Title 16ConservationRelease 119-73

§1721 Congressional findings and purpose

Title 16 › Chapter CHAPTER 37— - YOUTH CONSERVATION CORPS AND PUBLIC LANDS CORPS › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - PUBLIC LANDS CORPS › § 1721

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Creates a Public Lands Corps that hires young people to help care for and restore public natural and cultural places. Congress says this work helps young people get education and job experience, can help pay for or repay college, helps the economy and environment, and that many public sites need heavy repair work that agencies can’t do alone. It also notes youth groups have done this work well when they work with land agencies. The program’s goals are to do conservation projects regular staff won’t do, help governments and tribes with research and public education about these sites, give young people public-service experience and better access to higher education or job training, and encourage careers in conservation by connecting youth with land-management professionals.

Full Legal Text

Title 16, §1721

Conservation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Congress finds the following:
(1)Conserving or developing natural and cultural resources and enhancing and maintaining environmentally important lands and waters through the use of the Nation’s young men and women in a Public Lands Corps can benefit those men and women by providing them with education and work opportunities, furthering their understanding and appreciation of the natural and cultural resources, and providing a means to pay for higher education or to repay indebtedness they have incurred to obtain higher education while at the same time benefiting the Nation’s economy and its environment.
(2)Many facilities and natural resources located on eligible service lands are in disrepair or degraded and in need of labor intensive rehabilitation, restoration, and enhancement work which cannot be carried out by Federal agencies at existing personnel levels.
(3)Youth conservation corps have established a good record of restoring and maintaining these kinds of facilities and resources in a cost effective and efficient manner, especially when they have worked in partnership arrangements with government land management agencies.
(b)It is the purpose of this subchapter to—
(1)perform, in a cost-effective manner, appropriate conservation projects on eligible service lands where such projects will not be performed by existing employees;
(2)assist governments and Indian tribes in performing research and public education tasks associated with natural and cultural resources on eligible service lands;
(3)expose young men and women to public service while furthering their understanding and appreciation of the Nation’s natural and cultural resources;
(4)expand educational opportunities by rewarding individuals who participate in national service with an increased ability to pursue higher education or job training; and
(5)stimulate interest among the Nation’s young men and women in conservation careers by exposing them to conservation professionals in land managing agencies.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective Oct. 1, 1993, see section 123 of Pub. L. 103–82, set out as an

Effective Date

of 1993 Amendment note under section 1701 of this title.

Short Title

For

Short Title

of title II of Pub. L. 91–378, as added by Pub. L. 103–82, title I, § 105(6), Sept. 21, 1993, 107 Stat. 848, as the “Public Lands Corps Act of 1993”, see

Short Title

note set out under section 1701 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

16 U.S.C. § 1721

Title 16Conservation

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73