<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> <HTML> <HEAD> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii"> <META NAME="Generator" CONTENT="MS Exchange Server version 6.0.6603.0"> <TITLE>Bozeman Chronicle article: Federal funds for YNP and vicinity</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY>  Federal windfall coming home By <A HREF="mailto:scottm@dailychronicle.comHYPERLINK">mailto:scottm@dailychronicle.comHYPERLINK "mailto:scottm@dailychronicle.com"SCOTT McMILLION</A> Chronicle Staff Writer The huge spending bill passed by Congress over the weekend includes $194 million for projects in Montana and Yellowstone National Park. While few parts of the state will go without, some of the biggest appropriations come to the Bozeman area. Montana State University will receive almost $24 million for research projects ranging from weed management to brucellosis vaccines to electrochemical engineering. The bill pays for new water projects in Bozeman, Belgrade and Livingston, land purchases near Yellowstone and even $300,000 for restoration of the Story Mansion on South Willson Avenue in Bozeman. The overall bill, known as an omnibus spending package, combines nine spending bills into one mammoth item totaling $388 billion, enough to provide something for every U.S. Senate and House district in the nation. Critics often decry some of the contents as "pork," but they often are important to constituents. "There's a lot to be proud of in this bill," said Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., who was deeply involved in it through his seat on the Appropriations Committee. "Omnibus bills are notorious for including some unnecessary baggage and some provisions that by themselves would never pass," Burn said. "But I feel overall we've got a pretty good bill here." Montana "comes out on the positive side" on this bill, he added. The state traditionally sees $1.50 or more in federal spending for every dollar it sends to Washington in the form of taxes. Annette Trinity-Stevens, an MSU spokeswoman, said much of the money will circulate in the local economy. "About two-thirds of research spending is for salaries" for people who live in the community, she said. The appropriated money also helps move projects "to the next level of complexity and competitiveness," she added. While the majority of the money goes to schools or local governments, it funds a big variety of items, from wolf control to developing better cattle feed, from airport and hospital improvements to land purchases for conservation. The money "will help create jobs and boost the state's economy," Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., said in a statement. "We did very well in this year's appropriations process." Construction projects in Yellowstone also get some of the money. The renovation of the Old Faithful Inn gets $9.8 million, a federal courthouse at Mammoth Hot Springs gets $2.7 million, and $1.5 million has been set aside for a new entrance station at West Yellowstone. Development of snowcoaches for the park also picked up another $1 million. Here are some of the appropriations for the Bozeman vicinity and around the state. € MSU Hi-TEC Electrochemical Engineering: $5 million € Fork Peck Reservoir, $5 million for roads leading to fishing access sites and $7.2 million for a fish hatchery. € MSU Center for Zero-Emissions Research and Technology: $4 million € MSU Technical Assistance for Small Water Systems: $4 million. € Yellowstone Park, new courthouse at Mammoth Hot Springs: $2.7 million € MSU Animal Bioscience Facility: $2 million. € Rural water projects in Belgrade, Manhattan, Livingston, Butte, Helena and Drummond: $2 million. € Land purchases near Yellowstone: $3.5 million. € MSU, Life in Extreme Environments: $1.5 million. € MSU Microdevice Fabrication Facility: $1.5 million. € New west-entrance station in Yellowstone: $1.5 million. € Blackfoot Challenge land purchases: $18.3 million € Whirling disease research in Bozeman: $1.3 million € MSU Undaunted Stewardship (ranchland conservation): $1 million. € Wolf and other predator control in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming: $1.3 million. € Bozeman city water infrastructure improvements: $1 million € Restoration of the Union Pacific Dining Lodge in West Yellowstone: $400,000. € Montana Wolf Management: $320,000 € Methamphetamine reduction programs: $750,000. € MSU fish and wildlife habitat programs: $900,000. € Bozeman, Abaertern Academy Distance Learning Program, $500,000. € Gardiner, Brucellosis quarantine facility: $864,000. € Livingston, Yellowstone River planning and flood control projects: $283,000. € Missoula, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation's new headquarters building: $300,000. Thanks, Udo Freund </BODY> </HTML>