Trail , Other Recovery Act Work Hard but Satisfying
On one of the hottest days in Oregon in over a decade last summer, one Polk County work crew was constructing new trail using Forest Service ARRA-funds for the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. Even though the forest was already a humid 85 degrees at 9 a.m., the youth work crew was determined to make headway on one of several new hiking trails they had carved out over the summer. Jim, a crewmember who attends college to study forestry, loves building trails. “I like that the end result of our work is something to look at and experience. To be able to come back and visit the trails I built is really cool.” Building trails is a favorite for the crew, and their love for it is apparent in their tenacity to push on, even in grueling temperatures. The county crew also helped gut, clean, package, and freeze mass quantities of lamprey, an eel-like fish, for the tribal elders. And while it was a stinky task, it still ranks a close second as the crew’s favorite job from the summer. The crew has also worked to save the endangered Fender’s Blue Butterfly. The Fender’s Blue is endangered due to habitat loss from agricultural development and uncontrollable growth of invasive species such as Scotch Broom. The Polk County crew helped remove invasive species to promote the growth of the butterfly’s natural habitat in designated conservation areas. A few miles away a second Polk County crew had been working on a new three-mile trail before calling it a day due to the heat. The higher altitude forest area wasn’t quite as humid as the forest that their fellow Polk County crew had been working in, but it was still a far cry from being a comfortable working environment. The crew had arrived a few hours earlier in the morning to try to accomplish as much work as possible before temperatures became dangerous to work in. By noon, they had emptied their five-gallon water jugs and were packing up to head home, still having had accomplished an immense amount of trail work for the day.
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Posted:
04:38PM Apr 20, 2010
by Gwen Ernstulrich in USDA Web Site |
Recovery Act Provides Funds for Forest Highway 46 Reconstruction
Reconstruction of Forest Highway 46, a popular scenic route that runs between the Willamette and Mount Hood national forests, improved traveler safety. Workers grinded away old pavement, laid new asphalt, installed new safety signs and managed traffic flow on the $1.5 million ARA-funded project. “We were pleased to have the opportunity to employ some of Oregon's finest," said Steve Sappington, Detroit Ranger District lead engineer. "This has been a great project to be a part of in improving such a popular route within our forest infrastructure. ARRA is a new and very important program, but the idea of putting rural America to work has long been a part of what the Forest Service does. I'm proud to play even a small role in that tradition," added Sappington. Local contractors and their employees worked hard over the past several months to improve the highway for public access. "This project has put a lot of people to work who may have otherwise been sitting at home," said Al Thomas, contractor's representative for the project."It just pays for everyone to work together. People should get out and take a drive to enjoy the road."
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Posted:
04:32PM Apr 20, 2010
by Gwen Ernstulrich in USDA Web Site |
Youth Corps Work Benefits Western Snowy Plovers Thanks to Recovery Act Funds
On the Siuslaw National Forest, an ARRA-funded partnership with Northwest Youth Corps (NYC) will ensure western snowy plovers (a threatened species) on the central Oregon coast will have more room for nesting. In late September 2009 an NYC crew spent a week pulling European beachgrass, a non-native plant species that causes habitat loss for coastal snowy plovers and other dune-loving plants and animals while providing excellent habitat for plover predators. According to NYC Field Director Cole Southworth, projects that come in the late season as this one did help keep their program fully funded. "What happens when we aren't able to find paid work for a week or two is that NYC absorbs the loss," explained Southworth. "This cuts into our recruitment budget, which directly supplies scholarships to participants to come into our program. So without this project, we wouldn't be able to serve as many youth during 2010." "This session I've learned about endangered species habitat preservation. I've also learned patience and how beautiful, and sometimes wet fall session can be," said Araya Jensen, an NYC crew member.
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Posted:
04:29PM Apr 20, 2010
by Gwen Ernstulrich in USDA Web Site |
Feeding the hungry
Thanks to the President and Congress, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 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 593,432 people in Massachusetts put more healthy food on the table, reaching 25 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:
12:08PM 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:
07:44AM Apr 29, 2009
by Wayne Moore in USDA Recovery Act |
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Tuesday Apr 20, 2010
