Millions of Americans seeking healthful relaxation this year in outdoor areas administered in their behalf by the Department of the Interior will find greatly improved accommodations for their leisure hours because of accomplishments under the Accelerated Public Words program, Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall said today.
From the Caribbean’s Virgin Islands to Alaska and from Maine to Hawaii, thousands of men are working on much needed conservation projects while simultaneously erasing the gloom of unemployment.
Individually, most of the projects are not large; collectively, however, they sum up to an impressive array of improvements destined to pay dividends for many years to come, Secretary Udall pointed out.
Almost hourly, a new trail is being opened to a natural beauty spot t welcome hikers, picnickers, and those seeking the peas and inspiration that only natural surroundings can bring. Springs are being cleaned of debris and facilities are being installed so visitors can quench their thirst from sparkling waters. Roads through stands of virgin timber are being smoothed to make these areas more accessible to the vacationer and weekend traveler. At the same time, such routes will be used by firefighters and maintenance crews safeguarding valuable preserves. New vistas, offering commanding views of breathtaking scenery, are being cleared and dozens of new campsites are being readied. Ponds for rearing fighting trout are being built to restock streams for the angler; wildlife habitat is being improved for better hunting.
“The variety and number of resource projects being carried on in dozens of States and in nearly 100 specific areas dedicated to the public have not been equaled in many years,” Secretary Udall said. “The Accelerated Public Works efforts have condensed into a matter of months certain essential jobs that, despite their urgent importance, we only hoped could be accomplished over a period of several years.”
Secretary Udall said the on-site employment generated by the wide range of conservation projects being administered by the Department under the Accelerated Public Words plan will total more than 4,000 man-years of work and that most of the total investment of more than $31 million in direct Federal projects will go for salaries, the spreading benefits throughout the entire economy.
Whether this summer’s trip is to historic Harpers Ferry National Monument in West Virginia, the Olympic National Park in Washington, The Shawnee Indian Reservation in Oklahoma or the Mark Twain national Wildlife Refuge in Illinois, the visitor is sure to see examples of beneficial change.
Recreation developments—those that will be most apparent to the average traveler—are under way in 95 different sites. In National Park Service lands, 44 projects have been started. On Indian reservations, 13 developments are aimed at improving facilities for visitors. Picnicking areas and associated betterments have begun at 17 game refuges and fish hatcheries.
The less-noticeable projects—those underway in somewhat remote spots—will be of equal importance to American, Secretary Udall said. He mentioned the soil conservation and seeding programs on grazing areas administered by the Bureau of Land Management, the control of erosion and the soil-improvement jobs on Indian reservations, the building of access roads to salvage storm-downed timber in Oregon before it is destroyed by the ravages of insects, the provision of wells for livestock and the installation of protective fencing, the building of fire trails and the removal of underbrush to safeguard forests on public lands, and the reclamation of strip minded land in Pennsylvania under direction of the Bureau of Mines.
In addition to the scores of conservation projects already launched, the Department has available more than $6 million that is earmarked for use by various States, on a matching –funds basis, for fish and game conservation work. Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands also are eligible as participants. States have until June30 to present qualifying projects. Any Federal money not obligation by that time will revert to the Treasury.
Among the betterments that will qualify under the Federal-State wildlife projects are streambank stabilization and improvement; development of water-access areas; building of roads, public areas, and boat ramps; creation of public fishing lakes; streams and lake renovation; construction of building related to wildlife protection plans; and habitat improvements for wildlife.
Expenditure of funds will occur after individual State projects are cleared by the Area Redevelopment Administration and project agreements arranged between the Department of the Interior and each State game and fish department. The Federal Government will bear up to 50 percent of the total cost of accepted projects.
