Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has decided to end a U.S. Forest Service work program that trains at-risk youth to be first responders to natural disasters, maintain national forests and work on rural infrastructure projects. The program — known for operating the Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers — is being transferred to the Labor Department. As part of the move, the department intends to close nine of 25 centers, according to a statement released Friday. The action could lead to a significant cut of the number of Forest Service employees. “There are reasons why the secretary made this decision,” Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen told staff members during a conference call announcing the move on Friday morning, less than an hour before the Department of Labor’s news release. She said she learned of the decision only four days ago. “There are reasons why the secretary made this decision,” Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen told staff members during a conference call announcing the move on Friday morning, less than an hour before the Department of Labor’s news release. She said she learned of the decision only four days ago.
“Perdue has a goal of efficient and effective government,” Christiansen said, adding that the secretary believes the mission of the program better aligns with the Labor Department. The Forest Service’s Civilian Conservation Centers is the only Labor Department Jobs Corps initiative operated by federal employees.“This was a high-level policy discussion and decision. It in no way reflects on your excellent work and dedication,” Christiansen said. Perdue, in a letter to Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, wrote the move would help the Forest Service prioritize its “core natural resource mission to improve the condition and resilience of our nation’s forests, and step away from activities and programs that are not essential to that core mission.”...MORE
First there was the Forest Service. We asked they put the trick tank on a ridge where we could have gravity flow in all directions. Instead the Forest Service had them place the tank where the flow was in only one direction. Thus began a huge waste of resources.
Then there was the construction of the trick tank, which seemed like it took forever. We noticed there was never the same number of job corps members at the worksite. We also took note that of those present, not all of them worked. Some would be sitting under a tree, while others remained in the government van that had brought them there. Finally, my cousin asked the foreman why this was the case. He replied that it was totally up to each job core member whether or not they left their rooms in Mountainair and reported for work on any particular day. He also said that after they reached the worksite, it was up to each job corps member if they worked the full day, a few hours or not at all.
This was my first exposure as a youngster to a government jobs program.
Congratulations to Secretary Purdue for what we shall call Operation Rawhide #2.
Head'em up and move'em out...Rawhide!
https://youtu.be/AKC8pSFg1Vw
1 comment:
Job Corps was never a work oriented organization. The reason is that leadership was not work oriented and that showed up in their policies for the young people in the camps. If it had been work oriented, as was the WPA, then IMO most of those city kids would not have signed up. Since the leadership in the camps was mostly composed on non skilled bureaucrats the work projects had to be low skilled in order to show accomplishment such as trail building, trick tank construction, etc. Then there is the problem of NEPA approved projects and most agencies already had their hands full just trying to do the day to day business under NEPA without adding Job Corps projects to that. So lamentably your trick tank was probably the result of previously done NEPA and a Archeology clearance nobody wanted to do over in order to put it in the proper place for ideal water distribution. I am not trying to carry the ashes for the FS but these might be factors in your displeasure.
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