Bill reintroduced to create 21st Century Conservation Corps to improve resiliency to wildfire

Sponsored by two Senators and four Representatives

155th_Co_CCC_Feb,1940
154th Company, Civilian Conservation Corps, Eagle Lake Camp NP-1-Me. Bar harbor Maine, February, 1940.

Two Oregon Senators are going to reintroduce a bill that would put people to work in the woods, helping to restore public lands and provide jobs. The 21st Century Conservation Corps Act brought forward by Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, would provide funds to support a natural resource management and conservation workforce and bolster wildfire prevention and preparedness.

Of course an earlier Conservation Corps with some similar goals was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) 80 years ago. (More about the CCC later in this article.)

According to Senator Wyden:

Rural communities are facing two big challenges: struggling economies and continued wildfire threats. By investing in a 21st century workforce, this bill will put people to work to tackle the climate emergency, restore our public lands and reduce wildfire risks. The bottom line, creating new jobs and supporting our public lands go hand in hand.

 Provisions

Some of the provisions in the legislation would actually accomplish some meaningful things out on the ground that could make a difference:

  • Establishes a $9 billion fund for qualified land and conservation corps to increase job training and hiring specifically for jobs in the woods, helping to restore public lands and provide jobs in a time of need.
  • Provides an additional $3.5 billion for the U.S. Forest Service and $2 billion for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to support science-based projects aimed at improving forest health and reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire.
  • Establishes a $2 billion fund to provide economic relief for outfitters and guides holding U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Department of the Interior special use permits.
  • Provides $2 billion for the National Fire Capacity program, which helps the Forest Service implement FireWise, to prevent, mitigate, and respond to wildfire around homes and businesses on private land.
  • Provides $2 billion for the FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program to improve resiliency for communities impacted by wildfire.
  • Provides $6 billion for U.S. Forest Service, $6 billion for the National Park Service, and $2 billion for the Bureau of Land Management maintenance accounts to create jobs, reduce the maintenance backlog, and expand access to recreation.
  • Provides $3.5 billion for reforestation projects on a combination of federal, state, local, tribal and NGO lands, with over one hundred million trees to be planted in urban areas across America by 2030.
  • Increases access to public lands through expanding and investing in programs like Every Kid Outdoors and the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership.

A nine-page document has more details about the bill.

Legislation with the same title was first introduced in the 2017-2018 Congress by Senator John McCain with strong bipartisan support, and a second time in the 2019-2020 Congress by Senator Ron Wyden. Neither was brought to a vote in the full Senate. It is possible that with the new administration and a new Congress the bill will have a slightly better chance of passage. So far, all six of the co-sponsors are of the same party, Democratic.

National Prescribed Fire Act of 2020

A few of the provisions in the bill are similar to our recommendations made in the analysis of the National Prescribed Fire Act of 2020, Senate Bill 4625, which was introduced September 17, 2020 by Senator Ron Wyden and died in the last Congress. It would have helped address the workforce capacity issue by appropriating $300 million for both the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior to plan, prepare, and conduct controlled burns on federal, state, and private lands.

At the time I made some suggestions that could be considered for funding along with an enhanced prescribed fire program:

  • Provide grants to homeowners that are in areas with high risk from wildland fires. Pay a portion of the costs of improvements or retrofits to structures and the nearby vegetation to make the property more fire resistant. This could include the cost of removing some of the trees in order to have the crowns at least 18 feet apart if they are within 30 feet of the structures — many homeowners can’t afford the cost of complete tree removal.
  • Cities and counties could establish systems and procedures for property owners to easily dispose of the vegetation and debris they remove.
  • Hire crews that can physically help property owners reduce the fuels near their homes when it would be difficult for them to do it themselves.
  • Provide grants to cities and counties to improve evacuation capability and planning, to create community safety zones for sheltering as a fire approaches, and to build or improve emergency water supplies to be used by firefighters.

Our article “Six things that need to be done to protect fire-prone communities” has even more ideas.

The CCC

The 21st Century Conservation Corps has some of the same goals as the Civilian Conservation Corps which between 1933 and 1942 employed young men across the United States who had trouble finding employment during the Great Depression. Through the course of its nine years in operation, three million participated in the CCC, which provided them with shelter, clothing, and food, together with a monthly wage that is equivalent to about $600 today. Enrollment peaked at the end of 1935, when there were 500,000 men in 2,600 camps with operations in every state.

The program closed in 1942 with World War II raging. The military reluctantly helped run the program but when the draft began in 1940, the policy was to make CCC alumni corporals and sergeants. Through the CCC, the regular army could assess the leadership performance of both regular and reserve officers.

Many of the projects the CCC accomplished still exist today. Their work included:

  1. Structural improvements: bridges, fire lookout towers, service buildings;
  2. Transportation: truck trails, minor roads, foot trails and airfields;
  3. Erosion control: check dams, terracing, and vegetable covering;
  4. Flood control: irrigation, drainage, dams, ditching, channel work, riprapping;
  5. Forest culture: tree planting, fire prevention, fire pre-suppression, firefighting, insect and disease control;
  6. Landscape and recreation: public camp and picnic ground development, lake and pond site clearing and development;
  7. Range: stock driveways, elimination of predatory animals;
  8. Wildlife: stream improvement, fish stocking, food and cover planting;
  9. Miscellaneous: emergency work, surveys, mosquito control.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Kelly.

Typos, let us know HERE, and specify which article. Please read the commenting rules before you post a comment.

Author: Bill Gabbert

After working full time in wildland fire for 33 years, he continues to learn, and strives to be a Student of Fire.

6 thoughts on “Bill reintroduced to create 21st Century Conservation Corps to improve resiliency to wildfire”

  1. Wonderful idea. How about an online listing of reforesting jobs for people affected by the pandemic and out of work? People planting trees in the wilderness is not a new idea but putting the word out for these opportunities is key. We need more communication of what possibilities exist. People who love the wilderness and want to contribute to the planet’s ecological health are our assets. Let’s reach out.

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  2. It’s a shame, all these billions of dollars to create a new job workforce while we are facing mounting unfilled vacancies all across the Forest Service, in remote work centers to urban areas. Maybe this workforce will help fill these vacancies? I doubt it until we pay a living wage to our firefighters that adequately compensates folks for the risks and time away from home. Too bad this bill doesn’t create a National Fire Service on top of it and remove professional first responders from constant political juggling and poor bureaucratic administrative practices of our land management agencies.

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  3. Better make it more than a GS3 pay, and include some benefits, or your labor workforce will struggle just like the fire programs do.

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  4. This is such a great….doomed…. idea. The CCC didn’t have to worry about NEPA/NFMA. We’ll have an army with no authority to work on anything that requires environmental clearances.

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    1. Hi Frank. It’s a grand idea. As to whether it will really work on a large scale what with all the modern-day BS that likely will be associated with a government sanctioned civilian workforce, I’d say it will probably be pretty difficult to get the program off the ground, ultimately functioning as intended. To matter-of-factly say that it is doomed though because of NEPA & NFMA is pretty negative. There’s a pretty good chance that our great partisan divide particularly in the Senate will never give the program a chance but I say, let’s give it a try. It truly would be great for young and older alike if it works! I’d rather my tax dollars go towards hope for humanity and the planet rather than towards our military industrial complex. Be well! Lone Ranger

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    2. Well, if a smart guy had multiple projects in the pipeline to clear that hurdle of NEPA…and if due diligence is done then there is no shortage of work, finding implementers is the challenge! Funding is there is a project is turnkey. Great idea I say, paying them a living wage is going to be a problem though with housing costs going up, doubtful we’ll see those old CCC camps come back!

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