NMFS

implementation of the International Dolphin Conservation Act. This will continue a four-year study on the effects of encirclement of dolphins as a method for harvesting tuna and development of a tracking and monitoring system for verification of "dolphin-safe" tuna imports. A decrease of $0.4 million is requested to end funding to the University of Alaska for fishery observer training program which is duplicative of other training available at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, Washington. An increase of $2.3 million, including $1.5 million for DARP, is requested for the Habitat Conservation line item to provide operational and programmatic capability for the Restoration Center which serves as NOAA's focal point for habitat restoration, restoring fish habitat and other living and nonliving natural resources injured by human activities, and transferring restoration technology to the public and private sectors. In addition, the Center coordinates NMFS' participation in both the Coastal America Program and in projects conducted under the NOAA/Corps of Engineers Memorandum of Agreement for habitat creation within Corps public works program. NOAA requests an increase of $0.9 million for Enforcement and Surveillance activities. This increase will advance critical enforcement and surveillance strategies through the Voluntary Compliance Programs, Vessel Monitoring Systems, and state performance contracts. All of these initiatives are essential to educate the public, deter potential offenders, and detect, apprehend, and prosecute willful violators of Federal statutes in support of the Nation's goal to replenish and protect fisheries.

State and Industry Assistance Programs - This budget sub-activity provides for product quality and safety research, grants to states under the Anadromous and Interjurisdictional Fisheries Acts, funding for the three Interstate Fisheries

Commissions, and for the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Act. NMFS requests a net decrease of $3.9 million for FY 1999.

NOAA requests an increase of $0.3 million for the Anadromous Fishery Project (Striped Bass) in the Northeast. A decrease of $2.7 million is requested for one-time activities funded by the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Act and passed-through to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. A decrease of $0.8 million is requested to terminate funding to the Oceanic Institute in Hawaii for fisheries development activities. A decrease of 7 FTE and $0.7 million is requested to transfer product quality and safety program activities to the Food and Drug Administration as part of the Seafood Inspection PBO.

technology needed to improve NOAA services and enable the Nation to balance a growing economy with effective management and prediction of our environment and

natural resources. These capabilities directly

Goal Based

(Strategic Plan Structure)

contribute to the achievement of all of
NOAA's seven Strategic Plan goals: Advance
Short-Term Warning and Forecast Services,
Implement Seasonal to Interannual Climate
Forecasts, Predict and Assess Decadal to
Centennial Change, Promote Safe
Navigation, Build Sustainable Fisheries,
Recover Protected Species, and Sustain
Healthy Coasts. To accomplish these goals,
OAR supports a world-class network of
Federal scientists and laboratories (the
Environmental Research Laboratories) and
university/private-sector researchers through
the National Sea Grant College Program,
National Undersea Research Program, and
Joint and Cooperative Institutes. Through
these programs, OAR provides the research
and technology development necessary to
improve NOAA's weather and climate services, solar-terrestrial forecasts, and marine
services. OAR's activities provide the scientific basis for national policy decisions in key
environmental areas such as climate change, disaster reduction, air quality, non-
indigenous species and stratospheric ozone depletion.

In addition, OAR's research promotes economic growth through the development of marine biotechnology, aquaculture, and environmental observing technologies. OAR budget activity supports a number of NOAA-wide program endeavors, including the U.S. Weather Research Program component of NOAA's Natural Disaster Reduction

Continued on second page following.

Initiative (NDRI), Health of the Atmosphere Program, Climate and Global Change Program, High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) and Global Learning and Observations to the Benefit the Environment (GLOBE), a program that increases our understanding of the Earth through a worldwide network of schools collecting environmental data.

The OAR FY 1999 base reflects the transfer of the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) to NOS.

For FY 1999, NOAA requests $251.2 million for OAR. This is a net decrease of
$21.1 million below FY 1999 base funding and consists of program increases of
$12.3 million and program decreases of $33.4 million.

Detailed Program Changes

Climate and Air-Quality Research - A total of $123.8 million is requested for this subactivity, an increase of $9.0 million over the FY 1999 base. OAR's climate and air-quality research improves our understanding of oceanic and atmospheric processes by monitoring and developing predictive capabilities of such processes. This improved understanding helps to provide sound scientific advice to managers of our Nation's oceanic and atmospheric resources.

An increase of $1.0 million is requested for the Health of the Atmosphere program. This program conducts research aimed at (1) characterizing ozone episodes in rural areas, where crop and forest damage is of concern, and (2) detecting improvements in air quality that result from actions taken under the Clean Air Act Amendments. This funding increase will support a third research task, enabling NOAA to provide the scientific input for decisions associated with the new air quality ruling recently issued by EPA calling for lower ozone and particulate matter standards. NOAA research addresses key issues related to the successful application of the ruling by (1) providing scientific understanding of the natural and human-influenced factors that affect ozone and particulate matter and (2) delineating the atmospheric interrelations between the two standards. NOAA's research would save money by avoiding the over-regulation or mis-regulation associated with the implementation of lowered standards. Cost savings would also accrue by distinguishing natural (and therefore, uncontrollable) exceedances from human-influenced ones.

NOAA proposes a $1.0 million increase for the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program to support continued growth in the number of participating U.S. schools and the breadth of science data being collected for the international science community. The GLOBE Program is an increasingly valuable contributor to environmental science education for K-12 students in America.

NOAA requests a $2.0 million increase for the Climate and Global Change Program to expand climate assessment activities particularly in the area of regional applications.

OAR