Forest Service announces first Pacific Northwest recovery projects

The U.S. Forest Service announced the first two Pacific Northwest projects it is planning to fund with federal economic stimulus money.

The U.S. Forest Service announced the first two Pacific Northwest projects it is planning to fund with federal economic stimulus money.

The agency will spend $3.2 million on the Oregon Youth Employment Initiative, which puts young people to work on natural resource conservation and restoration projects. The first phase will begin within a week and involves existing school programs, followed by summer jobs, according to a Forest Service news release.

In Washington, the Forest Service will fund the Olympic Peninsula Structure Restoration Project. It involves painting, re-roofing and other building repairs at four administrative offices and several recreational sites in the Olympic National Forest.

The work is expected to provide jobs in the nearby counties of Clallam, Jefferson, Mason and Grays Harbor.