The U.S. House of Representatives is proposing to eliminate AmeriCorps, the 30-year program that provides the people power that local nonprofit, faith-based, and community organizations train and deploy to respond to our country’s most immediate and critical needs.
Proposal would gut Conservation Legacy’s ability to protect America’s lands, parks, waterways and open spaces. These lands and waterways provide essential ecosystem, economic and community resources including clean water, clear air, flood control, food, fuel and recreation access. It would also result in the loss of over $30 million of matching funds that Conservation Legacy is able to leverage in local communities to support AmeriCorps efforts.
AmeriCorps grants enable Conservation Legacy to engage over 1,500 participants each year to help reduce the risk of wildfires, improve watershed health, restore trails and outdoor recreation access points, and receive workforce training. Last year, Conservation Legacy AmeriCorps members treated 71,000 acres of land, repaired over 6,100 miles of trail, and supported over 47,000 volunteer hours. Members earned $4,7 million in education awards that they will be able to cover the costs of continuing their education. Conservation Legacy provides critical services to the land management agency partners we worked with. Corps are identified as the most irreplaceable partner for the land management agencies it partners with, and partners are able to complete 68% more of their planned work when working with Conservation Legacy.
The ecosystem services that Conservation Legacy’s works to protect are fundamental to support every living thing on this planet. These dramatic cuts to AmeriCorps will undermine the ability for communities across the nation to tackle critical projects that are needed to protect their basic viability. AmeriCorps members are already using very stretched resources as effectively and efficiently as possible, leveraging additional funding through the service. It is critical that these resources are maintained and increased.