The stimulus bill includes $650 Million for Forest Service capital improvement and maintenance. Much of stimulus money will go to correct the huge backlog of Forest Service deferred maintenance. Forest Service programs to be funded include:

priority road, bridge and trail maintenance and decommissioning, including related watershed restoration and ecosystem enhancement projects; facilities improvement, maintenance and renovation; remediation of abandoned mine sites; and support costs necessary to carry out this work.

Abandoned mine lands (AML) consist of land where mining operations ceased before the 1977 Surface Mining Control and Remediation Act of 1977 became effective. There may be over 500,000 abandoned mines in the US, including nearly 40,000 mines within the boundaries of National Forests. While many abandoned mine lands are hazardous to people and the environment, they can often be quite productive when restored. It will be interesting to see how much of a stimulus the Forest Service AML projects receive. Many of these projects are ‘shovel ready’ and could employ people immediately.

Picture: Abandoned mine showing toxic water flow. Courtesy US Abandoned Mine Lands Portal

Blogging about the Energizing Kentucky conference at Sustainable Kentucky.