March – 2010 – Dept of the Interior Recovery Activities

Secretary Salazar Announces $4.9 Million of Economic Recovery Funding for Hawai‘i’s Keālia Pond National Wildlife Refuge Project

KIHEI, HI. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today that the Department of the Interior has awarded a $4.9 million contract to Bodell Construction, Inc., under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). “Not only are we putting people to work in Hawai‘i, but we’re creating a visitor center that will benefit local residents, visitors, and the wildlife of Keālia Pond National Wildlife Refuge,” said Secretary Salazar. “This will only be the second visitor center for a national wildlife refuge in the State, and it has great potential to inform and educate people about their native wildlife.”

Stimulus Funds to Help Warm Springs Regional Fisheries Center

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has awarded a contract under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – popularly known as stimulus funds – for $30,205 to Jackson Heating and Air Conditioning, a small business in LaGrange, Ga.The funds will pay for purchase and installation of a new geothermal heat pump for the Fish Health Center at Warm Springs Regional Fisheries Center in nearby Warm Springs, Ga.

March 30, 2010

Interior to Invest $7.8 Million in Economic Recovery Funding to Refurbish the Fixed Wheel Gates of Folsom Dam in California

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed in 2009 gave $3 billion to the Department of the Interior. The ARRA funds represent an important component of the President’s plan to jumpstart the economy and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so the country can thrive in the 21st century. Under the ARRA, Interior is making an investment in conserving America’s timeless treasures – our stunning natural landscapes, our monuments to liberty, the icons of our culture and heritage – while helping American families and their communities prosper again.

March 29, 2010

Everglades’ Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge Receives Stimulus Funding to Remove Invasive Species, Restore Natural Habitats

Boynton Beach, Florida – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has awarded a $1.25 million contract for removal of invasive plants at the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The ARRA contract, awarded to Aquatic Vegetation Control, Inc., of West Palm Beach, Fla., will be used to remove invasive plant species from about 9,000 acres of the refuge, including Melaleuca, Old World climbing fern, Brazilian pepper and Australian pine.

March 26, 2010

Stimulus funds provide company shelter in economic storm: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service awards $30,000 in projects to Kansas company

Wichita, Kan. – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service awarded Protection Shelters LLC nearly $30,000 to construct tornado shelters at refuges in Kansas. The Service funded these projects at the national wildlife refuges through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The stimulus money will pay for shelters at Quivira, Flint Hills and Marais des Cygnes National Wildlife Refuges. The shelters will protect staff and visitors during weather emergencies. The projects will benefit not only the refuges, but will help keep the company in business.

Washington Company Awarded $224,000 in Stimulus Funding for Pilings, Sign Replacement at Willapa National Wildlife Refuge

ILWACO, WA. – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an agency of the Department of the Interior, has awarded a $212,400 contract under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to Quigg Bros., Inc., a marine specialist construction company based in Aberdeen, Washington. An additional $12,000 was used to replace damaged or missing signs on the land boundary at the refuge. The company will replace 25 pylons and their associated boundary signs at the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge to clearly designate the 16,950-acre Presidential Proclamation Area boundary.

March 25, 2010

Companies Awarded $613,000 in Stimulus Funding for Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, and Fence Removal Projects at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge

CHENEY, WA. – The Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge will benefit from a pair of contracts to restore a boundary fence and improve energy efficiency at the eastern Washington facility. The Department of the Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced it will provide more than $600,000 in stimulus funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to restore a three-mile stretch of boundary fence and engineer geothermal and solar energy at the refuge. The funding will also be used to increase energy efficiency at the refuge by replacing outdated windows and cooling units.

Construction Service Company Awarded $306,000 in Stimulus Funding for Housing and Solar Energy Upgrades on Remote Laysan Island

HONOLULU, HI. – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has awarded two contracts totaling $306,424 under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to Northern Management Services, a maintenance and general contracting company based in Sandpoint, Idaho. The projects will employ eight workers. The company will install a modern solar panel array at the Laysan Island research facility located within Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and replace the deteriorating living quarters tents.

March 24, 2010

Secretary Salazar Breaks Ground at Red Bluff Diversion Project Using Stimulus Funds

The Council on Economic Advisors estimates that 1,200 jobs will be created by the Project. Other indirect economic benefits of the Project include the preservation of up to 10,000 jobs in the region.

March 15, 2010

Exhibits Contract for NC Gateway Visitor Center Awarded to Wilderness Graphics, Inc. for $668,500 in Recovery Act Funds

Roanoke Island, N.C. – The planned Coastal NC National Wildlife Refuges Gateway Visitor Center will include a new array of educational exhibits that interpret wildlife and habitat, help people explore refuges, and teach people how to live green. Mike Bryant, NC Coastal Plain National Wildlife Refuges Complex Manager, announced today that Wilderness Graphics Inc. of Tallahassee, Fla., has been awarded a $668,500 contract to design, build, and install the new exhibits. Funding for the contract, as for the Visitor Center and Headquarters, comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, popularly known as stimulus funds.

March 8, 2010

Recovery Funds Bring Jobs and High Tech to Water Monitoring

New and saved jobs and better ways to keep an eye on the Nation’s rivers and streams: That’s what has resulted from the USGS investing American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds in YSI, Inc., a developer and manufacturer of environmental monitoring equipment based in Yellow Springs, Ohio and its subsidiary Design Analysis Associates in Logan, Utah.

March 5, 2010

Stimulus Funding for Habitat and Public Access Improvements at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

MEDIA ADVISORY
Renovation of the Suwannee River Sill and new road construction at the refuge will provide the public with safer, year-round access to the Suwannee River, improve passage for small boats, canoes and kayaks, and restore the natural flow of the Suwannee River. The Service has provided the Federal Highway Administration with $1 million in stimulus funds to upgrade an existing gravel road to an asphalt surface and build a new boat ramp, access lane, and parking lot for the public. USFWS will separately award additional stimulus contracts to private companies for related improvements at the refuge.

March 4, 2010

$129 Million Saved by National Park Service Will Fund Additional 30 Projects Nationwide

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 4, 2010 Contact: David Barna, (202) 208-6843, david_barna@nps.gov WASHINGTON, DC – The National Park Service (NPS) announced today that favorable pricing on its American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) large construction projects has resulted in savings of over 20 percent totaling approximately $129 million. The Service will use these dollars to [...]

March 3, 2010

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Announces Substitution of Recovery Act Projects

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) today announced that it is replacing some projects originally identified for funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) with other projects in order to accelerate job creation and meet critical needs for the Service. Specifically, the Service is replacing 111 projects totaling $15.1 million, representing approximately 5 percent of the agency’s $280 million share of the ARRA program. These projects are being replaced for various reasons, such as prior completion with non-ARRA funds or site condition or permit issues resulting in unacceptable delays.