Oregon Public Broadcasting

Central Oregon received word Wednesday that it has gotten more money from the federal stimulus package.

Close to $4 million from the stimulus package will go toward construction projects to pipe and preserve water in Central Oregon.

Tod Heisler is the executive director of the Deschutes River Conservancy. He says the stimulus money came to his group because of those magic words: shovel-ready.

Tod Heisler: “They are going to be big construction contracts. And of course those will go away when the money does. But we are looking at this as a bridge strategy. We want to keep some of those construction jobs from leaving the area. So when economic times get better in the private sector, we haven’t lost all of our construction industry, and all of those jobs.”

Heisler says he doesn't know the exact number of jobs the project will create.

He says the $4 million, over two years, is equivalent to adding a full third to his non-profit’s budget.