WASHINGTON, May 1, 2023 – Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing investments of more than $36 million in nearly 100 projects to improve water quality, roads, trails, bridges and fish habitat on national forests and grasslands nationwide.
The announcement is part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda and the Administration’s work to build a clean energy economy while creating economic opportunity in communities across the country.
The investments are made possible by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which devotes unprecedented resources to infrastructure improvements. The funds are delivered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service through their Legacy Roads and Trails Program, which supports 98 projects in fiscal year 2023. The program funds projects, along with other restoration and infrastructure work, to improve water quality and aquatic habitat while making transportation systems safer, more sustainable and durable.
In addition to improving roads and trails for communities, businesses, and visitors, the program creates jobs, including those in stream restoration, environmental design and heavy equipment operations.
“President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law continues to make a difference in the lives of Americans, and especially across our national forests and grasslands,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “Through these investments, we are ensuring roads and bridges on national forests and grasslands can withstand the unpredictable climate and weather so visitors and surrounding communities stay safe, and so that millions of Americans continue to enjoy the clean water and recreation opportunities forests and grasslands provide.”
The Legacy Roads and Trails Program supports projects like Little Gold Creek, recently completed on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest in southwest Montana. This project replaced a narrow culvert on a Forest Service road with a larger, more flood resilient design that provides uninterrupted passage for fish and other aquatic species, including the endangered bull trout, which is being affected by the changing climate. This project and others like it improve infrastructure durability, protect water quality, and ensure public access by preventing roads from flooding and washing out. Replacing culverts also improves access and safety for visitors and surrounding communities.
The Forest Service is responsible for more than 160,000 miles of trails, 6,700 road bridges and 7,200 trail bridges, as well as 370,000 miles of roads in a variety of ecological settings and landscapes. Approximately 80 million people receive drinking water that originates on, or flows through, national forests and grasslands. The road and trail improvements announced today will improve ecological connectivity and watershed health while protecting infrastructure and ensuring national forests continue to provide drinking water to communities.
For a complete list of projects being funding in fiscal year 2023 visit the Legacy Roads and Trails | US Forest Service (usda.gov).
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy, and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.
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