RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. — The USDA Forest Service Southern Region recently announced an investment of $30.4 million in Great American Outdoors Act funding to support 22 selected projects across the region in the 2023 fiscal year— including the Natural State.
The projects will also be carried out in Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Mississippi., Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Of the total $30.4 million being invested, Arkansas will receive $8.4 million to complete four different projects.
The projects will include Shady Lake Recreation Site Day Use Area Renovation (Ouachita NF), Cove Lake Dam Spillway Rehabilitation (Ozark NF), Bear Creek Lake Spillway Rehabilitation (St. Francis NF), and Blanchard Springs Caverns Sewage Line Replacement (Ozark NF).
The investment supports the Departments of Agriculture and Interior's recent announcement of a combined $2.8 billion in funding for the fiscal year 2024 to improve infrastructure, recreation facilities, public lands access, and land and water conservation.
Since 2021, the Forest Service has completed over 122 deferred maintenance projects across 53 national forests in 25 states.