Title 16ConservationRelease 119-73not60

§1725b Forest Service Hire Authority

Title 16 › Chapter 37— YOUTH CONSERVATION CORPS AND PUBLIC LANDS CORPS › Subchapter II— PUBLIC LANDS CORPS › § 1725b

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Agriculture can hire certain former Resource Assistants directly into Forest Service jobs instead of using most of the usual competitive hiring rules. The hire must meet Office of Personnel Management job standards, and two specific hiring rules still apply. A qualifying person is a former resource assistant — someone who finished a tough land-management internship like the Forest Service Resource Assistant Program — who completed the internship, met its requirements, and earned a college or graduate degree from an accredited school. The direct-hire option cannot be used more than 2 years after the later of finishing the internship or earning the degree.

Full Legal Text

Title 16, §1725b

Conservation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary of Agriculture may appoint, without regard to the provisions of subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, other than section 3303 and 3328 of such title, a qualified candidate described in subsection (b) directly to a position with the Department of Agriculture, Forest Service for which the candidate meets Office of Personnel Management qualification standards.
(b)Subsection (a) applies to a former resource assistant (as defined in section 203 of the Public Land Corps Act 11 See References in Text note below. (16 U.S.C. 1722)) who—
(1)completed a rigorous internship with a land managing agency, such as the Forest Service Resource Assistant Program;
(2)successfully fulfilled the requirements of the internship program; and
(3)earned an undergraduate or graduate degree from an accredited institution of higher education (as defined in section 1001 of title 20).
(c)The direct hire authority under this section may not be exercised with respect to a specific qualified candidate after the end of the 2-year period beginning on the date on which the candidate completed the undergraduate or graduate degree, as the case may be, or has successfully fulfilled the requirements of the internship program, whichever is later.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 203 of the Public Land Corps Act, referred to in subsec. (b), probably means section 203 of the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993, title II of Pub. L. 91–378, which is classified to section 1722 of this title. Codification Section was enacted as part of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 and not as part of the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 which comprises this subchapter.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

16 U.S.C. § 1725b

Title 16Conservation

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60