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recreational facilities and resources on a basis equal to that of the federal government 



and the 50 states. 



DECREASE OF BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS FUNDING 



A portion of the Navajo Department of Fish and Wildlife's 

 Management/Research section and all of the Wildlife Law Enforcement section are 

 funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) through the Indian Self Determination Act 

 (Public Law 93-638). Funding for these sections has continually decreased over the 

 past four years. (See Attachment A) In 1990, the Navajo Department of Fish and 

 Wildlife's "638 contract" allocation was $332,800.00. In 1991, this contract 

 allocation totalled $260,800.00. In 1 991 , the Navajo Department of Fish and Wildlife 

 contracted the total fish and wildlife responsibilities from BIA. This included three 

 wildlife biologist positions. In 1992, the contract's total allocation dropped to 

 $251,019.00 which was inadequate to fund all programs and activities under the P.L. 

 93-638 contract. As a result of this continual decrease in funding, the Navajo 

 Department of Fish and Wildlife lost two of the three contracted wildlife biologist 

 positions at the end of 1992. In 1993, the original allocation to the Department was 

 $258,433.00, which would have resulted in large cutbacks in programs and services; 

 however, the Navajo Department of Fish and Wildlife renegotiated with the BIA and 

 received an additional $25,670. Although funding was slightly increased in 1993, 

 this amount is still grossly inadequate for the Navajo Department of Fish and Wildlife 

 to properly evaluate and monitor the Navajo Nation's fish and wildlife resources 

 spanning into three states. 



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