Natural Resources: Selected Issues for the 109th Congress

Publication Date: August 2005

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Environment

Type:

Abstract:

The 109th Congress is considering natural resource management issues involving how the federal government should balance multiple uses and invest in resource development and protection. These issues affect local communities, industries, ecosystems, and the nation. This report introduces 30 key policy issues in five broad categories that the 109th Congress is addressing or may address through authorizations, appropriations, or oversight. While this report will be updated occasionally, many of the cited CRS products are updated more frequently.

Certain themes often are common to consideration of most natural resource questions. Many conflicts center on balancing resource use and protection. The desirability of current versus alternative uses and protection programs, whether resources should be managed to produce national or local benefits, and how to balance current uses with future supplies and opportunities are also common themes. Other resource questions involve the effect of federal resource management on privately owned lands and the role of scientific data in decision making.

Federal lands questions before the 109th Congress include how much and which land the government should own, how to prioritize uses (e.g., grazing, timber, habitat, recreation), who should manage federal lands, and whether to designate additional special areas. There are financial questions as well, such as whether and how to collect or change fees for land uses and to dispose of collected funds.

The 109th Congress is considering recommendations from two ocean commissions for a more coordinated national ocean policy and a reorganization of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Congress also is debating reauthorization of fisheries, marine mammal, and coastal zone management legislation, and the Senate may address the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Federal species management and ecosystem protection are receiving much attention during the 109th Congress. Topics include whether to: amend the Endangered Species Act, develop legislation to prevent or respond to invasive species, alter protection of international species, support efforts to protect and restore wetlands, and expand or curtail specific large-scale ecosystem restoration efforts.

Increased competition for water has fostered interest in the federal role in water resources, particularly for water supply and river management. The 109th Congress is considering transboundary water resource management, and assistance for rural water supply, municipal water supply, and aging dams.

An array of other natural resource policy issues are being debated in the 109th Congress. They include whether to expand availability of federal lands for development of energy and mineral resources, and whether to alter the federal role in natural disaster mitigation. Questions on federal involvement in managing natural resources on private and Indian lands and tribal uses of non-Indian resources also are ongoing.