Performance goals and accomplishment of those goals are not contingent on enactment of legislation during the fiscal year covered by the annual performance plan.

II.4 Impact of FY 2000 Budget Changes:

The annual performance plan for FY 2000 reflects essential funding increases to meet targeted performance. A total increase of $52.4 million, over the FY 1999 enacted level, would be directed towards conserving, in cooperation with others, an ecologically diverse network of land and waters of various ownerships to provide habitats for migratory birds, imperiled species, interjurisdictional fish, marine mammals, and species of international concern associated with those ecosystems. This annual performance plan reflects the FY 2000 proposal - Lands Legacy Initiative - to save the best of our natural endowment for all time. The Lands Legacy Initiative will add 118,400 acres to the National Wildlife Refuge System over the next three years.
 

An additional 255,000 acres will be added to the National Wildlife Refuge System in FY 2000 as a result of ongoing land acquisition projects and new projects provided through the Lands Legacy Initiative.

Annual Performance Goal 2.2 - Infrastructure Stewardship on Service Lands
 
Another primary area of focus is operating, maintaining, and rehabilitating the infrastructure of National Wildlife Refuges and National Fish Hatcheries. Over the years, increasing deferred maintenance and capital improvement needs have threatened our success in mission delivery -- protection and conservation of natural resources and assurance of safe and healthful environments for visitors and employees.
 
A 1998 Interior study "Facilities Maintenance Assessment and Recommendations," has re-emphasized the need to seek sufficient funding for day to day maintenance and capital improvements; and develop a Five-Year Maintenance and Capital Improvement Plan. As part of this Five Year Plan, critical health, safety, natural resource protection, critical mission, and equipment replacement projects are given highest priority. The result of the Service's initial facility assessment is that most facilities are in poor condition. The Service has established a strategic and annual performance goal to address this critical issue.
 
The Service FY 2000 budget request includes a total of $64.5 million to address critical projects: $34 million for refuge maintenance, $6.7 million for hatchery maintenance, and $150,000 for law enforcement maintenance in the Resource Management account, and $23.6 million in the Construction account for refuge, hatchery, and law enforcement rehabilitation projects. The FY 2000 request will reduce the critical deferred maintenance needs by 10.7 percent
 
In addition, the FY 2000 request include an increase of $ 73.6 million for acquiring land and water and interests therein to protect nationally important wetlands and fish and wildlife habitat, for preservation and recovery of listed endangered and threatened species and other important species, and for public use and enjoyment. These budget increases are key to the Department's Five Year Plan to address critical health and safety needs in maintenance and construction, as well as for ongoing natural, cultural and resource protection.

Annual Performance Goal 2.3 - Habitat Conservation off Service Lands
 
Achievement of the FY 2000 performance target to enhance, restore or create 55,300 acres of wetland habitats, restore 86,540 acres of upland habitats and enhance and restore 737 riparian or stream miles of habitats off Service lands assumes a funding increase of $10.7 million over the FY 1999 enacted level. Wetland losses exceeded 53% of the originally occurring wetlands in the continental U.S. between 1780's and 1980's. Approximately 90% of tallgrass prairie in the Midwest and great plains has been destroyed. These ecosystems are important habitats for a large number of federal trust species and are important to reducing flooding, decreasing sediment and nutrient loads, and the protection and improvement of the quality and quantity of the nations' waters.

Additional resources will focus on working with the regional organizations and agricultural communities to restore riverine habitats and wetlands; working public and private landowners to restore fish and wildlife habitat within the high plains regions; supporting interagency species monitoring and to provide technical assistance to the U.S. Forest Service on land management practices and timber sales on sensitive habitat within the Tongass National Forest in southeast Alaska; and reviewing an additional 60 FERC applications and recommending actions for improving fish passage and wildlife habitat resources that are more compatible with planned hydroelectric power developments at 250 dams. An additional $540,000 will be directed to the habitat restoration improvements to benefit fish passage to spawning areas and replenish imperiled native fish, such as redband trout, leopard darter, American shad and sturgeon, and stripped bass.

The Service will achieve the FY 2000 performance off service lands through increased technical assistance efforts, an increase of $1.3 million over the FY 1999 enacted level, in support of the California Bay-Delta program. Technical assistance will support the assessment of potential fish, wildlife, and habitat restoration projects on applications for FERC hydropower relicensing and other water management projects, consistent with the California Bay-Delta Environmental Enhancement Act. The Service will also assist federal, state, and local agencies in planning and implementing habitat restoration and species recovery actions.

Enhanced efforts in coastal areas is needed to assure the availability of essential habitat for 45 % of the endangered and threatened species, approximately 50% of migratory non-game birds of management concern and 30% of North American waterfowl that winter in coastal areas. In addition, over 66% of all fish caught worldwide depend on coastal estuaries. The FY 2000 performance assumes an increase of $1.5 million to expand the Service expertise in habitat restoration and conservation in coastal areas. Service coastal programs specifically in Alaska, Hawaii, Texas, and the Great Lakes region will expand habitat restoration and conservation partnership activities benefiting fish, wildlife, and migratory bird habitat. An additional $1.5 million will be directed to update the status and trends reports on the location of existing wetlands, for use with overlays of contaminant and other geospatial information, for improved watershed planning by federal agencies and state, local and tribal governments.
 
About $375,000 of the increase is for work with regional organizations and agricultural landowners to restore riverine habitats and wetlands in this important flyway for migratory waterfowl, especially ducks and geese.

II.5 EXHIBIT A

GPRA PROGRAM ACTIVITY	FY 1999  Operating Plan  BA ($000)	FY 2000  Proposed  BA ($000)
Habitat Conservation: Network of Lands and Waters	$373,630	$426,000

 

Long-term Goal: Habitat Conservation On Service Lands

2.1 Through 2003, meet the identified habitat needs of Service lands by ensuring that 93,850,000 acres (total acreage managed by FWS) are protected, of which 3,500,000 acres will be enhanced or restored. In addition, 80 percent of contaminated cleanup projects on Service lands will be completed according to their original schedule.

 

FY 2000 Annual Performance Goal:
2.1.1 By September 30, 2000, meet the identified habitat needs of the Service lands by ensuring that 93,822,296 acres are protected, of which 3,377,260 acres will be enhanced or restored.
Performance Measures	FY 1997   Actual	FY 1998		FY 1999  Operating Plan	FY 2000  Proposed
		Plan	Actual
1. # acres managed by FWS [cumulative].	92,873,832	93,134,000	93,312,296	93,567,296	93,822,296
2. # acres managed by FWS as a result of the Lands Legacy Initiative. [acres for LLI are included in totals above]	---	---	---	---	118,400 [acquired over 3 years]
3. # acres enhanced or restored in the National Wildlife Refuge System.  [annual data]	2,647,000	3,298,410	3,347,210	3,303,341	3,377,260
Workload and Other Performance Statistics
North American Wetlands Conservation Fund
1. # acres of habitat protected	98,490	122,652	122,652	151,047	180,862

 
Operational Processes, Technology, Financial and Human Resources Necessary to Achieve Each Performance Goal within the GPRA Program Activity:
 
Goal Purpose:
 
Habitat is fundamental for self-sustaining populations of fish, wildlife and plants as well as for functional ecosystems. The Service's goal is to conserve fish and wildlife by protecting and restoring the habitat on which they depend. The National Wildlife Refuge System, with more than 500 refuges and 93 million acres, protects virtually every type of habitat found in the United States for the benefit of fish and wildlife species. The objective of this goal is to protect and manage habitat quality of the lands and waters owned and managed by the Service, principally the National Wildlife Refuge System.
 
Protecting, enhancing or restoring habitat involves placing acreage under active management practices that are compatible with fish and wildlife management.
 
FY 2000 Performance -- Goal Achievement:
 
The FY 2000 performance targets for habitat protection and restoration and enhancement are based on the assumption that $5.0 million increase requested over the FY 1999 level for Refuge Operations - Habitat Improvement is realized and expansion of land owner ship by 192,382 acres through appropriations of $116.9 million in Land Acquisition, and Migratory Bird Conservation Fund is completed.
 
Protection targets for this goal reflect increased size of the National Wildlife Refuge System through the addition of new lands. Funding for land acquisition is provided through the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund (made up of annual receipts from Duck Stamps sales, refuge recreation fees, import duties on arms and ammunition, etc.) and the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) appropriations. The funds are generally obligated, but not necessarily expended, for specific projects during the Fiscal Year. Resources requested for FY 2000 LWCF land acquisition are $73.6 million, an increase of $25.6 million over the FY 1999 enacted level. The resources requested will add 118,425 acres to the refuge system.
 
Habitat restoration and enhancement on Service lands, which includes ongoing annual management activities, are vital to meeting fish and wildlife needs on refuges. Approximately 37% or $72.5 million of the annual operations budget of the National Wildlife Refuge System is devoted to this function. The NWR System restores and improves over 3 million acres of important wildlife habitat annually.
 
For FY 2000, the refuges have identified an additional 51,908 of habitat requiring restoration or enhancement necessary for endangered plant communities and to improve the biological integrity of unique ecosystems. This level of performance assume an increase of $5.0 million, over the FY 1999 enacted level for Refuge Operations, providing support for 28 projects on 75 refuges. Strategies to achieve targeted performance for FY 2000 include --

• Restoration of 9,000 acres of historic wetland habitats at Aransas, Texas National Wildlife
• Refuge, Enhancement of 160 acres of important Kirtland's warbler habitat,
• Control of invasive plants and restoration of 53,000 acres at 48 refuges. Control of invasive plant and animal species, a growing problem that requires a long-term and sustained effort to reverse habitat declines that are occurring in many areas.
• Protection of Coral Reefs occurring on National Wildlife Refuges. The refuge system manages over 300,000 acres of coral reefs on eight National Wildlife Refuges in the Pacific, South Atlantic, and the Caribbean. This effort will be conducted in cooperation with the National Marine Fisheries Service

• increased populations of Federal trust species,
• preclude the need to list fish, wildlife and plant populations in decline,
• improved health of watersheds and associated ecosystems,
• improved water quality and reduced risk of flooding,
• less dependence on regulatory mechanisms to achieve Federal trust resource objectives,
• increased recreational opportunities resulting from improved fish and wildlife populations (hunting, wildlife viewing, environmental education),
• improved quality of life, and
• enhance recreational fishing opportunities