ATLANTA — The National Park Service (NPS) has announced nearly 800 projects totaling $750 million that can be completed across the country with funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This major effort includes projects in the agency’s Southeast Region, which includes Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

“These projects are an investment in America’s future that will create jobs, stimulate the economies of local communities, and get our country moving again,” Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said. “They are also an investment in telling the story of America to future generations through our national parks by conserving our awe-inspiring landscapes, our rich culture, and our great heritage.”

“We will use Recovery Act funding to make a difference in parks,” said Acting Director Dan Wenk. “We will fix trails, invest in energy efficient vehicles, build new visitor facilities, cleanup abandoned mine sites, increase our ability to generate power from the sun, and finally complete overdue maintenance on our buildings and roads.”

A full list of National Park Service projects is available at HYPERLINK "http://www.interior.gov/recovery/nps" http://www.interior.gov/recovery/nps. A few examples in the Southeast Region are:

• $2.2 million to stabilize Fort Jefferson at Dry Tortugas National Park

• $24.3 million to construct, repair or rehabilitate roads in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

• $700,000 to install a photovoltaic system on the Visitor Center at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park

• $75,000 to install solar-powered security lighting in Gulf Islands National Seashore

• $200,000 to restore a boardwalk trail at Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park which will increase accessibility to Park resources

‘“This is a wonderful opportunity for several of our National Parks in the Southeast Region to tackle some of their most critical maintenance needs,” said Southeast Regional Director David Vela. “We look forward to putting these funds to good use as we begin to restore some of America’s most valuable natural and cultural treasures.”

Andersonville National Historic Site received a total of $181,000 which will be used for aligning headstones and repairs to the historic Rostrum located in the National Cemetery; refurbishing iron components in the prison site and cemetery and replacing floor covering in three buildings. “These funds will be utilized to restore the historic integrity of the national cemetery and prison site to ensure the visitors recognize the significance of the park,” said Superintendent Fred Boyles. “There is a need to realign approximately 8,000 headstones in keeping with the standards set by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.”

The Jimmy Carter Boyhood Farm received a total of $55,000 which will be used to rehabilitate walkways at the farm. “The trails at the farm are over 10 years old, and are in need of repair,” said Gary Ingram, superintendent of the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site. Resurfacing the trail brings a close to a number of minor problems at the farm. “ The resurfacing will fix the grade of the trails to make them ADA compliant, and will eliminate the tracking of mud from the trails and into the home, making it a pleasant experience for all visitors,” stated Ingram.

All the projects announced are long-standing priorities of the National Park Service and meet the criteria put forth in the Recovery Act: namely, that a project addresses the Department’s highest priority mission needs; generates the largest number of jobs in the shortest period of time; and creates lasting value for the American public.

Salazar has pledged unprecedented levels of transparency and accountability in the implementation of the Department’s economic recovery projects. The public will be able to follow the progress of each project on the recovery web site and on www.interior.gov/recovery/nps