National park backers call for creation of a service corps similar to the Depression-era CCC
Excerpts:
The economy was a shambles. Millions of Americans were out of work. Saying something drastic needed to be done, the newly elected president announced a massive economic stimulus package aimed at repairing the nation's sagging infrastructure and putting people back to work.
The first "emergency agency" established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt was the Civilian Conservation Corps, which eventually put 3 million men to work in the national park system.
…Now, some in Congress and elsewhere are reaching back to embrace Roosevelt's Depression-era strategy by calling for a similar parks restoration program to be included in President Obama's economic stimulus plan. The House version of the bill has $2.25 billion earmarked for projects in parks. The Senate version is still under debate and expected to be voted on Monday.
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Pat Byington
Pat Byington came to The Wilderness Society in 2003 from Americans for Our Heritage and Recreation, where he served as outreach coordinator in the South.
At TWS, Pat focuses on programmatic federal conservation funding in the East. He works with numerous groups throughout the region in an effort to increase and secure conservation funding for several federal programs including the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Forest Legacy Program.
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