Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman announced that $150 million will be provided to help Southern California wildfire recovery efforts and to address the tree mortality emergency in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, San Bernardino and Ventura counties. This funding is in addition to the more than $9 million for emergency environmental restoration work in Southern California that USDA provided in November 2003.

“These funds will provide technical and financial assistance to local project sponsors to help heal the watershed and prevent further damage following a natural disaster,” said Veneman.

The funds are being made available through the Natural Resources Conservation Service's Emergency Watershed Protection Program. Agriculture and the NRCS will continue to work in partnership with local, state and federal agencies to ensure public safety and to address restoration efforts on private lands.

Numerous cities and urban communities have infrastructure — basins, waterways, culverts, roads, homes and businesses — that are at significant risk from mud and debris flows expected from the burned areas. Many homes are located adjacent to steep burned hillsides with no cover. Existing debris basins may be overloaded from increased sediment and debris flows if significant rainfall occurs, and several domestic water supply reservoirs are at risk from debris and sediment contamination.

Rehabilitation efforts will provide sound erosion control measures that are economically and environmentally defensible. EWPA measures include reseeding burned areas, placing sediment traps on slopes, constructing trash racks to trap large rocks and boulders, enlarging existing debris basins to increase capacity, and placing sandbags and other barriers to protect property.

The USDA also has committed more than $48 million in fiscal year 2004 for hazardous fuel reduction projects.

Information on NRCS wildfire recovery efforts can be found on the Web at www.ca.nrcs.usda.gov and on EWP at www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/EWP.