PORT ANGELES — Olympic National Forest is getting a face lift — thanks to a $500,000 jolt from federal stimulus funds.
Facilities in the 633,677-acre forest will be upgraded. The work includes roof replacement, painting of historic and non-historic buildings and installing gutter systems.
“The contracts have been awarded,” said Donna Nemeth, Olympic National Forest spokeswoman,
Nemeth could not say when the projects will be completed or how many jobs they will produce.
“We’re not allowed to comment on that,” she said.
“They’re still working out the details.”
Tom Knappenberger, a Portland-based regional Forest Service spokesman, said the repairs at Olympic National Forest are part of the first round of stimulus funds, or 10 percent of the total.
“It’s coming in different phases,” Knappenberger said.
The other two regional projects in the first funding wave are a $10 million hazardous-fuel reduction project and a youth summer work program, both in Oregon.
“That was the first 10 percent,” Knappenberger said.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 includes $1.1 billion for the U.S. Forest Service. About half of that will focus on fire-management items such as forest thinning.
Washington’s estimated allocation is $27 million. Oregon stands to receive more than $100 million because of higher unemployment.
Grants are allocated based on economic needs.
An additional $18 million will be split between among the two states.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on Tuesday an additional $224 million in Recovery Act funds for hazardous-fuel reduction and ecosystem improvement. It includes an estimated $3.2 million for Washington state.
The project list has not been announced.
Park
Meanwhile, Olympic National Park is getting a $57.8 million boost for 14 shovel-ready projects from the Recovery Act. The money is part of a $750 million allocation to the National Parks Service.
Olympic National Park is spending $54.7 million on mitigation work in anticipation of the 2011 removal of the two Elwha River dams.
Originally scheduled for 2012, the project was bumped up because of the federal dollars.
“The Recovery Act funding allows us to move forward at a more rapid pace with these nine mitigation projects that will be done in preparation of dam removal,” said Barb Maynes, Olympic National Park spokeswoman.
The Elwha dam removal will be the largest of its kind in the nation’s history.
Mitigation for dam removal is expected to generate more than 200 jobs in the next year, ONP superintendent Karen Gustin has said.
The remaining $3.1 million will go to five high-priority projects. They are:
• A new electrical cable along Hurricane Ridge Road to power the visitor’s center and replace an old cable that ran through the wilderness.
• Restoring the Boulder Creek trail and campground.
• Replacing the sewer system at Hoh Rain Forest.
• Fixing four bridges: two along Hoh Road, one on Camp Davis Jr. Road and one Rialto Beach Road.
• Replacing deteriorated roofs throughout the park.
Park officials have not put an estimate on how many jobs these five projects will generate.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
