PUEBLO, Colo., December 31, 2008 - The U.S. Forest Service - Pike and San Isabel National Forests, Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands (PSICC) have a comprehensive plan for spending $1 million dollars on recreation site improvement projects beginning in 2009. These funds come as a result of the Recreation Facility Analysis (RFA) planning process completed in 2007, which evaluated and prioritized recreation fee sites throughout the PSICC. Projects will be a continuation of last year's site improvements that provided $800,000 in similar upgrades to reduce deferred maintenance at high priority fee sites. Work to be done between 2009 and 2011 includes:

• Water line repair work in the Rampart Reservoir Water System at Promontory Picnic Site,
• Roadwork paving, drainage work, and pathway restoration at several recreation areas,
• Entrance Signs, Fee Station Kiosks, Information Boards and Site Posts at 32 recreation fee sites,
• 21 new restroom facilities at seven campgrounds and seven day use areas,
• Historic cabin restoration projects at two recreation cabin rentals,
• Accessible fishing pier repair and bridge replacement at two National Forest lakes,
• Table pads, tent pads and retaining wall repair at three campgrounds,
• New accessible fire rings (204) and pedestal grills (35) throughout the PSICC, and
• Over 400 new or refurbished picnic tables at high use recreation fee sites.

These and other projects across the Forest Service will help reduce the U.S. Forest Service's backlog maintenance. There is approximately 93 million dollars available for deferred maintenance at high priority recreation fee sites across U.S. Forest Service lands. The Recreation Facility Analysis (RFA) process used criteria such as age of facility, use maintenance needs, and cost of operations to establish priorities for spending federal funds. To learn more about the RFA process visit our website at: http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/psicc/recreation/rfa.shtml.

Many recreation site improvement projects on the PSICC and across the country will provide business opportunities to local contractors. To register a business or to bid on these and future projects, visit the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) website at: http://www.ccr.gov or visit the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website at: http://www.FBO.gov to view a current list of projects being advertised for bids nationwide.