The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will utilize up to $3.2 million in ARRA funds for four projects at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge in Sherman, among them a new energy-efficient administrative building/visitor’s center approximately 6,200 sq ft larger than the current facility.

The second project, which was recently awarded to Lynn Vessels Construction LLC of Sherman for $16,000, will replace about one mi of fencing and install new boundary signs. The third project will replace at least two visitor observation towers that are outdated or had to be removed and rebuilt for safety purposes. The building is to be replaced at Hagerman NWR, which is 75 mi north of Dallas, just south of the Oklahoma border. The fourth project will rebuild the dam at Russell pond as well as improve road access to the shallow wetland that serves as nesting ground for Great Blue Herons.