[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 48 (Thursday, March 19, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E716-E717]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 PUBLIC LANDS SERVICE CORPS ACT OF 2009

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. RAUL M. GRIJALVA

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 19, 2009

  Mr. GRIJALVA. Madam Speaker, today I am introducing the Public Lands 
Service Corps Act to expand an already successful program that employs 
and trains thousands of young people and helps repair and restore our 
public lands. I am delighted that my colleague, House Natural Resources 
Committee Chairman Nick Rahall, has agreed to join me as an original 
cosponsor of this important bill.

[[Page E717]]

  In 1993, when the Public Lands Corps was established through the good 
work of our late colleague Bruce Vento of Minnesota, there were huge 
backlogs in labor-intensive work needed on national park lands, 
forests, wildlife refuges, historic sites and Indian lands.
  Today, we still face those challenges and more: years of inadequate 
funding have put these agencies further behind on vital maintenance 
work while infrastructure continues to crumble. Despite the best 
efforts of our underfunded agencies, natural and cultural resources 
have been neglected, and in many places the effects of climate change 
are magnifying earlier problems such as fire risk, damage by insects 
and invasive species and fragmented habitat.
  We have started to attack this problem with the recently passed 
stimulus legislation, but that is only a start. Much remains to be done 
on public lands.
  The Public Lands Corps is built on a long and proud tradition of 
conservation service on Federal lands that extends back to President 
Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Civilian Conservation Corps. That peace-
time army, numbering some 3 million young Americans, planted trees, 
fought fires, maintained trails and built shelters across our nation. 
The Youth Conservation Corps has given hundreds of thousands of young 
people valuable skills and experience while undertaking valuable 
conservation work.
  In fiscal year 2008 alone, over 4,000 young people spent countless 
hours on 289 projects at 111 national park units mending trails, 
cleaning up campgrounds, controlling erosion, restoring habitat, and 
other projects to repair and restore park lands, facilities and 
resources. That was in national parks alone; imagine what we could 
accomplish if more federal agencies harnessed that pool of talent and 
enthusiasm for the benefit of our public lands, waters, and coastal and 
marine systems.
  My bill will amend the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 to expand the 
authority of the Interior and Agriculture Departments (including such 
agencies as the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management 
and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service and the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) to provide service-
learning opportunities on public lands; help restore the nation's 
natural, cultural, historic, archaeological, recreational and scenic 
resources; train a new generation of public land managers and 
enthusiasts; and promote the value of public service.
  Additionally, the bill adds authority for the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration to participate in the program. NOAA, an 
agency of the Commerce Department, manages the National Marine 
Sanctuaries System, and with this new authority will be able to offer 
Corps members a chance to work in restoring coastal and marine systems 
along our oceans and the Great Lakes.
  The bill will reinvigorate the Public Lands Corps programs by 
modernizing the scope of corps projects to reflect new challenges, such 
as climate change; and adding incentives to attract new participants, 
especially from underrepresented populations.
  The legislation will ensure that, during their service term, 
participants receive adequate training for the work they have been 
assigned, including agency-specific standards, principles and 
practices. Language to ensure adequate housing, authorize participants 
in existing volunteer programs to contribute both as mentors and on 
Corps projects, expand the program for college and graduate students, 
and broaden preferential hire provisions is also included.
  The bill would rename the corps as the Public Lands Service Corps, 
and remove the $12 million authorization ceiling, paving the way for 
increased funding for this excellent program.
  Madam Speaker, I am pleased that President Obama and Interior 
Secretary Salazar have made national service a priority, and I am 
delighted to be a strong supporter of the GIVE Act, which we are 
considering this week. I want to thank the gentleman from California, 
Chairman Miller, for his very generous assistance in the drafting of 
the Public Lands Corps amendments I am introducing today.
  I also want to thank the gentleman from West Virginia, Chairman 
Rahall, the chairman of the other committee on which I am proud to 
serve, the Natural Resources Committee, for his support of this 
legislation. Other members have also indicated their interest in 
service-learning on public lands, and I look forward to working with 
them, and with members of the other body who have a long interest in 
the Public Lands Corps.
  Madam Speaker, we know the tasks and challenges that confront our 
land and water management agencies are great. This bill will help us 
meet those challenges.

                          ____________________