The orignal letter was scanned and will soon be posted at www.isdratrt.org. In the meantime, here is a transcription.
| QUOTE |
United States Department of the Interior Office of the Assistant Secretary Policy, Management and Budget Washington, DC 02040 November 9, 2004 Mr. Jerry Seaver, Chairman Mr. Lawrence E. Jowdy, Vice Chairman Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area Technical Review Team Dear Sirs, This letter responds to yours of October 30, 2004 concerning funding for the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area. I am also pleased that we were able to find $450,000 in late fiscal year 2004 to partially restore recreation fee money that had been used for endangered species monitoring. I appreciate your response to our actions in this regard. The $450,000 has since been obligated to fund operational and maintenance needs at the Imperial Sand Dunes. I can reaffirm our commitment that in 2005, we will fund continuing monitoring requirements at the recreation area from direct appropriations, not recreation fees. Our BLM budget for 2005 includes an increase of $4 million to increase monitoring resources. This request is for monitoring BLM-wide. This increase will facilitate finding funding within the direct BLM budget for the Imperial Sand Dunes monitoring. I appreciate your continuing interest in BLM's programs and your support for the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area. Sincerely, P. Lynn Scarlett Assistant Secretary Policy, Management and Budget |