President Bush unveiled his new budget for the coming year on Feb. 4, a $3.1 trillion spending plan. But the president’s budget offered some devastating news for Capitol Hill residents who cherish visiting the US National Arboretum. Buried deep in the budget is a $2 million proposed cut in federal funds to operate the gardens and visitor services of the US National Arboretum. That’s a $2 million cut in a $3 million dollar budget, meaning the arboretum would have to try to operate the gardens and visitors services with only one third of its current, barely adequate, funding.

A budget cut of this magnitude may mean the closure of portions of the arboretum and significant cutbacks in public access and hours. The news is a tremendous blow to Capitol Hill residents who enjoy the 446 acres of green space in their backyard. “A $2 million cut represents an extreme and drastic cut which could result in a crippling and possibly fatal loss of staff and services,” says Jeanne Connelly, chair of the board of the Friends of the National Arboretum (FONA).

The US Arboretum was established in 1927 by an Act of Congress and is administered by the US Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service. The mission of the arboretum is to serve the public need for scientific research, education and gardens that conserve and showcase plants to enhance the environment. Unfortunately, the current administration has been cutting back funding for the facility over the past few years. As a result, the arboretum has been operating on a barebones budget.

Bill Matuszeski, Hill resident and FONA board member, says that the proposed cutbacks are definitely much more of a threat than previous proposed cuts. “In the past, the Department of Agriculture focused the cuts on research projects that the agency knew it could find other ways to fund or put on hold. But the arboretum has no cushion to fall back on, and the day-to-day maintenance of the gardens is work that cannot be put on hold,” notes Bill.

The $2 million cuts would create deep and massive staff layoffs, abandonment or extreme neglect of many of the plant collections and garden displays. The cutbacks could also threaten the maintenance of the original national Capitol columns, which were relocated to the grounds of the National Arboretum, and represent a vital part of American history.

Terry Lewis, arboretum volunteer and FONA board member, also notes that some of the garden collections are supported by a combination of public-private funds that could be in jeopardy because, as part of the trust or endowment, the funds can only be used if the collections are open to the public and costs are shared with the federal government. The world-class National Bonsai and Penjing Museum clearly falls into this category of shared resources, and potentially part or all of that museum could be closed.

Interestingly, first lady Laura Bush made the arboretum one of her first stops when she arrived in Washington, DC, in 2001. She toured the gardens and the Capitol columns with members of her Texas garden club and pledged that she would do what she could to make this oasis and jewel just miles away from the White House a first-class facility. Seven years later, the Garden Clubs of America are gearing up to ask Congress to reject the Bush administration’s shortsighted budget proposal.

The Capitol Hill Garden Club is sending messages to its members to write and call DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and the two chairs of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittees, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) to ask that the funds be restored.

The president of the National Capital Area Garden Clubs, Rilla Crane, is urging all the garden clubs in the area to take immediate action. “As development encroaches our lands, we must save this valuable haven of beauty and educational horticultural source for young and old. The arboretum has established valuable trees and other plants that will suffer or die with budget cuts,” writes Crane.

For many on Capitol Hill, like Woodruff Price, former chair of FONA, the thought of closing the arboretum is a shortsighted and foolhardy notion. He says that he and his fellow FONA board members from Capitol Hill will make every effort to make the public aware of the pending closure. “We cannot let this national treasure become a victim of the Department of Agriculture budget.”

Lynne Church, another Hill FONA board member, is worried that the administration and Congress need to hear about public outrage on this issue sooner than later. “We are hearing that the department will start sending Reduction in Force (RIF) letters to the current arboretum staff by early summer, if we don’t reverse this terrible budget decision. I just cannot believe that this is the best the government can do, especially with all our new concerns over greening America,” Lynne says.

It is hard to overestimate the significance of the arboretum to people who live and work on the Hill. It is where busloads of Capitol Hill students have learned about nature, tended vegetable plots at the Washington Youth Garden, or studied the healing powers of herbs at the National Herb Garden. And when these students needed practice driving before taking their DC drivers test, they and their parents spent hours driving the 9.5 miles of winding roadways.

There are generations of cross-country runners from Gonzaga High School who have trained on the Arboretum’s hills. After Sept. 11, citizens from across the city came to restore their spirits in a place of solitude and beauty. Over 500,000 visitors from all over the world come each year to study, observe and enjoy the nation’s only living horticultural museum.

The arboretum is the keeper of many gifts to our nation from foreign leaders. Its plant collections are the envy of the world, and it takes part in international treaties to protect plant seeds and gene pools. The plant collections inspire and educate our future horticultural leaders.

As Jeanne Connelly wrote to USDA Secretary Ed Schafer on Feb. 7, “It is our view that a cut of such magnitude represents a potentially fatal blow to the future of the National Arboretum.” FONA is hopeful that the public will come together with the same community spirit it did to save Eastern Market by signing petitions, sending letters and calling Congress.

What you can do to help.

FONA is asking Capitol Hill residents to implore Congress to reject this short-sighted and harmful budget proposal and maintain this national treasure by restoring the proposed $2 million reduction for the National Arboretum. Citizens can sign a petition of support or send letters electronically to Congress by going to www.fona.org.

Or send your own letter directly to:
The Honorable Rosa DeLauro
Chair, Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Dev.,
Food and Drug Administration
Room 2262, Rayburn House Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Herb Kohl
Chair, Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Dev.
Food and Drug Administration
United States Senate
Room 330, Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510