WASHINGTON, Sept. 1, 2004 –- Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman today announced that $500,000 will be provided to help wildfire recovery efforts in Alaska that are impacting many rural communities and Alaska Native villages.

    "This Administration remains committed to long-term watershed recovery and prevention efforts in communities impacted by devastating wildfires," said Veneman. "These funds will provide assistance to help heal the watershed and protect the threatened water resources of Alaska Native villages."

   The funds are being made available through USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service's (NRCS) Emergency Watershed Protection Program (EWP). 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.

   Wildfires spreading through Alaska's Interior have burned about 5.9 million acres this year. Private landowners, including Native villages, are concerned about protecting timber and fish and wildlife habitat. Smoke from the wildfires has created unhealthy air quality for many individuals, especially those with respiratory ailments, and has spread to many coastal communities.

   Rehabilitation efforts will provide sound erosion control measures that are economically and environmentally defensible. EWP measures aimed at protecting water resources include reseeding burned areas, placing sediment traps on slopes, constructing trash racks to trap large rocks and boulders, and enlarging existing debris basins to increase capacity.

   Information on EWP can be found on the Web at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/EWP.