Trump budget trims nearly $1 million from Glacier

President Trump’s proposed 2018 budget could mean a nearly $1 million cut to Glacier National Park’s operational budget. The proposed budget would trim about 7 percent from Glacier’s budget, or about $956,000.

Critics were quick to respond to the spending plan.

“Glacier National Park is a huge economic driver for Montana, bringing millions of tourists and hundreds of millions of dollars to the state every year. Every dollar that we cut from the Park’s budget, which is already cash-strapped, will have a direct impact on jobs and the strength of our communities in northwest Montana,” said Montana Sen. Jon Tester on Trump’s proposed spending plan.

Glacier has about 140 full-time employees and hundreds more seasonal staff.

Overall, Trump’s spending plan, which was released last week, cuts the Park Service operating budget nationwide about 8 percent, the centennial challenge program by 25 percent, and Land and Water Conservation Funds for the Park Service by 84 percent.

The centennial challenge program was a popular program because it matched private dollars with federal funding to complete projects in the Park Service.

In Glacier, the program was used to rebuild the double helix staircase in the Many Glacier Hotel and to rebuild parts of the Highline Trail.

Land and Water Conservation funds for the Forest Service under Trump’s plan would be cut 88 percent and the Forest Legacy Fund, which has been used to garner several prominent conservation deals in the Swan Valley and the Whitefish Range would be zeroed out entirely.

Forest Legacy dollars were used most recently in conservation deals with F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber on conservation easements for about 10,000 acres of land in the Whitefish Range just north of Columbia Falls. The program is part of the LWCF.

Trump’s budget is just a proposal, and most likely will be adjusted by Congress — even his Republican colleagues have reservations about the budget.

“In my conversations with U.S. Interior Sec. Zinke, I have consistently prioritized our outdoor economy including the national park maintenance backlog and LWCF. We need to make government more efficient and effective without reducing funding for important programs that impact Montanans and our way of life,” said Montana Sen. Steve Daines.

The proposed Trump cuts are worse than what Glacier saw in 2013 during sequestration. That year, it saw a 5 percent cut to its budget.

“President Trump and I are absolutely committed to repairing our treasured national parks and making sure the American people have a world class experience when they visit our parks, and this budget reflects that,” said Zinke. “I’ve been pushing for more funding for the deferred maintenance backlog since my time in Congress. Not all spending is solely an expense, this is an investment in our parks’ infrastructure and our future. While tough decisions had to be made to save taxpayer dollars and put ourselves on track to a balanced budget, I’m confident we will find innovative solutions for cost reduction, like public private partnerships, and revenue generation that will improve both sides of the books.”

The Park Service budget overall is $2.55 billion under Trump’s plan. That includes $129 million for line item construction, an increase of $13 million over the fiscal year ‘17 resolution.

But the National Park Conservation Association was quick to condemn the spending plan. It claims the budget cuts would be the largest cut to the agency since World War II, if enacted. The budget purports to significantly increase maintenance, but funding for deferred maintenance is actually decreased in the administration’s proposal.

“This budget undermines our national parks to an alarming degree. Agencies like the National Park Service and EPA are already operating on shoestring budgets, and this budget, if enacted, will only make a bad situation worse. It shortchanges the need for better maintenance and repair of parks, and cuts more than a thousand rangers out of our parks,” Theresa Pierno, president and CEO of National Parks Conservation Association said.

The Environmental Protection Agency also sees significant cuts under Trump’s plan — about 31 percent.