Many of the communities most affected by the economic downturn are located near national forests. Using funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), the Forest Service will create and maintain private sector jobs for communities by funding projects to remove hazardous biomass, restore watersheds, repair trails, bridges and roads, and make fish passage improvements. We will also update facilities to increase their efficiency in the use of energy and water.
Through the Recovery Act, the President has asked the Forest Service help put people back to work. We anticipate receiving over a billion dollars this year for our Economic Recovery program, and we expect to create almost 30,000 new private sector jobs over the next two years. Those jobs will be concentrated in two major projects: Wildland Fire Management and Capital Improvement and Maintenance.
The Recovery Act was signed into law by President Obama on February 17th, 2009. It is an unprecedented effort to jumpstart our economy, create or save millions of jobs, and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so our country can thrive in the 21st century. The Recovery Act is an extraordinary response to a crisis unlike any since the Great Depression, and includes measures to modernize our nation's infrastructure, enhance energy independence, expand educational opportunities, preserve and improve affordable health care, provide tax relief, and protect those in greatest need.
The final text of legislation for the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 can be found
here.
The first set of project being funded in the Forest Service under the Recovery Act include construction and maintenance of facilities, roads, and trails; abandoned mine mitigation; and wildland fire management projects. Together, these projects comprise 10% of the total Recovery Act funding for the Forest Service.
