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NewswireTODAY - /newswire/ -
Washington, DC, United States, 2012/02/01 - Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has been selected as the inaugural recipient of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Service and Conservation Corps Leadership Award - CorpsNetwork.org.
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The award will be given to individuals who have championed the important role of Service and Conservation Corps in modern day America, reflective of the legendary ideals and work accomplished by Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Depression Era Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).
The CCC was a one of several renowned jobs programs created by President Roosevelt during the Great Depression to help rebuild America’s infrastructure and economy. It put young American men to work on America’s public lands to improve the environment as well as build trails, bridges, visitor facilities, and monuments. Many CCC sites persist to this day as treasured resources. The Corps also provided Corpsmembers and their families with vital wages. The program ended with America’s entrance into World War II, when most Corpsmembers entered the U.S. military. Service and Conservation Corps programs have since returned to prominence and strength nationwide, given a modern set of challenges and an economic recession that has sent youth unemployment levels soaring to heights of nearly 20%.
Secretary Salazar has been a long-standing supporter of Corps and has been a committed advocate for our nation’s youth and our public lands for over 25 years, ranging from his work as Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, to his time as Attorney General of Colorado, and his prior position of U.S. Senator. Recently he was instrumental in the creation of The Department of the Interior’s Office of Youth in the Great Outdoors, the first Secretarial-level federal office dedicated exclusively to youth employment and education programs. He has pledged to boost youth employment by 50% at public lands management agencies like the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Land Management.
As part of President Barack [.]’s America’s Great Outdoors Initiative, Secretary Salazar has also overseen the creation of a Federal Advisory Committee that will provide recommendations on how to implement a 21st Century Conservation Service Corps. The Committee will meet for the first time in February, and is comprised of leaders from organizations and agencies serving youth, including The Corps Network and several of its Corps.
“The 21st Century Conservation Service Corps will be a way for our nation’s young people to work on conservation and outdoor recreation initiatives that drive America’s economy and to find new ways to connect to their communities and build their careers. The conservation-service movement is steeped in rich history dating back to the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933. I am confident that this committee of dedicated individuals with vast experience in conservation, outdoor recreation and youth employment will create a system to train and employ the next generation of conservationists,” Secretary Salazar was quoted as saying in a Department of Interior press release from December of 2011.
“We are pleased to honor Secretary Salazar as the inaugural winner of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Service and Conservation Corps Leadership Award. His sustained commitment to helping youth and protecting the natural environment has benefited our nation tremendously and his leadership and conviction will continue to benefit Service and Conservation Corps for years to come. The Corps Network and our partners will continue to work with the Secretary and the Department of Interior to connect youth with opportunities that will enhance our public lands and national treasures” said Rob Spath, Interim CEO of The Corps Network.
The Franklin D. Roosevelt Service and Conservation Corps Leadership Award will be presented to Secretary Salazar at the annual Friends of National Service Reception on February 14th in Washington, D.C., in conjuction with The Corps Network 2012 National Conference. Additional information about the Reception as well as a full list of awardees can be found at voicesforservice.org/.
About The Corps Network
Established in 1985, The Corps Network (corpsnetwork.org) is the voice of the nation's 151 Service and Conservation Corps. Currently operating in every state and the District of Columbia, The Corps Network enrolls more than 30,000 young men and women annually in service in addition to mobilizing approximately 289,000 community volunteers each year.
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lnovey[.]corpsnetwork.org 
