US Forest Service Lake County restoration initiative receives nearly $2 million WASHINGTON (KTVZ) -- Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., announced Friday that over $5.2 million in federal resources from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership are headed to Oregon’s Lake County All Lands Restoration Initiative and the Buttes to Basins All Lands Forest Resiliency Project in Jefferson and Deschutes counties to support critical forest restoration and maintenance efforts. “Last year’s catastrophic wildfire season is a powerful example of why forest management projects are vital to the health and well-being of our communities,” said Merkley, who serves on both Senate Appropriations subcommittees that fund this program. “I’m pleased that Lake, Jefferson and Deschutes counties are receiving these critical federal resources to boost resiliency in some of Oregon’s most wildfire-prone areas. I will continue to do everything I can to be a strong partner to local officials in every corner of our state to ensure that we’re reducing the destruction of future blazes.”