Sandoval County issued $300K from Forest Service

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service announced recently it is issuing more than $232 million to support public schools, roads and other municipal services through the agency’s Secure Rural Schools program.

More than $9 million of that money will be invested in New Mexico with $314,265.51 going to Sandoval County.

A total of $9,309,362 will be invested in New Mexico. The funds will be allocated from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Secure Rural Schools program, reauthorized through the Infrastructure Law, which New Mexico Democrats passed into law.

“From schools to roads and emergency services, our Infrastructure Law continues to deliver for rural communities in New Mexico,” said U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee. “These investments will support our kids’ education, equip our rural law enforcement personnel and firefighters with the resources they need to keep our communities safe, grow our local economies, and create more jobs New Mexicans can build their families around. I remain committed to continuing to deliver investments like these that will help us build a stronger future for our kids.”

The Secure Rural Schools program provides critical funding to more than 700 counties nationwide to improve the health of forested communities, and can include improving schools and roads, wildfire mitigation and other county services.

“I’m proud to welcome more than $9.2 million to New Mexico to support public schools, local infrastructure and wildfire protection plans. This investment will create new economic opportunities, tackle the threat of wildfires, and improve access to education and public services in rural communities,” said U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. “I will continue working in Congress to deliver investments in our state and grow the economy.”

“The $9.3 million will go a long way to making schools more accessible to our rural communities in New Mexico,” said U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury. “Funding opportunities like the Secure Rural Schools program demonstrate the reach and power of the Biden Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Updating and maintaining roads, bridges, school buses, and broadband connections means more students in our state will have an easier, safer time getting to and from school each day.”

Other recipients of this funding include:

• Bernalillo - $54,056.58

• Catron - $3,039,121.91

• Chaves - $39,434.94

• Cibola - $495,084.94

• Colfax - $64,899.41

• Eddy - $65,917.71

• Grant - $651,840.30

• Hidalgo - $60,027.15

• Lincoln - $322,609.67

• Los Alamos - $9,067.24

• McKinley - $288,114.51

• Mora - $89,058.61

• Otero - $658,658.84

• Rio Arriba - $1,605,383.85

• San Miguel - $326,721.28

• Santa Fe - $99,298.02

• Sierra - $352,541.99

• Socorro - $638,765.18

• Taos - $512,041.31

• Torrance - $166,916.77

• Valencia - $18,244.72

For more information on this federal grant from USDA, click here.