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The Spruce Bark Beetle Mitigation Program received an additional $1.6 million after the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly passed an ordinance Tuesday night accepting and appropriating a federal stimulus grant.

The funds, filtered through Alaska's Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry, should open up about 250 new jobs.

Duane Bannock, who manages the SBB Mitigation Program, said the additional contracting jobs will involve selectively thinning borough and state land where dead spruce trees and calamagrostis grass heighten the risk of fire danger. But the number of new jobs could be somewhat misleading, according to Bannock.

"We don't have a rocket science formula for how long a job lasts, but the sum of all of those jobs is 250," Bannock said. "Some of the jobs may be less than one-month jobs."

Still, Bannock said the goal is to employ the greatest number of people.

"That is certainly the intent of the stimulus plan. If 10 contractors just get 10 more projects, it was a colossal waste of our time. But if we give 20 jobs to 20 contractors, then we are using it effectively," Bannock said.

The funding boost comes after borough Mayor Dave Carey considered ending the mitigation program earlier this year when he thought there was not enough money to keep it alive.

"When I came in, it was my understanding that we had a year of funds left, but I was not apprised of the $3.5 million for two to three years," Carey said. "Because of what had actually been designated, there was a great deal more funds. Plus, we continue to pick up more funding."

Assembly President Pete Sprague said he is pleased that the program persists.

"There had been talk that the mayor was going to close the program, but I'm very glad to keep it going," Sprague said. "We're always seeking grant money for the program trying to mitigate the problem."

The project focuses on eliminating fuel hazards that infringe on houses and other valuable assets, and the $1.6 million will help protect an additional 5,075 acres, including 70 miles of road corridor, by selectively thinning land that has been devastated by the spruce bark beetle, Bannock said. Selective thinning is not clear cutting and is a much more precise process, according to Bannock. He said professionals and residents assess the land, arriving at a Community Wildlife Protection Plan that dictates which corridors would benefit most from fuel load reduction.

Carey said the program also educates people about how they can protect themselves and their land from fire danger.

In addition, one of the byproducts of thinning is piles of dead wood, which the mitigation project distributes to citizens to use as firewood, Bannock explained.

"I can bury it or burn it, so we thought we have a need we can fill," Bannock said. "People want firewood."

Since its inception in 1998, Bannock said the fuel-reducing project has received about $20 million, including the $1.6 million, with 97 percent coming from the federal government. He expects the project to twilight in 2012 or as soon as the fuel danger has been all but eliminated.

"We believe we can double up our workload," Bannock said. "We're not stretching out the program, we're just adding to it. We will have more people to get more work done."

But Carey said fuel hazards create a problem that can never be completely solved.

"The job will never be done. I don't see it ever being done," Carey said. "As long as there are funds not generated from local taxes, we will continue it."

Andrew Waite can be reached at news@peninsulaclarion.com.