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Title 16, ConservationRelease 119-110

§1726 Compensation and Terms of Service

Title 16 › CHAPTER 37 — YOUTH CONSERVATION CORPS AND PUBLIC LANDS CORPS › SUBCHAPTER II — PUBLIC LANDS CORPS › § 1726

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary must give every Public Lands Corps participant and every resource assistant a living allowance at a rate the Secretary sets. The Secretary may also give a Corps participant an educational credit that a college or university can accept toward a postsecondary program. Each person must agree to serve for the period the Secretary sets. For the Indian Youth Service Corps, the Secretary will pick the service length after talking with the affected Indian tribe. The Secretary may give Corps members credit for their service toward future Federal jobs and may give former members noncompetitive hiring status for up to 2 years after their service ends. If a former member is hired into a time‑limited job under that noncompetitive status, for the rules in section 9602 of title 5 that hire counts as if it began under open, competitive examination. The pay and hiring rules here also apply to people in approved qualified youth or conservation corps projects, including those placed under contracts or cooperative agreements the Secretary approves.

Full Legal Text

Title 16, §1726

Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Living allowances
The Secretary shall provide each participant in the Public Lands Corps and each resource assistant with a living allowance in an amount established by the Secretary.
(b)Educational credit
The Secretary may provide a Corps participant with an educational credit that may be applied toward a program of postsecondary education at an institution of higher education that agrees to award the credit for participation in the Corps.
(c)Terms of service
(1)In general
Each participant in the Corps and each resource assistant shall agree to participate in the Corps or serve as a resource assistant, as the case may be, for such term of service as may be established by the Secretary enrolling or selecting the individual.
(2)Indian Youth Service Corps
With respect to the Indian Youth Service Corps established under section 1727b of this title, the Secretary shall establish the term of service of participants in consultation with the affected Indian tribe.
(d)Hiring
(1)In general
The Secretary may—
(A)grant to a member of the Public Lands Corps credit for time served with the Public Lands Corps, which may be used toward future Federal hiring; and
(B)provide to a former member of the Public Lands Corps noncompetitive hiring status for a period of not more than 2 years after the date on which the member’s service with the Public Lands Corps is complete.
(2)Time-limited appointment
For purposes of section 9602 of title 5, a former member of the Corps hired by the Secretary under paragraph (1)(B) for a time-limited appointment shall be considered to be appointed initially under open, competitive examination.
(e)Applicability to qualified youth or conservation corps
The hiring and compensation standards described in this section shall apply to any individual participating in an appropriate conservation project through a qualified youth or conservation corps, including an individual placed through a contract or cooperative agreement, as approved by the Secretary.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2019—Pub. L. 116–9, § 9003(e)(1), substituted “Compensation and terms of service” for “Living allowances and terms of service” in section catchline. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 116–9, § 9003(e)(3), added subsec. (b). Former subsec. (b) redesignated (c). Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 116–9, § 9003(e)(4), designated existing provisions as par. (1), inserted heading, and added par. (2). Pub. L. 116–9, § 9003(e)(2), redesignated subsec. (b) as (c). Former subsec. (c) redesignated (d). Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 116–9, § 9003(e)(5), designated existing provisions as par. (1) and inserted heading, redesignated former pars. (1) and (2) as subpars. (A) and (B), respectively, of par. (1) and realigned margins, and added par. (2). Pub. L. 116–9, § 9003(e)(2), redesignated subsec. (c) as (d). Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 116–9, § 9003(e)(6), added subsec. (e). 2016—Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 114–289 substituted “2 years” for “120 days”. 2005—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 109–154, § 2(e)(1), added subsec. (a) and struck out heading and text of former subsec. (a). Text read as follows: “The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall provide each participant in the Public Lands Corps and each resource assistant with a living allowance in an amount not to exceed the maximum living allowance authorized by section 140(a)(3) of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 for participants in a national service program assisted under subtitle C of title I of such Act.” Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 109–154, § 2(e)(2), added subsec. (c).

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.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

16 U.S.C. § 1726

Title 16, Conservation

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110