September 30, 2009

Recovery Act Awards $354,497 Solar Energy Projects for Bosque del Apache, Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuges

For Immediate Release: September 30, 2009
Contact: Clay Harris; (505) 248-6428; Clay_Harris@fws.gov
FFS # R2CA/R2CH
Socorro, NM - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has awarded funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to install solar photovoltaic (PV) systems at the Bosque del Apache and Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) in New Mexico.
The projects [...]

Virginia Company Awarded $550,000 in Recovery Act Funding to Upgrade Water Main, Connectivity to Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge

For Immediate Release: September 30, 2009
Contact: Lou Hind; (757) 336-6122 x328; Louis_Hinds@fws.gov
FFS #R5GD
CHINCOTEAGUE, VA - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is utilizing funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) to upgrade water systems at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge - a move of vital importance to the regular operations of the [...]

Using Recovery Act Funds, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Creates Partnerships for Conservation Projects in Texas Panhandle

For Immediate Release: September 30, 2009
Contact: Clay Harris; (505) 248-6428
FFS #R2EC
Albuquerque, NM - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has signed agreements for three conservation projects designed to improve ecosystems and wildlife habitat in the Texas Panhandle. The agreements utilize $86,300 in Recovery Act funding and $48,823 in cooperative funding to develop conservation measures that [...]

Recovery Act Funds $250,000 Solar Energy Projects for Bosque del Apache, Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuges

For Immediate Release: September 30, 2009
Contact: Clay Harris; (505) 248-6428; Clay_Harris@fws.gov
FFS #R2CA/R2CH
Socorro, NM - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) will utilize funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to install solar photovoltaic (PV) systems at the Bosque del Apache and Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) in New Mexico.
The projects will [...]

Using Recovery Act Funds, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Creates Partnerships for Conservation Projects in Oklahoma

For Immediate Release: September 30, 2009
Contact: Clay Harris; (505) 248-6428; Clay_Harris@fws.gov
FFS # R2EC/R2EB/R2EA
Albuquerque, NM - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service signed agreements recently for five conservation projects designed to improve ecosystems and wildlife habitat on privately owned land in Oklahoma. As part of the Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, the projects use [...]

Recovery Act Funds Used by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for Partnership to Restore Chihuahuan Desert

For Immediate Release: September 30, 2009
Contact: Clay Harris; (505) 248-6428; Clay_Harris@fws.gov
FFS # R2EA
Albuquerque, NM - Wildlife in the Chihuahuan Desert will benefit from an agreement signed in late July between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute (CDRI) that will use Recovery Act funding to restore grassland habitat.
As part [...]

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Restores Coastal Habitat Using Recovery Act Funds: $682,000 for New Jobs to Restore Habitat Important to Endangered Plants, Fish and Migratory Birds

For Immediate Release: September 30, 2009
Contact: Amy Gaskill, APR; (503) 231-6121
FFS# R1FE/R1FA/R1FB/R1FC/R1FD/R1FF
PACIFIC REGION - The Pacific Region Coastal Program will receive more than $682,000 through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to restore 365 acres of wetland and forest habitat for migratory birds, chum salmon and other sensitive wildlife species, Robyn Thorson, Director of the [...]

September 29, 2009

Secretary Salazar Announces Contract Award to Construct Wetland Levees at Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge

For Immediate Release: September 29, 2009
Contact: Ron Cole; (530) 667-8300
FFS #R8MA
SACRAMENTO, CA - The Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced the award of a contract to construct levees as part of the Walking Wetlands Restoration Project at Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Tule Lake, Calif.
“With this investment of Recovery Act funds, we are [...]

RECOVERY ACT GIVES ENNIS HATCHERY SOME GREEN TO GO GREEN

For Immediate Release: September 29, 2009
Contact: Michael Mascari; (303) 236-4336; Michael_Mascari@fws.gov
Sharon Rose; (303) 236-4580; Sharon_R_Rose@fws.gov
FFS #R6DA
Ennis, MT - The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is making an investment into the greening of the Ennis National Fish Hatchery in Ennis, Montana. Work began September 14 on the installation of a solar energy system that the U.S. [...]

$100,000 RECOVERY FUNDS PROVIDE BOOST FOR U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE AT THE D.C. BOOTH HISTORIC NATIONAL HATCHERY AND ARCHIVES

For Immediate Release: September 29, 2009
Contact: Michael Mascari; (303) 236-4336; Michael_Mascari@fws.gov
Sharon Rose; (303) 236-4580; Sharon_R_Rose@fws.gov
FFS #R6PB
SPEARFISH, SD - The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided a much-needed boost to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery and Archives. Workers are putting the finishing touches on the historic stone walls and [...]

September 25, 2009

Secretary Salazar Announces $21.4 Million in Recovery Funding for Water Conservation Improvements in Sunnyside, Wash.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today that the Bureau of Reclamation has awarded a water conservation project in Sunnyside, Washington for $21.4 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

September 24, 2009

Recovery Act Funds Will Upgrade Earthquake Monitoring

USGS will Grant Universities $5 Million to Beef Up Public Safety
Contact Information:
Dr. William Leith
Phone: 703-648-6786
Clarice Nassif Ransom
Phone: 703-648-4299
Grants totaling $5 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are being awarded to 13 universities nationwide to upgrade critical earthquake monitoring networks and increase public safety.
“These stimulus grants will save lives as well as create [...]

Secretary Salazar Announces Grant Award to Replace River Crossing to Benefit Threatened Niangua Darter

For Immediate Release: September 24, 2009
Contact: Joanne Grady; (573) 445-5001 x21; Joanne_Grady@fws.gov
Ashley Spratt; (612) 713-5314; Ashley_Spratt@fws.gov
FFS #R3TD
COLUMBIA, MO - Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced a $144,900 grant was awarded to the Missouri Department of Conservation to support the replacement of a road crossing over the Niangua River within the Osage River Basin to [...]

Secretary Salazar Announces Grant Award for Landowner Partnership Project in Lower Bourbeuse

For Immediate Release: September 24, 2009
Contact: Joanne Grady; (573) 445-5001 x21; Joanne_Grady@fws.gov
Ashley Spratte; (612) 713-5314; Ashley_Spratt@fws.gov
FFS #R3UC
COLUMBIA, MO - Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced a $24,500 grant was awarded to the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation to support a landowner partnership project in the Meramec Basin, which will improve water quality protection and restoration [...]

Secretary Salazar Announces Grant Award for Ferson-Otter Creek Fish Passage Restoration in Illinois

For Immediate Release: September 24, 2009
Contact: Rob Simmonds; (618) 997-6869 x14; Rob_Simmonds@fws.gov
Ashley Spratt; (612) 713-5314; Ashley_Spratt@fws.gov
FFS #R3TC
MARION, IL - Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced a $9,800 grant was awarded to the Kane County Department of Environmental and Building Management to support efforts to remove or modify the Davoust and Creek Bend Forest Preserve [...]

Secretary Salazar Announces Grants Awarded for Fish Passage Improvement on Bad River and Troutmere Creek in Wisconsin

For Immediate Release: September 24, 2009
Contact: Mark Brouder; (715) 682-6186 x11; Mark_Brouder@fws.gov
Ashley Spratt; (612) 713-5314; Ashley_Spratt@fws.gov
FFS #R3UA/R3TB
ASHLAND, WI - Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced a $40,000 grant was awarded to the Bad River Watershed Association for fish passage improvement and sediment reduction on the Bad River in Wisconsin. A second $14,700 grant was [...]

Secretary Salazar Announces Contract Award for Fish Passage Improvements on Thornapple River in Barry County

For Immediate Release: September 24, 2009
Contact: Rick Westerhof; (231) 584-3553; Rick_Westerhof@fws.gov
Ashley Spratt; (612) 713-5314; Ashley_Spratt@fws.gov
FFS #R3TE
BARRY CO., MI - Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced a $74,900 grant was awarded to the Barry Conservation District for the removal of Nashville and Maple Hill Dams on the Thornapple River in Barry County, Mich. The project [...]

September 18, 2009

Interior Recovery Funds Will Help Historically Black Colleges and Universities Repair Historic Buildings

Date: Sept. 18, 2009
Contact: Joan Moody 202-208-6416
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today that 20 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) will be the beneficiaries of $14.25 million for historic preservation grants aimed at providing assistance in the repair of historic buildings on their campuses.
In a press conference at Howard [...]

September 17, 2009

$52.5 Million Recovery Project Gets Underway to Replace Rough Rock Community School

Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk joined Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley and other Indian Affairs and Navajo tribal officials September 16 in a ceremonial groundbreaking event for Phase II of a major school replacement and improvement project at the historic Rough Rock Community School on the Navajo Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The project is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) and is being carried out under the Indian Affairs Office of Facilities, Environmental and Cultural Resources (OFECR) in conjunction with the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), the Navajo Nation and the Rough Rock Community School.

September 15, 2009

Secretary Salazar Announces $20 Million Investment for Rural Water in North Central Montana

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today the Bureau of Reclamation has awarded $20 million to the Rocky Boys North Central Rural Water project in north central Montana under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

September 10, 2009

Secretary Salazar Announces Investment of $2.5 Million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Funding for Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program Projects

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today that the Bureau of Reclamation will invest $2.5 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program projects.

September 3, 2009

Secretary Salazar Cites Progress of Recovery Act in Arkansas and Nationwide

From the Department of the Interior alone, there is a total of approximately $10 million for approved ARRA projects in Arkansas. Of that amount, the National Park Service has almost $2 million in funding for four park projects in Arkansas, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has almost $8 million for nine refuge and fish hatchery projects, and the U.S. Geological Survey has $300,000 in funding to upgrade or replace stream gages in Arkansas.

September 1, 2009

BLM Colorado Awards Stimulus Contracts for Trail Projects in the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area

The Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area is kicking off BLM Colorado’s first American Recovery and Reinvestment Act project. The BLM Colorado State Office awarded $60,000 in ARRA funding to the Colorado Youth Corps Association to conduct trail maintenance, construction, and restoration work for the western slope of the Gunnison Gorge NCA. Another $35,000 in ARRA funding will go to Bicycle Colorado to design and begin planning on the Gunnison Gorge NCA trail system.

DOI Recovery Investments by Bureau