USDA Forest Service Invests Nearly $17 Million into Deferred Maintenance Projects in the...
Contact Information: SM.FS.SWpressoffice@usda.gov
ALBUQUERQUE, NM, July 22, 2024 – Today, the USDA Forest Service, Southwestern Region, announced its investment in $16,871,00 million in funding from the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) to support 21 individual projects across nine forests in two states in Fiscal Year 2024. These investments are made possible by the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF) established by the Great American Outdoors Act.
These projects support the recent announcement by both the Departments of Agriculture and Interior proposing a combined $2.8 billion in funding for Fiscal Year 2025 to improve infrastructure, recreation facilities, public lands access, and land and water conservation as the legislation enters its fourth out of fifth year.
“This landmark legislation has enabled us to tackle essential infrastructure and maintenance projects, enhancing both the health of our forests and the public's ability to enjoy them,” said Southwestern Regional Forester Michiko Martin of the USDA Forest Service. “By safeguarding and rejuvenating these vital landscapes, we not only ensure that future generations will experience their beauty and brilliance, but we strengthen local communities and foster a collective commitment to environmental stewardship.”
Including the authorized and funded deferred maintenance projects for Fiscal Year 2024, the Southwest Region currently has 80 LRF projects in various stages of development, with 18 completed.
Since 2021, the Forest Service has completed more than 267 deferred maintenance projects across 41 states and Puerto Rico with more than 880 additional projects currently funded and in various stages of completion.
Among these projects, New Mexico-based contractors are amid the second phase of improvements at Echo Amphitheater on the Carson National Forest, benefiting recreation infrastructure and addressing critical environmental needs. “It’s kind of odd to celebrate bathroom replacements but that work is so critical to keeping this highly visited site open,” said Carson National Forest District Ranger Angie Krall upon completion of the first phase, when new bathrooms were installed. “Water is life here in Northern New Mexico and we simply could not continue having a leaky septic system in the heart of the Rio Chama Watershed.” The site will reopen to the public by the fall or winter, sporting some much-needed improvements. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.
Learn more about the Forest Service implementation of the Great American Outdoors Act in the Southwestern Region.
The Great American Outdoors Act addresses the growing $8.6 billion backlog of deferred maintenance on national forest and grasslands. The Forest Service currently administers more than 370,000 miles of roads, 13,900 trail and road bridges, 160,000 miles of trails, 1,500 dams and reservoirs, 1,500 communications sites, and 30,000 recreation sites across the United States and Puerto Rico.
Two newly renovated bathroom buildings at Echo Amphitheater on the Carson National Forest. USDA Forest Service photo.