April 28th, 2009
Green Right Now Reports:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Monday that government stimulus money will help fund 129 projects in the Southwest region, bringing new buildings, energy efficiency improvements and habitat restoration to national refuges and public and private projects in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona.
The value of the projects, which are expected to generate new jobs, will come to nearly $30 million. The FWS has previously announced projects funded by stimulus money in Georgia, California, Pennsylvania, Washington, Nebraska, Colorado and Alaska. For more info on projects in those states see the FWS website , which lists all the projects being funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Among the Southwest developments:
- The Texas Chenier Plain Refuge Complex will get a new headquarters building and visitors’ facility, which were destroyed last fall by Hurricane Ike.
- Fisheries in Arizona will receive $2.3 million for modernizing and energy renovations.
- Restorative work at the Bahia Grande wetlands at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in Texas, including two bridges to and other improvements to benefit water birds.
- Jobs for high school and college students at a variety of refuges in all four states.
- Canal improvements at Havasu WIldlife Refuge in Arizona that will improve water delivery and benefit more than 4,000 acres of refuge lands
- Salt Cedar Removal on Bitter Lake WIldlife Refuge in New Mexico that will promote native shrub growth and increase biodiversity and wetland habitat.
The projects represent long-standing needs (with the exception of the hurricane repairs) of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It selected the projects based on their merit and ability to generate a large number of jobs quickly.
The public can follow the projects on the Interior Department’s Recovery website, and submit questions, ideas or concerns pertaining to the projects. See a full list of funded projects at the website.
