Stimulus targets invasive plants

May 9, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

Last fall, Stephanie Downs had a new master’s degree in forestry from Ohio State University, but jobs were scarce.

That made the Ohio Woodland Job Corps an attractive option.

The program is using $4.4 million in federal-stimulus money to train forestry workers on the job and make a dent in the invasive plants choking the state’s forests, which cover 191,000 acres. About $3 million of that money is paying crew members, crew leaders and administrators. The rest goes for training, supplies, equipment and unemployment insurance.

It’s the largest effort to improve Ohio’s forests in the state’s history, said Dan Balser, the program’s coordinator.

“We’ve never had the staffing levels to go after it at this level,” he said. “Have we rid every acre of every invasive plant? No. But we made a huge inroad.

“We were able to get to some of our more high-profile areas or places where they were heavily infested.”

Downs, 26, grew up in Hilliard and now lives in Logan. She ended her six-month stint as a crew leader with the corps in Zaleski State Forest last month and now is certified to spray pesticides and handle a chain saw.

“It was just a great experience, even for me, and I have two degrees in forestry,” she said. “You learn the theories behind it, but it’s completely different when you’re out in the woods.”

As the economy shows signs of thawing, she’s more optimistic that she can find a job in forestry in Ohio.

The program employed 66 people in the past six months, paying workers $13.44 an hour. The State Forestry Division has received 1,200 applications for 70 more jobs that start June 21, said Andy Ware, assistant chief of the division.

Ware said that when the U.S. Forest Service announced it had $250 million in stimulus money for state and private forestry programs last year, Ohio forestry officials proposed the Jobs Corps. The idea was to help clear invasive species immediately, and to train people who could improve woodlands for years to come.