Democrats Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon and Congressman Joe Neguse of Colorado have re-introduced a bill that would rejuvenate the FDR-era Conservation Corps, a federal agency dedicated to improve public lands, Neguse announced on Twitter.
Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal program that put tens of thousands of people to work during the Great Depression, undertook a number of environmental programs, from erosion prevention to forest management to flood control. In an era when jobs were hard to find, the CCC provided vital income to families and aided in economic development. It lasted from 1933 until 1942, when World War II required manpower to join the armed forces.
The Wyden/Neguse plan targets the same environmental goals as the FDR program, but with less manpower. First proposed by John McCain in 2017 but shot down by the Trump Administration, the 21st Century Conservation Corps bill will fund wildfire prevention programs, forest management, erosion control and restoration of facilities in federal parks.