Historic Preservation: $3.5 million
Funding will be used to construct a new facility to preserve historic artifacts and documents from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and other surrounding National Park Service facilities.
Big South Fork Conservation: $550,000
Funding would allow the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area to purchase a 50-acre tract of land, the last remaining privately-held parcel within Big South Fork that is surrounded by federal lands.
Rocky Fork Conservation: $8 million
Funding would allow the Cherokee National Forest to purchase property known as Rocky Fork Tract (an approximately 10,000-acre tract of land adjacent to existing national forest) which is one of the largest remaining tracts of wilderness in the eastern United States.
Hemlock Forest Protection: $1 million
Funding would be used for on-the-ground treatments for protection of hemlock trees in the Cherokee National Forest and Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
WBIR doesn't have the entire list of projects, but they have many of the other non-outdoor related projects listed in this article.
I understand some of these projects are probably much needed. However, many of these look like pure pork barrel wasteful spending. When will politicians finally get it? There's a recession going on out there! There's 10% unemployment - much higher if you count the people who have given up looking - and people are tightening their belts to make ends meet. These polticians continue to spend money - our money - like drunken sailors.
The outcome of all this wasteful spending will not be good for America. Higher taxes, high inflation and a lower standard of living will be the end result.
Jeff
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