[fullwidth background_color=”” background_image=”” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding_top=”20″ padding_bottom=”20″ padding_left=”0″ padding_right=”0″ hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][title size=”1″ content_align=”left” style_type=”underline solid” sep_color=”#000000″ margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]Obama administration announces new initiatives and investments of more than $110 million to support farmers, ranchers, agricultural workers and rural communities[/title][fusion_text]Monday, June 15th 2015
The Obama administration today announced new initiatives and investments of more than $110 million to support farmers, ranchers, agricultural workers and rural communities suffering from drought and to combat wildfires in what’s forecast to be a busier-than-usual fire season. As part of the plan the Labor Department will award as much as $18 million to the state of California to fund jobs for workers dislocated by the drought. The money will provide jobs for 1,000 workers for up to 6 months with public and nonprofit agencies working to build drought resilience, reduce wildfire risk and improve water efficiency. Other states that can document drought-impacted job losses will have the option to apply for similar Dislocated Worker Grants, the White House said. In a fact sheet, the administration noted that a recent University of California-Davis study estimates that California alone has lost an estimated 18,000 jobs because of drought, particularly in the agricultural sector. The plan, embodied in the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act (H.R. 167), would allow the costs of fighting the few truly catastrophic wildfires that break out every year through an emergency fund. The Forest Service and Interior Department would continue to fund routine firefighting from their regular budgets. Under current procedures, money is set aside in the budget for wildfires at the 10-year average cost. But when costs go beyond that, funds must be borrowed from non-firefighting programs, which has happened in eight of the past 10 years. The administration also said it will provide $10 million to fund 10 Wildland Fire Resilient Landscapes Projects. Currently in its first year of funding from Congress, selected projects emphasize collaborative landscape-scale planning across multiple jurisdictions in order to lessen the risk from catastrophic wildfire and enhance the protection of critical natural resources and watersheds. The president’s FY 2016 budget proposes $30 million for the program to provide multiyear support for such projects and expand the program to new partnerships.
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