Economic Stimulus Package to Stimulate Environment
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009From a memo by the Land Trust Alliance:
The nearly $800 billion federal stimulus package passed by Congress last month includes over $15 billion for federal natural resource agencies:
- $145 million to the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) for the purchase of easements on and restoration of flood-prone farmland.
- $230 million to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, $1 billion to the Bureau of Reclamation, $5 billion to the Corps of Engineers and another $195 million to NRCS, for watershed restoration, including projects like dam removal, wetlands restoration and fish ladders on private lands.
- $250 million to the U.S. Forest Service for cooperative projects to benefit state and private lands, primarily hazardous fuels reduction and post-fire restoration.
- $290 million to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, $905 million to the National Park Service, $320 million to the Bureau of Land Management and another $950 million to the Forest Service, all nominally for projects on federal lands, but if your organization has properties adjacent to federal lands, there could be opportunities for partnerships on projects like habitat restoration and trail building.
- At least 3% of the $27.5 billion in state transportation funding will go to Transportation Enhancement projects which can include acquisition of scenic or historic easements, trail building and environmental mitigation.
- At least 20% of EPA’s $6 billion in Safe Drinking Water Act funding will be available for unconventional water quality projects which have included land conservation in the past.
