National Park Alert: The National Parks Conservation Association is urging visitors to its website to support the Public Lands Service Corps Act. The bill amends the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993, reauthorizing vital programs for maintaining the National Park system while involving diverse communities in the outdoors.

Through this important program, our national parks benefit from millions of hours of service, while thousands of people have the opportunity to serve our public lands. For many young people, the Public Lands Corps programs provide enrichment they couldn’t find in a classroom, including on the job experience, hands-on learning, and the satisfaction of public service.

The Department of the Interior regards the Public Land Corps program as an important and successful example of civic engagement and conservation.

In a statement to congress on April 2, 2009, Will Shafroth, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish Wildlife and Parks, Department of the Interior said, “this bill would strengthen and facilitate the use of the Public Land Corps (PLC) program, helping to fulfill the vision that Secretary Salazar has for promoting ways to engage young people across America to serve their community and their country.”

How the Public Land Corps Works

Authorized by the National and Community Service Trust Act on in 1993, the program uses non-profit organizations such as the Student Conservation Association (SCA) and other service and conservation corps organizations affiliated with the Corps Network as the primary partners in administering the Public Land Corps program.

The youth organizations assist the National Park Service (NPS) in its efforts to attract diverse participants to the parks by recruiting youth 16-25 years of age from all socioeconomic, cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

The National Park Service makes extensive use of the PLC program. Projects are funded through recreational fee revenue, with the typical project receiving $25,000 from NPS plus a 25 percent match from a partner organization.

NPS spent $4.1 million on the program in FY 2008, which funded about 1,500 young men and women working on 178 projects at 99 park units.

Most PLC projects at parks are designed to address maintenance and ecological restoration needs. The NPS also conducts other youth service and conservation projects at larger parks which are funded out of the parks’ own budgets.

NPS also spent more than $3 million on the Youth Conservation Corps program which is a summer employment program for 15-18 year old youth. NPS in fiscal year 2008

The new bill, introduced by House Natural Resources chairman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), is in the first step of the legislative process. Introduced bills and resolutions first go to committees that deliberate, investigate, and revise them before they go to general debate. The majority of these bills and resolutions never make it out of committee, hence the urgent need for your support.

It's up to Congress to take action, and it's up to you to make sure they do!

Visit the National Parks Conservation Association page. They have a neat app for writing you congressperson. Very easy! Click Here

Or you can Write Your Congress Person Here