ARRA money helps Georgia provide green jobs through state Forestry Commission; GA

The Weekly Online!:
MACON, Ga., (December 17, 2009) - The Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC) will assist in the creation of more than 30 jobs in north Georgia as part of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The federal program will subsidize a grant totaling $897,000 to help stimulate the economy and restore ecosystems impacted by growth and urbanization. The funds will not replace or supplant state mandated GFC budget reductions, but can only be used for job retention or the creation of new, temporary positions in the forestry industry.

“Georgia’s ‘Growing Green’ project will help many north Georgia counties where the highest net changes in employment rates have occurred,” said Susan Reisch, Urban and Community Forestry Coordinator for GFC’s Sustainable Community Forestry Program. “The funding will help create and retain green jobs in nurseries, tool and equipment sales, and landscape architecture, among others. These jobs will help sustain the health and diversity of north Georgia forests, which have been impacted by the pressures of growth and urbanization.”