of the energy resources. Working with partners, USGS will
assess the health of habitats and resources, build the geospatial
framework for sharing information, and monitor changes in landscapes.
USGS research and monitoring will inform habitat restoration strategies
that benefit species of concern. The scientific tools, models, and
protocols that are developed as part of the 2008 work in southwest
Wyoming will be transferred and applied as initial steps in assisting
land management agencies to determine best management practices to meet
the needs of multiple stakeholders in other basins throughout the West.

The Department is also requesting \$7.9 million in targeted increases in
2009 for the Ocean and Coastal Frontiers initiative. The proposed budget
includes increases in both geology and water programs, building on work
begun in response to the U.S. Ocean Action Plan issued in December 2004
and the Ocean Research Priorities Plan issued in January 2007. Through
Executive Order 13366 and the Ocean Action Plan, the President directed
Federal agencies to enhance existing partnerships by expanding
coordination and consultation on ocean-related matters and encouraged
State collaboration with Federal agencies to address ocean and coastal
issues. The USGS' 2009 budget requests \$7.0 million for these efforts
as part of the 2009 Ocean and Coastal Frontiers initiative, which are
conducted in collaboration with Federal, regional, State, and local
partners. The three components of this initiative are to provide the
geologic base for delineating the limits of the U.S. Extended
Continental Shelf; to develop, in collaboration with State and local
entities and other Federal agencies, the tools, information, and
management frameworks required to address pressing national issues where
they are deemed critical to regional ocean and coastal priorities; and
to enhance interagency work begun in 2008 in order to implement a water
quality and ecological monitoring network.

The request for 2009 includes \$2.0 million to enable USGS to begin
working with the Department and the land remote sensing community to
begin to implement the Administration's August 14, 2007 plan for a
National Land Imaging Program. The increase in 2009 will allow USGS,
through a collaborative process, to assess and integrate current and
future needs for land imaging.

The potential impacts of climate change are of great concern to Interior
land managers, and there is a critical need for information to assist in
adapting to changes on the landscape. With USGS\' ability to conduct
national, regional, and local research across the Nation and our ability
to provide science information across multiple scientific disciplines,
times, and scales, USGS plays a unique role in the climate science
community. In 2009 USGS is sustaining \$5.0 million of \$7.4 million
provided by Congress in 2008 for climate change. We will continue
developing the framework for a comprehensive, national climate effects
research and monitoring network; continue adapting scientific findings
of the network to real-life applications; and support the recently
established National Global Warming and Wildlife Science Center.

The 2009 budget proposes to consolidate 2008 base funding of
\$21.6 million in current climate change work through a budget
restructure that will align USGS climate change work under a single
Global Change budget activity. USGS will use this funding to monitor,
model, and understand ecological and physical responses to changing
climate. These observations and related USGS research are essential
components for climate models, especially those that deal with the
physical components of climate change and impacts to the terrestrial,
freshwater, and marine ecosystems from changing climate.

Priority Ecosystems Science provides integrated science to better
understand the interactive nature of resources and the environment in
targeted ecosystems. In 2009, a total of \$10.4 million will be
dedicated to work in six study areas---Greater Everglades, Chesapeake
Bay, San Francisco Bay, Mojave Desert, Platte River, and Yellowstone.

The 2009 budget includes \$73.1 million for the geography program that
continues support for the USGS role in land remote sensing and
geographic research. The request reflects a decrease of \$4.6 million
from 2008, a net program decrease of \$2.1 million. The budget maintains
funding to ensure continued availability of Earth observation data to
government, academic, commercial, and international users. In addition,
the 2009 budget requests an increase of \$2.0 million for the National
Land Imaging Program, described earlier. The budget also requests an
increase of \$416,000 for fixed costs.

The budget proposes \$208.0 million for USGS geology activities, which
is \$35.5 million below 2008, a net program decrease of \$28.2 million.
The geology activity includes \$6.5 million for the Oceans and Coastal
Frontiers initiative, described earlier. The budget continues funding
high priority assessments of geologic hazards, landscapes, and energy
resources. The budget also includes an increase of \$3.0 million for
fixed costs.

Included in the geology budget is a decrease of \$25.4 million for the
Mineral Resources Program. This program provides scientific information
and resource assessments, data on mineral production, consumption, and
environmental effects, and comprehensive baseline data for the United
States in the fields of geochemistry, geophysics, and mineral deposits.
The Administration is focusing its efforts in mineral resource
assessments and research on projects that support the needs of Federal
land management programs. The proposed budget will permit the program to
continue work on a global mineral resource assessment, conduct research
to provide mineral deposit models of targeted nonfuel mineral
commodities for decision-makers, collect data on domestic and
international production and utilization of 70‑80 essential mineral
commodities, and manage four national-scale long term databases.

The budget for the USGS water resources discipline proposes
\$203.0 million to continue work on issues related to water
availability, water quality, and flood and drought hazards. The request
reflects a net decrease of \$17.5 million from 2008, a net program
decrease of \$18.0 million. The budget request includes \$8.0 million
for its component of the Water for America initiative, and \$500,000 for
the Ocean and Coastal Frontiers initiative, as described earlier. The
budget also includes an increase of \$3.6 million for fixed costs.

The 2009 budget requests \$180.3 million for biological research, which
is \$458,000 above 2008, a net program increase of \$3.0 million. The
proposal reflects increases of \$1.0 million for Birds Forever and
\$3.5 million for Healthy Lands in the Green River Basin of Wyoming, as
described earlier. The budget also includes an increase of \$2.5 million
for fixed costs.

The budget requests \$277.4 million for science support, enterprise
information, and facilities, which is \$63,000 below 2008. The proposed
2009 budget includes a decrease of \$4.6 million for one-time funding
provided in 2008 for critical health and safety repairs and
rehabilitation of facilities at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, a
facility that is shared with the Fish and Wildlife Service. The budget
also includes an increase of \$5.1 million for fixed costs in these
three activities.

The budget includes a bureau-wide reduction in travel expenditures of
\$3.3 million as part of an effort to reduce travel and relocation
expenses. USGS will create a strategy to manage and control travel and
relocation costs that promotes improved efficiency in allocating
available travel funds to highest priority uses, locations, and
functions.

With a worldwide reputation for excellent, objective, unbiased science,
USGS is uniquely suited to address the broad scope of natural-resource
and natural-science issues facing the Nation, employing scientific tools
at scales ranging from microscopic to global. The 2009 budget request
will enable USGS to build on its breadth of expertise and its long
tradition of service to provide the data, long-term scientific
understanding, and scientific tools needed to help the economy remain
strong, the environment remain healthy, and the quality of life in the
United States remain high, now, and into the future.

This concludes my statement, Mr. Chairman. I will be happy to answer any
questions you may have. I appreciate this opportunity to testify before
this Subcommittee.