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Forest Service has received $1.15 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Posted: 07 Mar 2009 09:24 AM PST First round projects on lands managed by the Forest Service in California will include maintenance and construction on facilities, roads and trails totaling 70 jobs and $7.75 million. The jobs are estimated to last from four months up to a year. These projects will benefit 11 counties. ----------------------------- NEWS RELEASE: USDA Forest Service -Pacific Southwest Region 1323 Club Drive, Vallejo, CA 94592 Contact: Public Affairs, 707-562-9004 Forest Service Contributes To National Economic Recovery VALLEJO, Calif., Mar. 5, 2009—U.S. Forest Service Chief Abigail Kimbell announced today the Agency's plan to participate in the nation's economic recovery program. The Forest Service has received $1.15 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The first group of Forest Service projects nationwide created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, totaling $98 million, have been selected. These initial projects will create 1,500 jobs, giving the Agency the early opportunity to put people to work. The remaining projects, totaling $1.052 billion, will be announced shortly and will create an additional 23,500 jobs nationwide. First round projects on lands managed by the Forest Service in California will include maintenance and construction on facilities, roads and trails totaling 70 jobs and $7.75 million. The jobs are estimated to last from four months up to a year. These projects will benefit 11 counties. "I am proud that the Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region will be playing an important role in creating private sector jobs for Californians on their national forests," said Regional Forester Randy Moore. "With the construction industry being one of the hardest hit, these projects will be right on point. In addition we have the opportunity to provide jobs to counties with high unemployment up to as much as a year." Under the language of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Forest Service will create as many jobs as possible to support communities and to get money flowing through the economy again. All funds will be spent on specific targeted projects that are, or soon will be, ready to go. "The Forest Service anticipates playing a key role in our nation's economic recovery," said Chief Kimbell. "We are grateful for the confidence Congress has shown us and look forward to demonstrating how the Forest Service can create good jobs during difficult times," Kimbell added. Many of the most affected communities of the economic downturn are located near national forests. Rural jobs will be created in areas needing restoration work with shovel ready projects related to fire prevention, roads, bridges, buildings and recreation facilities. More detailed information about new Forest Service projects and jobs in California will be forthcoming. Information on the overall U.S. Forest Service role in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act can be found at: http://fs.usda.gov/recovery. Information on the total federal effort can be found at http://www.recovery.gov. Source: R5 News - Link

USFS BAER Team in Australia Discovers Wombat in the Middle of the Day Posted: 07 Mar 2009 09:19 AM PST VALLEJO, Calif., Feb. 23, 2009— Liz Schnackenberg (U.S. Forest Service), Pete Robichaud (U.S. Forest Service) and Tom Koler (U.S. Forest Service, Eldorado National Forest) — members of a U.S. Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team in the Gippsland Region of Victoria, Australia, encountered a young wombat under distress while completing field work on Friday, Feb. 20. The wombats are nocturnal and to find one in the middle of the day was a concern for the three natural resource specialists. After collecting GPS data to forward to an animal rescue organization, Robichaud poured water into a bowl-shaped piece of wood for the wombat to drink. Schnackenberg, Robichaud and Koler left the youngster to complete their field work. Koler returned to the site to check on the wombat about an hour later. The wombat was gone as well as the water in the "bowl." Koler is a BAER Geologist/Economist, Schnackenberg is a BAER Hydrologist and Robichaud is a BAER Research Scientist. Source: R5 News - Link

Plane crashes into sea 30 miles off Oceanside Posted: 07 Mar 2009 09:11 AM PST 2:00 a.m. March 7, 2009 OCEANSIDE: The Coast Guard located floating debris and an oil slick in the ocean yesterday and was searching for survivors after a small airplane went down 30 miles off Oceanside. Officials had not been able to identify the aircraft or anyone on board as of last night. Boaters reported seeing a small civilian plane nose-dive into the water about 10 miles from them and 25 miles east of San Clemente Island about 2 p.m., said Lt. Joshua Nelson of the U.S. Coast Guard station in San Diego. It took the boaters 20 to 30 minutes to reach the spot, where they found aircraft debris about midway between the island and Oceanside, Nelson said. Two Coast Guard vessels and private boaters searched for survivors, along with a Coast Guard MH-60 helicopter and a Marine Corps C-130 transport plane, Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Amanda Sardone said. Coast Guard crews found small pieces of aluminum, plastic foam and carpet and a small oil slick consistent with a private plane, Nelson said. Nelson said Coast Guard and Federal Aviation Administration officials were calling every airport control tower in Southern California along with flight schools and individual pilots, hoping to identify a missing plane. Three Coast Guard vessels were to keep searching overnight and be joined at sunrise by a helicopter until there is no chance that anyone in the crash survived, Nelson said. The Coast Guard initially cited reports that a plane that had taken off from Montgomery Field in Kearny Mesa was unaccounted for, but later backed away from that account. –P.R. & G.G. Source: SignOnSanDiego.com

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