BURBANK, WA. – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an agency of the Department of the Interior, has awarded two contracts totaling $330,963 under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to Allen-Bradbury Construction and 1-A Construction and Fire for improvements at the Umatilla National Wildlife Refuge. These projects will employ approximately eight workers.
The companies will replace the existing steel water pipelines with PVC pipe at the Whitcomb Unit and McCormack Unit of the refuge. Corrosion and metal fatigue have left the current irrigation system inoperable, preventing the needed cultivation of wheat and barley for wintering waterfowl.
“The main steel lines we are replacing are corroding and have holes in different areas, preventing us from getting water to the pivots and causing flooding in some areas,” Refuge Manager Lamont Glass said. “This is a problem that has been developing for at least 10 years, and fixing it will allow us to benefit the refuge, game hunters and local farmers.”
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed in 2009 gave $3 billion to the Department of the Interior. Of that amount, $280 million in funding goes to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“The ARRA funding has become our mainstay in recent months and has been a godsend to keep us afloat,” Allen-Bradbury Project Manager Rich Moore said. “We do a wide variety of ARRA-funded projects in the region, and if we didn’t have those, we wouldn’t be working.”
The ARRA funds are part of a stimulus package that is an important component of President Obama’s plan to jumpstart the economy and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so the country can thrive in the 21st century. Under the ARRA, Interior is making an investment in conserving Americas timeless treasures – our stunning natural landscapes, our monuments to liberty, the icons of our culture and our heritage – while helping American families and their communities prosper again. Interior is also focusing on renewable energy projects, the needs of American Indians, employing youth and promoting community service.
“With its investments of Recovery Act funds, the Department of the Interior and its bureaus are putting people to work today to make improvements that will benefit the environment and the region for many years to come,” Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said.
Secretary Salazar has pledged unprecedented levels of transparency and accountability in the implementation of the Department’s economic recovery projects. The public will be able to follow the progress of each project on www.recovery.gov and on
