A new program to employ youth in conservation projects around the country--the American Conservation Corps--received unanimous support last week from the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs.
The $50-million program would enable young people, ages 16 to 25, to work at minimum wage in national parks and forests, on waterfronts, and in neighborhoods. State and federal conservation agencies would administer the program.
Programs Merged
The plan would merge a defunct conservation program authorized by the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act with the Interior Department’s Youth Conservation Corps (YCC). Secretary of the Interior James G. Watt has proposed abolishing the YCC program next year, and he has also opposed creation of the new program.
The bill, which has 100 co-sponsors in the House, will probably be approved next by the House Committee on Education and Labor. The proposal also has received bipartisan support in the Senate.
