The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced today that it has issued payment to 18 counties in western Oregon eligible under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act extension. The amount paid to the Oregon & California (O&C) counties is $20,290,958.71. In February 2015, the BLM previously paid the O&C Counties $18,000,344.15 for Fiscal Year 2014. The total amount paid to the O&C counties is $38,291,302. In April 2015, the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act was reauthorized as a part of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-10). The new language in the reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act extension will lock-in the allocation elections made by counties for Fiscal Year 2013 for the following two fiscal years. The deadline to initiate a Title II or Title III project has been extended to Sept. 30, 2017, and the deadline to obligate Title II or Title III funds has been extended to Sept. 30, 2018. Over the years, Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act projects have provided trail maintenance, culvert replacement or removal, soil improvement, vegetation/density management, wildfire hazard reduction, stream channel enhancement, control of noxious and exotic weeds, and opportunities for youth training and employment. Additional information about the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act is available online at: blm.gov/or/rac/ctypaypayments.php
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management
