Forest service 'jump starting' with $10.7M

Citing the worst decline in the lumber industry, exacerbated by the widespread beetle kill problem in Colorado, Colorado State Forest Service officials are looking to a $10.7 million jump start in the form of federal stimulus money to stay afloat.
Applications have been flowing into the service from industry entities across the state, and a forest service panel began reviewing them late last week. Officials said it would release its decisions this week.
The money, part of a national forest service package of $1.5 billion, will be directed toward job creation and retention for forest service districts across the state.
Four committees made up of CSFS officials and will meet later this month to review proposals from organizations from the across the country looking to implement forest service projects in the 17 Colorado districts that the program oversees, with a strong focus on the Front Range.
The grants are divided into two separate categories:
-About $6.25 million will go to programs focused on forest restoration and fuels mitigation, and
-About $4.75 million will go to programs focused on wildfire prevention and wood manufacturing industries in Colorado.
Rocky Mountain Collegian
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO