Saturday, January 31, 2009

news Stimulus bill

Stimulus bill: $850,000,000 for wildland fire management
from Wildfire Today by Bill Gabbert
The economic stimulus bill that was passed by the House of Representatives on Wednesday included $850,000,000 for wildland fire management and related activities, as well as a shitload of money, $3,475,000,000, for construction and capital improvements for the five major federal land management agencies. There will no doubt be some changes as the bill goes through the Senate and a conference committee, but below is some data (direct quotes) from the latest version according to OpenCongress.org.
HERE is an interactive map that shows the allocation of the funds in the entire bill for each state.

U. S. Forest Service
‘Wildland Fire Management’, $850,000,000, of which $300,000,000 is for hazardous fuels reduction, forest health, wood to energy grants and rehabilitation and restoration activities on Federal lands, and of which $550,000,000 is for State fire assistance hazardous fuels projects, volunteer fire assistance, cooperative forest health projects, city forest enhancements, and wood to energy grants on State and private lands.

‘Capital Improvement and Maintenance’, $650,000,000, for reconstruction, capital improvement, decommissioning, and maintenance of forest roads, bridges and trails; alternative energy technologies, energy efficiency enhancements and deferred maintenance at Federal facilities; and for remediation of abandoned mine sites, removal of fish passage barriers, and other critical habitat, forest improvement and watershed enhancement projects on Federal lands and waters.

National Park Service
‘Construction’, $1,700,000,000, for projects to address critical deferred maintenance needs within the National Park System, including roads, bridges and trails, and for other critical infrastructure projects.

Bureau of Land Management
‘Construction’, $325,000,000, for priority road, bridge, and trail repair or decommissioning, critical deferred maintenance projects, facilities construction and renovation, hazardous fuels reduction, and remediation of abandoned mine or well sites.

Bureau of Indian Affairs
‘Construction’, $500,000,000, for priority repair and replacement of schools, detention centers, roads, bridges, employee housing, and critical deferred maintenance projects.

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
‘Construction’, $300,000,000, for priority road and bridge repair and replacement, and critical deferred maintenance and improvement projects on National Wildlife Refuges, National Fish Hatcheries, and other Service properties.

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