Recovery Act Funds Put Veterans Back to Work
Two Colorado national forests are working with Veterans Green Jobs, a national nonprofit that offers veterans education and career development, to employ military veterans to work on fuels reduction, forest health, and trail projects on public lands in southwest Colorado using ARRA funds. The crews receive training through the Colorado non-profit Southwest Conservation Corps and are working as sawyer and trail crews. Plans include training up to 50 veterans in Colorado over the next two years. Last summer federal ARRA dollars funded three crews of eight members each: two worked as sawyer crews on the San Juan National Forest and the other as a trail crew on the Rio Grande National Forest. “The part that really sticks with me most is the empowerment of vets. It makes a big difference coming back from combat into the civilian sector," said Crew Leader Ray Curry, who served as a Marine in Iraq. "In 2010, ARRA funding will allow us to hire four sawyer crews and four trail crews with each assignment lasting 12 weeks," said Southwest Conservation Corps Director of Operations Amy Foss.
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Posted:
12:42PM Apr 15, 2010
by Gwen Ernstulrich in USDA Web Site |
Hazard Tree Removal Provided Jobs, Increases Safety
Three northwestern Colorado companies were able to maintain and add jobs in 2009 as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Rocky Mountain Youth Corps also hired 33 young people to work on hazard tree removal. The Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests received $2.2 million to remove hazardous dead trees from roadsides and campgrounds in 2009. The dead trees are a result of a landscape-scale beetle epidemic and pose a safety threat to people recreating and working in the forest. About 150 miles of forest roads, 15 campgrounds, and numerous trailheads and dispersed campsites were cleared of dead trees last summer and fall. “This money truly did create and keep jobs,” said Trent Jones of Rogue Resources in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, one of the companies subcontracted to do the work. “Before we got this work, we had five full time loggers. We were able to keep all of them on and add 10 additional employees,” he said. Jones said that since his company started the work in June it has been able to keep all those people on the payroll and spending money in the community.The City of Steamboat Springs also received $1 million ARRA money through a Colorado State Forest Service program and hired Rogue Resources to remove hazard trees on 300 acres last fall and this winter, so Rogue Resources employees will likely be working all winter long.Logging operations use a lot of heavy equipment which is costly, but an efficient way to remove dead trees quickly.“These jobs also supported our sawmill. Because we have the logs from the hazard tree removal projects, we’re able to keep our sawmill running, which has another 10 employees,” Jones said. “Without the stimulus money, we might not still be around.”Another company, West Range Reclamation, also managed to keep its employees working due to ARRA. “That job was very timely,” said Cody Neff, owner of West Range Reclamation. “We were able to keep 11 men working for two months on that project. “The Forest Service was great to work with, and I’d like to say thanks to all of them. I hope that in future we can have a sustainable timber industry without government support.”In addition, Forest Products, Inc. in Walden Colorado was able to maintain seven jobs removing hazard trees throughout the summer, according to owner Don Shellhass. The Rocky Mountain Youth Corps also received $500,000 of ARRA funds and was able to add four people to their administrative workforce and 33 youths to cut up hazard trees felled by forest service crews in campgrounds, along trails and at trailheads.“It was really exciting to be able to put young people to work while helping restore economic vitality,” said Gretchen Van De Carr, executive director of Rocky Mountain Youth Corps. In addition to providing an opportunity to create or retain jobs to complete these projects, the removal of the dead trees will maintain access for the public, emergency vehicles, and to power lines and communication sites, all for greater public safety. These efforts also increase firefighter safety and ingress/egress in the event of forest fires, as well as creating fuel breaks to help contain fires.
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Posted:
12:37PM Apr 15, 2010
by Gwen Ernstulrich in USDA Web Site |
Feeding the hungry
2009 included $20 billion in additional funding to provide food to those most in need. It also provides infrastructure support to the National School Lunch Program, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations – to make them even stronger.
We know there are people in every community who face hunger and need help. USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service oversees 15 nutrition assistance programs that form a national safety net against hunger. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly the Food Stamp Program, is our largest nutrition program serving more than 33 million people each month, half of whom are children.
In April 2009, SNAP helped 326,259 people in Colorado put more healthy food on the table, reaching nearly 30 percent more people than the previous year. The beauty of the program is that it expands and contracts based on economic conditions. ARRA money provides participating SNAP families of four, for instance, an additional $80 each month to purchase nutritious food.
Helping the hungry in our communities not only provides needed assistance, but helps all of us by stimulating local economies. Every $5 in new SNAP benefits generates over $9 in total economic activity – both within local communities and well beyond.
The diets of low-income Americans are improved every day because of nutrition assistance programs. If you know someone in need, please have them call the SNAP toll-free number, 1-800-221-5689 or visit www.fns.usda.gov. Together, we can work toward the President’s mandate to end childhood hunger by 2015 and improve the lives of our youngest Americans.
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Posted:
11:51AM Jul 30, 2009
by Jean Daniel in USDA Web Site |
Tell Us Your Story
USDA is implementing the $28 billion provided in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). This Funding will help jumpstart the Nation's 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. Our efforts will help modernize our nation's infrastructure, revitalize rural communities, enhance energy independence, expand educational opportunities, preserve and improve affordable health care, provide tax relief, and protect those in greatest need. Give us your feedback and tell us how the Recovery Act is helping in your local communities.
All comments will be posted within 24 hours or less.
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Posted:
09:03AM May 01, 2009
by NITC Blog Admin in USDA Recovery Act |
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Thursday Apr 15, 2010
