Biden administration announces investment into Idaho projects

OROFINO, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — The Biden Administration announced an investment of more than $9 million to support more than 40 projects in Idaho and seven other Western states.

The money is for the fiscal year 2022 and stems from the Infrastructure Law passed by Congress.

According to a press release from the Department of the Interior, the projects will aim to combat invasive grasses and wildfire, reduce encroaching conifers, safeguard precious water resources for neighboring communities and wildlife, and promote community and economic sustainability, though it did not specify how.

“This is an historic opportunity to put resources into the health and natural infrastructure of America’s sagebrush ecosystem, which serves as the lifeblood of rural communities and Tribal lands in the West,” said the Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.

“President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is the largest investment in the resilience of physical and natural systems in American history and will meaningfully advance on-the-ground efforts to promote health,” she continued.

Department officials also stressed the importance of preserving America’s sagebrush ecosystem.

“Sagebrush country is a national treasure that supports hundreds of species that live nowhere else on the planet,” said Service Director Martha Williams.

“The Service is a partner in a larger constellation of public and private entities pulling together toward a common vision for a healthy sagebrush ecosystem. Our work in this landscape is reflective of agency priorities including supporting rangeland health, growing private landowner partnerships and public access, and reducing the need to list species as federally threatened or endangered.”