The GOP-controlled House Appropriations Committee has passed a spending bill that would cut National Park Service funding by 12.5 percent and prohibit the Interior Department from establishing a bison working group, among other things/NPS file

A spending bill designed to "rightsize" federal agency spending that was approved by the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday would cut the National Park Service's upcoming budget by 12.5 percent, resulting in the loss of more than 1,000 park staff and reduce the agency's maintenance and historic preservation funding, according to the National Parks Conservation Association.

The bill, passed 33-27 along party lines, "provides new non-defense discretionary spending totaling $25.417 billion, which is $13.433 billion (35%) below the Fiscal Year 2023 enacted level and $21.371 billion below the President’s Budget Request," the committee's Republicans said in a release. It also would dictate annual oil and gas lease sales on federal lands, block grizzly bear recovery in the North Cascades, and remove Endangered Species Act protections for the gray wolf.

“A vote in support of this spending bill is a vote against our national parks, public lands and communities. Our national parks are in crisis and Congress’ current solution to pass a spending bill that would have damaging repercussions for years to come is outrageous and unrealistic," NPCA CEO and President Theresa Pierno said. "Our parks have been chronically underfunded and understaffed. Ranger-led programs have been reduced, maintenance needs have increased, and visitor experience has been compromised. Less funding will only make matters worse, hurting the more than 300 million visitors who come to our parks each year to enjoy the great outdoors and learn about the stories that have shaped their lives."

The bill, which still needs to clear the House floor, likely would encounter Senate opposition in its current form.

"Cutting funding is never easy and it can often be an ugly, arduous process. But with the national debt in excess of $32 trillion and inflation at an unacceptable level, we must make tough choices to ensure we do not saddle our children and grandchildren with overwhelming debt," said Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, who chairs the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee.

Along with the spending reductions and ESA provisions, the GOP-adopted bill also would, other things:

• Prohibit funds for the National Park Service’s vehicle reservation system at Glacier National Park;
• Prohibit the Department of the Interior from establishing a bison working group;
• Prevents the Biden Administration from banning lead ammunition and fishing tackle on federal lands or waters for hunting or fishing activities unless certain conditions are met, and;
• Reinstates mineral leases in the Superior National Forest in Minnesota that the Biden administration had withdrawn for a 20-year period due to concerns that mining and geothermal development could impact the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

The measure also requires the Interior Secretary to order an environmental impact statement on oil and gas development within the Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida, where the Burnett Oil Co. wants to drill horizontally beneath the preserve to access oil reserves.

While the Park Service owns the surface of Big Cypress, the mineral rights are privately owned and so energy exploration and development are possible. However, the issue of bringing more oil production to the preserve — there has been oil production there since the 1940s, prior to establishment of the preserve — has been a controversial matter dating back at least to the 1990s, when there were efforts to have the federal government buy the mineral rights from the Collier Co.

What is potentially at risk from drilling activities — not just from the actual drilling itself, but also the supporting roads and other infrastructure needed to enable it — is a landscape rife with threatened and endangered species and which is a conduit for roughly 40 percent of the water that flows through the "river of grass" through Everglades and into Florida Bay.

“Our national parks are more popular than ever before, but many lawmakers continue to starve their already strained budgets and resources," Pierno said. "And it’s not just park staff and visitors that will be harmed by this budget. Communities across the country that rely on these places for their livelihoods will feel the effects of these cuts for years to come. This bill is a nonstarter for anyone who cares about our national parks. Congress can and must do better. Millions of people who love and cherish our national parks and public lands are counting on it.”