OLYMPIA — Twenty-one projects in Olympic National Forest were approved for $360,933 in federal funding, 11 of which are in Clallam and Jefferson counties, officials announced.
The Olympic Peninsula Resource Advisory Committee, or RAC, distributed the funds from the federal Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act for projects such as employing youths for forest restoration, improving roads and fish habitat, and eradicating noxious weeds.
Thirty-one proposals totaling $986,420 vied for the funding, which was allocated to Olympic National Forest under Title II of the act. Title II projects must demonstrate a direct benefit to national forest resources, officials said.
“Funding through the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act benefits national forests and communities,” Olympic National Forest District Ranger Dean Millett said in a news release.
“Projects promote collaboration between public and private parties, provide jobs to local economies and improve natural resources beyond what the agency could do on its own.”
Clallam County had six approved projects totaling $119,593.
Here are the Clallam County projects:
• Deferred road maintenance: $55,500.
• Washington Conservation Corps: $28,577.
• Olympic Peninsula Cooperative noxious weed control: $28,000.
• Washington Trails Association support: $3,000.
• Log bridges for trails: $2,516.
• Upper Dungeness River salmon habitat improvement planning: $2,000.
Jefferson County’s five projects amounted to $125,501.
Here are the Jefferson County projects:
• Forest Service Road 2527 stabilization: $53,976.
• Washington Conservation Corps: $32,000.
• Olympic Peninsula Cooperative noxious weed control: $28,000.
• Bogy-Tucker Pond tributary improvements: $10,000.
• Outhouses for the Hood Canal Ranger District: $1,525.
The remaining projects are in Grays Harbor and Mason counties.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsula dailynews.com.
