Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, Montana’s U.S. Senator Steve Daines, U.S. Representatives Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Brett Guthrie (KY-02), and Val Hoyle (OR-04) today reintroduced the bipartisan Civilian Conservation Center Enhancement Act of 2025. This legislation directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) to offer specialized training, specifically wildland firefighter training, to Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center students. This would create a pipeline for young people to enter into careers fighting fires and caring for public lands.
“As climate chaos makes our wildfire seasons longer and hotter, it’s essential that we have enough wildland firefighters and trained support staff available to take on these dangerous blazes and protect our communities,” said Merkley. “The Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers’ training efforts have built a pipeline for talented young people to develop skills that can grow into careers. By investing in these programs, we can reduce wildfire risks, strengthen our public lands workforce, and offer valuable job training that supports the next generation of conservation and fire professionals in Oregon and across the United States.”
“Montana and many states across the west face devastating wildfire seasons year after year. This legislation will invest in our Montana Job Corps Centers so that more students have access to the top-notch training and resources they need to enter the workforce as our next wildland firefighters. I’m proud to work with a bipartisan group of my colleagues to keep our communities safe from catastrophic wildfires and invest in the next generation,” said Daines.
“Wildfires are getting bigger, more dangerous, and more destructive every year due to climate change. That also means the need for more skilled wildland firefighters is greater than ever before,” said Salinas. “The bipartisan Civilian Conservation Center Enhancement Act would break down barriers and give the U.S. Forest Service more tools to grow its firefighting workforce. It’s a commonsense bill that will keep our communities safe from deadly blazes, and at the same time, create more job opportunities for Oregonians.”
“Wildland firefighters, in Kentucky and across the country, play an essential role in improving forestry management practices, preventing wildfires, and battling them when they occur to minimize damage to life and property,” said Guthrie. “I am proud to join my colleagues in reintroducing the Civilian Conservation Center Enhancement Act to expand training for wildland fire, forestry, and rangeland management at Civilian Conservation Centers. These educational programs, such as the one at Great Onyx Job Corps, are essential to maintaining and improving the health of American forests.”
“As wildfires grow more frequent and more intense, the Civilian Conservation Center Enhancement Act would help us meet the moment by preparing young people for careers in forest management and wildfire prevention,” said Hoyle. “With a center located in Yachats, Oregon, this bill strengthens local opportunities while protecting our communities and public lands. It’s about safety, sustainability, and building a skilled, resilient workforce.”
The Job Corps is the nation’s largest job training and education program for students from 16 to 24 years of age. The U.S. Forest Service operates 24 Civilian Conservation Centers (CCCs) nationwide under this program—including three in Oregon and two in Montana—which are proving vital in the fight to protect national forests and grasslands from wildfires. In 2023, Job Corps students did work equating to an estimated $13.5 million when they constructed and maintained buildings, built trails, enhanced wildlife habitat, restored watersheds, and treated more than 30,000 acres for hazardous fuels reduction nationwide. During the 2024 fire season, CCC youth across the country completed 205,882 hours of work on wildland firefighting efforts and prescribed burns to reduce hazardous fuels and the risk of catastrophic wildfire, and 11,410 hours on other fire management support functions, including providing meals through mobile kitchens.
The Civilian Conservation Center Enhancement Act would further strengthen this critical program by setting a goal for both the USDA and the DOI to hire 300 students a year and providing direct hire authority specific to CCC graduates to expedite that process. It would also create a pilot program to use students at CCCs to address the lack of workforce housing for wildland firefighters.
This bipartisan legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Angus King (I-ME), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR). The National Job Corps Association, National Federation of Federal Employees, Wildland Firefighter Foundation, and Western Fire Chiefs Association have endorsed the bill.
Full text of the Civilian Conservation Center Enhancement Act can be found by clicking HERE.
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