Private money boosts federal public lands program
Private money boosts federal public lands program
By DONNA BRYSON, Associated Press | May 22, 2014 | Updated: May 22, 2014 6:48pm
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (AP) — Hundreds of young people will be clearing weeds and planting trees from Hawaii to Vermont under a federal program that depends largely on private funding, the U.S. interior secretary said Thursday.
The government is putting in $1.9 million of the $6.7 million for the project announced by Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. Most of the rest is coming from Wells Fargo & Co., according to Greg Knadle of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, a nonprofit created by Congress in 1984 to support wildlands. The group managed the donations for the young workers' project.
The crucial role played by the private sector underlines that the "budget situation is tight," Jewell told The Associated Press, saying internships and youth programs are the hardest hit at such times.
Jewell noted that when she was in the private sector, she tried to make clear to lawmakers that corporate support should not be a replacement for government funding. She said she hoped business leaders would continue to make that point.
"The term supplanting is something we worry about," said Jewell, who led outdoor retailer Recreational Equipment Inc., or REI, before being appointed interior secretary last year. Private efforts "should be the margin of excellence, not the margin of survival."
More:
http://www.chron.com/news/texas/article/Private-money-boosts-federal-public-lands-program-5499130.php
