§1723. Public Lands Corps program

(a) Establishment of Public Lands Corps

There is hereby established in the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture a Public Lands Corps.

(b) Participants

The Corps shall consist of individuals between the ages of 16 and 25, inclusive, who are enrolled as participants in the Corps by the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture. To be eligible for enrollment in the Corps, an individual shall satisfy the criteria specified in section 12591(b) of title 42. The Secretaries may enroll such individuals in the Corps without regard to the civil service and classification laws, rules, or regulations of the United States. The Secretaries may establish a preference for the enrollment in the Corps of individuals who are economically, physically, or educationally disadvantaged.

(c) Qualified youth or conservation corps

The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture are authorized to enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with any qualified youth or conservation corps to perform appropriate conservation projects referred to in subsection (d) of this section.

(d) Projects to be carried out

The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture may each utilize the Corps or any qualified youth or conservation corps to carry out appropriate conservation projects which such Secretary is authorized to carry out under other authority of law on public lands. Appropriate conservation projects may also be carried out under this subchapter on Indian lands with the approval of the Indian tribe involved and on Hawaiian home lands with the approval of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands of the State of Hawaii. The Secretaries may also authorize appropriate conservation projects and other appropriate projects to be carried out on Federal, State, local, or private lands as part of disaster prevention or relief efforts in response to an emergency or major disaster declared by the President under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.).

(e) Preference for certain projects

In selecting appropriate conservation projects to be carried out under this subchapter, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall give preference to those projects which-

(1) will provide long-term benefits to the public;

(2) will instill in the enrollee involved a work ethic and a sense of public service;

(3) will be labor intensive;

(4) can be planned and initiated promptly; and

(5) will provide academic, experiential, or environmental education opportunities.

(f) Consistency

Each appropriate conservation project carried out under this subchapter on eligible service lands shall be consistent with the provisions of law and policies relating to the management and administration of such lands, with all other applicable provisions of law, and with all management, operational, and other plans and documents which govern the administration of the area.

(Pub. L. 91–378, title II, §204, as added Pub. L. 103–82, title I, §105(6), Sept. 21, 1993, 107 Stat. 850 .)

References in Text

The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, referred to in subsec. (d), is Pub. L. 93–288, May 22, 1974, 88 Stat. 143 , as amended, which is classified principally to chapter 68 (§5121 et seq.) of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 5121 of Title 42 and Tables.

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in section 1722 of this title.