Public Lands Corps

Our public lands, America's great natural heritage, including our parks, forests, refuges, and coastlines, face three major immediate and critical needs:   

   • A multi-billion dollar backlog of maintenance work. $9 billion in jobs wait to be done 
      in the National Parks alone.
   • Replacements for the upcoming wave of retirements within the public lands agencies--
      for example, by 2012 a full 38 percent of the Department of the Interior's workforce will be eligible
      for retirement.
   • The pressing need to create a more diverse public lands management workforce in this new generation.

The answer lies in using service as a strategy. America's Service and Conservation Corps have proven their effectiveness, both in getting the job done and in delivering land management professionals to the public lands system. An expanded Public Lands Service Corps, where young men and women serve to improve America's parks, forests, coastlines, and wild places, would help to diminish the backlog today-and build a diverse workforce for tomorrow.

The Public Lands Service Corps Act (House Bill HR 1612 and Senate Bill S 1442) would offer precisely these opportunities to young people, while meeting the need for staffing on our public lands.

Download our one pager "Support the Public Lands Service Corps Act!" to distribute to your members of Congress.

Download the Public Lands Service Coalition advocacy one pager, "Millions of Jobs for the Next Generation."