Fuel-reduction pay stumped by federal glitch

When Nick Marshall signed the contract, he expected to promptly receive the federal grant to pay for the fuel reduction work on his forested land in the Many Lakes subdivision east of Kalispell.

The Libby logger he hired, Hank Lucido, expected the same.

The Natural Resources and Conservation Service forester who inspected the work, Angel Rosario, also expected the grant to arrive.

But it didn't.

A complicated computer accounting glitch between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Conservation Service has prevented 2009 Farm Bill funding from being paid out for Environmental Quality Incentive Program projects across the country.

Changes in the latest Farm Bill required changes to the software program that interfaces with the Conservation Service contracting system, Rosario said.

"Until they complete that, the system won't allow us to do payments," he said.

The situation affects only four 2009 projects in Flathead County, which combined involve roughly $40,000 in grants.

For more of this story, see the print edition of Monday's Inter Lake.