A $2.2 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant awarded recently to the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) is expected to create 40 to 50 jobs in the woods.

The funds will put workers back to work in non-commercial thinning operations on more than 3,000 acres of private forestland in ODF’s Northeast Oregon District.

District Forester John Buckman called the funds “a needed operational bridge for some operators,” pointing out that the grant was “not a substitute for a robust forest economy.”

Nevertheless, the value of the grant is increased by the fact that workers put back to work spend money in their rural communities, he said.