List of states to receive funding under USDA plan to repair national forest roads

October 9th, 2009 USDA: Cotton production to rise slightly over '08NEW ORLEANS — U.S. cotton production is forecast to reach 13 million bales, slightly more than a year ago, with farmers in parts of the South expecting record yields.

October 8th, 2009 Vilsack: USDA must sharpen its research focusWASHINGTON — The USDA must sharpen the focus of its science and research efforts to emphasize areas where it can make an impact on society, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Thursday. "USDA science needs to change to respond to ...

September 24th, 2009 USDA to fund conservation effort in 12 statesWASHINGTON — The Agriculture Department is pouring $320 million into efforts to improve water quality in the Mississippi River basin. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced in a videotaped speech on Thursday that he is creating the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative.

September 21st, 2009 USDA calls most of Calif. a drought disaster areaFRESNO, Calif.

September 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit Saturday decided to undertake surprise check of the national capital's roads on a daily basis to ensure they are properly maintained. She directed the Public Works Department (PWD) and civic authorities to gear up and make all roads under their jurisdiction smooth as per well-defined standards in view of the 2010 Commonwealth Games (CWG).

August 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Thursday cited a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report that says that although 88 percent of the capital's roads are under the civic agency's purview, allocations are meagre" and unjust. According to the CAG report for the year till March 2008: The MCD, which maintained 88 percent of Delhi's road network, received very meagre allocations from the government compared to the PWD (Public Works Department) which maintained only 7.6 percent of the roads.

August 6th, 2009 Court blocks road construction in national forestsWASHINGTON — A federal appeals court Wednesday blocked road construction in at least 40 million acres of pristine national forests. The decision by a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstates most of a 2001 rule put in place by President Bill Clinton just before he left office that prohibited commercial logging, mining and other development on about 58 million acres of national forest in 38 states and Puerto Rico.

August 6th, 2009 The servicers in gov't loan-modification planA look at the loan servicers in Treasury's mortgage-modification program, the taxpayer money they could receive and the percentage of eligible loans they've offered to modify so far. The servicers will keep some of Treasury's money and will pass some of it on to investors and homeowners.

July 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - A Rs.500 crore (Rs.5 billion) programme to restore and regenerate India's forest cover has been included in the budget unveiled by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said here Thursday. Buried in the expenditure budget, the "major new scheme" did not receive the attention it deserved, he said.

June 18th, 2009 AP Interview: New Forest chief vows quick spendingWASHINGTON — New Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell says he will move quickly to ensure that his agency spends its $1.15 billion share of federal economic stimulus funding. The Forest Service has spent $643 million of its stimulus money so far, including $228 million in projects announced this month to repair forest roads and bridges in 31 states.

June 11th, 2009 Judge finds violation in Calif. forest planningLOS ANGELES — Federal agencies violated the Endangered Species Act by developing plans for four national forests in California without adequately addressing the impact on endangered animals, a judge ruled.

June 6th, 2009 PATNA - The Bihar government has declared 73 construction companies, including several prestigious firms engaged in road construction in the state, as "defaulters" after they failed to complete projects on time, officials said Saturday. These companies would not be allowed to participate in any tenders for road construction, the officials said, adding Road Construction Minister Prem Kumar was unhappy with the companies for the delay in completing roads within the deadline set by the government and ignoring warnings to speed up the construction of roads.

June 3rd, 2009 Forest Service: $228M to fix roads, bridgesWASHINGTON — National forest roads and bridges in 31 states will get long-needed repairs under an economic stimulus spending plan announced by the Obama administration. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Tuesday that $228 million in economic stimulus money will be used for road maintenance and decommissioning and watershed restoration in dozens of national forests.

May 29th, 2009 Obama moves to curb road-building in forestsWASHINGTON — The Obama administration is ordering a one-year moratorium on most road-building and other development on about 50 million acres of remote national forests. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack issued a directive Thursday reinstating for one year most of a Clinton-era ban against new road construction and development in national forests.

April 22nd, 2009 Stimulus money includes spruce-up of National MallWASHINGTON — More than $55 million in economic stimulus money will be used to fix the National Mall, even though money for the renovations was removed during congressional debate on the stimulus package this winter. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Wednesday that $750 million in stimulus money will go to restore and repair national parks nationwide, including about $55.8 million for the National Mall.