H.R. 3465House119th Congress (2025-2027)In Committee

Civilian Conservation Center Enhancement Act of 2025

AI-Generated Summary

Updated November 24, 2025 at 12:31 AM UTC

The Civilian Conservation Center Enhancement Act of 2025 amends existing law to expand and improve training facilities for underserved youth run by the Departments of Interior and Agriculture. It adds specialized programs in forestry and wildland firefighting, sets hiring goals for program graduates, and introduces pilot projects for workforce development, student‑staffed housing renovations, and a reporting requirement to assess center capacity. The bill aims to strengthen the wildfire‑fighting workforce and create career pathways for disadvantaged youth.

Key Provisions

Defines “Civilian Conservation Center” as a residential training facility for underserved youth run by the Interior or Agriculture departments, and creates terms for “covered student” and “covered graduate.”
Requires the secretaries of Agriculture and Interior, with Labor, to offer specialized training at these centers in forestry, rangeland management, wildland firefighting, and related topics, prioritizing sites that already receive Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act funding.
Allows the Agriculture secretary to run pilot programs that teach a wide range of fire‑related and forest‑industry skills (e.g., incident management, heavy equipment operation, habitat monitoring).
Sets recruitment goals for each secretary to hire 300 covered graduates each year for wildfire‑fighting or related jobs, and permits signing bonuses and direct‑hire authority to speed hiring.
Mandates the development of career pathways and permits employing covered students at regular pay rates, including using them on contracts and grants tied to Forest Service work.
Creates a pilot program to use covered students to renovate or build federal housing for firefighters, volunteers, interns, and other agency staff, with a plan to report prioritized projects to Congress.
Requires a report within one year on unused capacity at Civilian Conservation Centers and needed investments to fully utilize them.

Legislative Activity

Stay on top of the latest movement without scrolling through every action

1 earlier action

HouseIntro Referral Latest Action

Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Workforce, and Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Natural Resources Committee

May 15, 2025

View full timeline

HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

May 15, 2025

HouseIntro Referral

Natural Resources Committee

May 15, 2025

Bill Text

Latest available legislative text

Reading Mode

Raw Text PDF XML

Introduced in HouseIssued May 15, 2025

119th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 3465

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

May 15, 2025

Ms. Salinas (for herself, Ms. Hoyle of Oregon, and Mr. Guthrie) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Workforce, and Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To amend Public Law 91378 to authorize activities relating to Civilian Conservation Centers, and for other purposes.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Civilian Conservation Center Enhancement Act of 2025.

Civilian Conservation Centers

Public Law 91–378 (16 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

III

Civilian Conservation Centers

301.

Definitions

In this title:

(1)

Civilian Conservation Center

The term Civilian Conservation Center means any residential workforce development or training facility for underserved youth operated by the Department of the Interior or the Department of Agriculture.

(2)

Covered graduate

The term covered graduate means an individual who successfully completed a training program at a Civilian Conservation Center.

(3)

Covered student

The term covered student means an individual who is enrolled in a training program at a Civilian Conservation Center.

(4)

Secretaries

The term Secretaries means—

(A)

the Secretary of Agriculture; and

(B)

the Secretary of the Interior.

302.

Civilian Conservation Centers Wildfire and Conservation Training Program

(a)

Specialized training programs

The Secretaries, in coordination with the Secretary of Labor, shall offer at Civilian Conservation Centers specialized training programs focused on—

(1)

forestry and rangeland management;

(2)

wildland firefighting; or

(3)

any other topic relating to the mission of the Forest Service or the Department of the Interior or the public interest.

(b)

Prioritization

The Secretaries shall prioritize offering specialized training programs under subsection (a) at facilities described in section 147(d) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3197(d)).

303.

Wildland Firefighting Workforce Development Pilot

(a)

In general

(1)

Experiment, research, or demonstration pilots

The Secretary of Agriculture, in coordination with the Secretary of Labor, may carry out experimental, research, or demonstration pilots to provide career and technical education curricula and course offerings to advance the missions of the Department of Agriculture at Civilian Conservation Centers operated by the Department of Agriculture, including facilities described in section 147(d) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3197(d)).

(2)

Curricula and courses

Curricula and courses described in paragraph (1) include—

(A)

incident management and emergency response logistics;

(B)

disaster response;

(C)

forest products measurement;

(D)

timber sale administration and preparation;

(E)

heavy equipment operation;

(F)

equipment and mechanical services;

(G)

industrial electrical;

(H)

machining;

(I)

mill operations;

(J)

forest restoration;

(K)

habitat and water quality monitoring;

(L)

watershed and habitat enhancement;

(M)

range management;

(N)

recreation access improvement;

(O)

volunteers and visitors enhancement; and

(P)

historic preservation.

(b)

Requirements

In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary of Agriculture shall—

(1)

identify workforce needs in public land agencies, forest, conservation, and recreation industries, and rural communities, after consulting with State governments and agencies, Federal emergency management and public land agencies, local communities, institutions of higher education, and Indian Tribes;

(2)

develop marketing, recruitment, and retention materials for the curricula and courses offerings provided under subsection (a);

(3)

provide specialized staff necessary to teach curricula and courses offerings provided under subsection (a), to the extent practicable; and

(4)

improve Civilian Conservation Center facilities and modernize equipment used for the purposes of career and technical education.

304.

Wildland firefighting workforce enhancement

(a)

Recruitment goals and investments

(1)

Recruitment goal

The Secretaries—

(A)

shall each set goals of—

(i)

hiring 300 covered graduates annually to contribute to wildland firefighting or other critical workforce needs within the respective Department of each of the Secretaries;

(ii)

a certain percentage of covered graduates annually attaining employment within the wildland firefighting, natural resources, forestry, or a related field; and

(iii)

a certain percentage of covered graduates annually attaining employment; and

(B)

may make investments to support the recruitment, training, hiring, and retention of covered graduates.

(2)

Signing bonus

The Secretaries may provide for a signing bonus to enable the successful employment and transition of covered graduates, including for the purpose of securing housing in rural and remote communities.

(b)

Direct hire authority

For fiscal year 2025, and each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretaries may appoint, without regard to the provisions of subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code, other than sections 3303 and 3328 of that title, a covered graduate directly to a position for which the covered graduate meets Office of Personnel Management qualification standards.

(c)

Pathways to employment

The Secretaries shall ensure that appropriate career pathways are developed for covered graduates of relevant Civilian Conservation Center training programs.

(d)

Disadvantaged youth employment

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretaries may employ covered students at regular rates of pay for necessary hours of work.

(e)

Use of covered students for contracts, agreements, and grants

To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary of Agriculture shall encourage the use of covered students to fulfill obligations under contracts, agreements, and grants relevant to the training administered by the Forest Service at a unit of the National Forest System where a Civilian Conservation Center is located.

305.

Wildland firefighting housing pilot program

(a)

In general

The Secretaries shall establish a pilot program to employ covered students to improve and expand the housing stock owned by the Federal Government for the purpose of housing wildland firefighters, volunteers, partner crewmembers, interns, and other agency employees.

(b)

Requirements

In carrying out the pilot program under subsection (a), the Secretaries shall—

(1)

identify properties currently owned by the Federal Government that would be appropriate housing for wildland firefighters, volunteers, partner crewmembers, interns, and other agency employees;

(2)

identify areas where the construction of new housing described in paragraph (1) would be appropriate and sustainable; and

(3)

submit to Congress a prioritized list of projects for renovation with a plan for how the Secretaries will employ covered students to repair, renovate, and remediate the properties identified under paragraph (1).

306.

Report

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this title, the Secretaries shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives a report—

(1)

describing underutilized capacity at Civilian Conservation Centers, based on an assessment conducted by the Secretaries; and

(2)

identifying the investments, improvements, and efficiencies necessary to utilize the full capacity of Civilian Conservation Centers.