Document text
Bush threatens to cut program funding Administration proposes to scrap small-town grants By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune Without the Forest Service's Economic Action Programs, about $1.5 million would not have made its way to Jackson County. Butte Falls would not have a functioning water system, Talent would not have a Greenway master plan, and Eagle Point would not have plans for a visitor center. Now the Bush administration is threatening to cut those programs. "Sen. (Ron) Wyden strongly supports the economic assistance programs," said Lisa Markgraf, Wyden's spokeswoman. "President Bush's proposal to cut funding to these programs would be the financial equivalent of taking a wrecking ball on the main streets of Oregon's small towns." Wyden, D-Ore., is chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources forests subcommittee and said he will work to keep the programs intact. The programs are part of the Economic Action Program. This year, about $36 million went to rural communities in grants nationwide. "It's a program that the Forest Service uses to provide technical and financial assistance in rural American communities that are adjacent to and reliant on our national forests," said Paul Galloway, rural community assistance coordinator for the Rogue River National Forest. Galloway said since 1994, Rogue River, Gold Hill, Central Point, Shady Cove, Phoenix, Talent and the Applegate have been grant recipients. "Most of the municipal governments in the county that met the eligibility requirements have accomplished a citizen-based strategic action plan for their communities," he said. Bush administration officials say they are concerned that much of the grant money Congress approved was earmarked for specific communities, rather than allowing the Forest Service discretion to dole out the funds. "If a congressional earmark comes along, that's going to tap into our ability to assist other communities," Galloway said. Butte Falls City Recorder Lori Paxton said the Economic Action Program has allowed the community to make needed repairs to its water system. "We would have had to raise our water rates even higher than they are," she said. "Since we have put in the system, we've capped a lot of leaks." Even increased water rates would not have been enough to remedy all the system's problems, said Paxton. "So if we didn't get that money, we'd have leaks," she said. Galloway said the program helps communities move away from resource-dependent economies to more diverse economies. "It allows communities to take stock and look at where they want to go," he said. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.