American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009 (Recovery Act).
Recovery Act Funding by Interior Bureau
 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will provide $1 billion to the Bureau of Reclamation, which provides water supplies and produces hydropower in the West. Funds are specifically identified in the Act to fund water reuse projects and construct rural water projects that will provide clean, reliable drinking water to rural areas and ensure adequate water supplies to western localities. Funds are also expected to be used to promote water conservation, improve energy efficiency, address aging water infrastructure, and meet endangered species requirements through improvements such as fish screens and fish passage projects.
 $750 million will be used by the National Park Service to preserve and protect
national icons and historic landscapes, improve energy efficiency and renewable
energy use at park units throughout the nation, remediate abandoned mines
sites on park units, and provide historic preservation funding to protect
and restore buildings at historically black colleges. Funding under the Federal
Highway Administration will improve park roads for more than 275 million visitors.
NPS also will repair the seawall adjacent to the Jefferson Memorial in Washington,
D.C. to protect the memorial from the effects of settlement.
 $500 million for the Bureau of Indian Affairs will be used to replace and
upgrade Indian schools that will benefit the 47,000 Indian children that
are educated in these schools. These projects will provide access for the
disabled, replace inefficient heating and cooling systems, and create a better
learning environment. BIA will provide $130 to 170 million in loans to spur
Indian economies where unemployment far exceeds the national average. BIA
will initiate several on-the-job training efforts in the construction trades
to train tribal members to become certified plumbers and pipefitters. The
initiative will be done in partnership with the Council on Tribal Employment
Rights and the Laborers-Employers Cooperation and Education Trust. BIA also
will expand a pilot project in partnership with the United Association of
Plumbers and Pipefitters.
 $280 million for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will improve energy
efficiency and renewable use at refuges, resulting in the "greening" of
facilities throughout the nation. Funding also will be used to restore wetlands,
riparian habitat, endangered species habitat, and other important landscapes.
FWS also will restore facilities that are key to the management and restoration
of wildlife and fisheries.
 $320 million for the Bureau of Land Management will be used to remediate
abandoned mines, which will allow increased access to public lands. Funding
will help expand BLM’s capacity to authorize renewable energy development
on public lands while ensuring environmental protection of these areas and
restoration of native plants and animals, including sage grouse habitat.
Funding is also included for Interior agencies to eliminate underbrush and
other vegetation in fire-prone areas to reduce the threat and potential severity
of fire.
 $140 million will be used by the U.S. Geological Survey to restore and rehabilitate
laboratories and research facilities and improve their energy efficiency
and renewable use. Funds will help modernize streamgages that are critical
for monitoring streamflow and providing information that is used extensively
by water managers and the public. For example, important wildlife research
facilities at Patuxent Wildlife and Research Refuge will be upgraded and
two 50-year old vessels on the Great Lakes used for inventory and monitoring
of lake trout and other important fisheries will be replaced.
Interior will engage and encourage the participation of young adults in
these projects throughout the nation. For example, Job Corps and youth recruited
by partners, including the Student Conservation Association, will assist
in restoring trails for visitors and in controlling invasive species.
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