Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama called Wednesday for a series of steps to help Americans conserve and get in touch with nature, including full funding of the $900 million Land and Water Conservation Fund for only the third time in its existence.
At a White House event, Obama also proposed creating a Conservation Service Corps to help young people find work in the outdoors, and extending the tax deduction for donating private land for conservation.
<...>
The action plan calls for creating more urban parks, restoring rivers and creating recreational "blueways" -- river trails designed to generate economic activity, and increasing support for protecting rural landscapes.
<...>
The Conservation Service Corps would be roughly modeled on the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s to help young Americans find work involving nature and conservation.
more