PORTLAND – The U.S. Bureau of Land Management will be spending $32 million from the federal economic stimulus program on projects in Oregon that range from studying whether wind energy projects could harm sage grouse to rebuilding an old fire lookout and limiting pollution from an abandoned gold mine.

The money is part of a total of $305 million going to BLM projects around the country, and $3 billion to the U.S. Department of Interior from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

BLM said the money will go to 56 projects in Oregon, including construction and maintenance, habitat restoration, roads and bridges, trails, abandoned mines, renewable energy, capital improvements and administrative support. The bulk of the work is to be contracted out.

Among the maintenance projects are rebuilding the popular Steens Mountain Loop Road in Harney County, replacing the Green Mountain fire lookout in Lake County, and repaving the trail and installing energy efficient doors and windows at the Yaquina Head interpretive wayside.

Abandoned mine projects include assessing what is needed to control pollution discharges from the Almeda Mine on the Rogue River near Galice, and doing an inventory of historic mine sites in Jackson and Josephine counties.

Renewable energy projects include a study to find out where sage grouse spend most of their time in Lake County to help in siting future wind energy projects.

Capital improvements include putting solar panels on the Medford BLM District office, improving solar energy systems at the Rogue River Ranch and Zane Grey Cabin on the wild and scenic section of the Rogue River, and paving the parking lot at Lakeview BLM headquarters.

Habitat restoration projects include thinning forests in Jackson and Josephine counties, eliminating juniper encroaching on aspen, bitterbrush and sagebrush areas used by sage grouse, redband trout, elk deer and antelope in Harney County, and killing invasive weeds along wild and scenic rivers in Eastern Oregon.

For more information, visit:

http://www.interior.gov/recovery