70 CONFERENCE ON NATURAL BEAUTY 



tiate them, has been the simple unavailability of funds from a small 

 tax base to cover anything but the most pressing and fundamental 

 responsibilities of the States. 



Presently the bureaus and agencies charged with operating and 

 improving public lands do share fees and charges emanating from 

 the users of public lands with States and localities. The amounts 

 received, however, do not compensate for the reduction in size of tax 

 base in those counties and States with high percentages of public 

 lands. While agreeing that much of the public land in these areas is 

 not very valuable for agricultural or industrial purposes, and could 

 not be given away under the Homestead Acts, and that such payment 

 in lieu of taxes would represent a direct subsidy to State governments, 

 such a payment would seem still to represent a real effort on the part 

 of the Federal Government to preserve the principles of shared plan- 

 ning and federalism and make it possible for western States to 

 accept responsibility for planning and development. 



Dr. DAVID PAYNTER. I was particularly interested in the signifi- 

 cant role in the area of Federal, State and local partnership being 

 undertaken by the Job Corps of the Office of Economic Opportunity. 



Through the establishment of the Conservation Centers for Job 

 Corps youth, we are placing maximum emphasis on reclamation 

 and preservation of our natural resources and beauty. We have 

 found that the youth joining this program have all too frequently 

 been subjected to dull, dreary, and depressing environmental con- 

 ditions, and therefore, lack a proper appreciation and understand- 

 ing of the importance of their heritage, which may be found in the 

 natural resources of our country. 



Therefore, our first effort has been to insure that the Conserva- 

 tion Centers counteract prior environmental deficiencies by provid- 

 ing attractive, stimulating, and functional housing and recreational 

 facilities. We are insisting on good planning and design of facilities 

 to insure a proper environment compatible with strict economy. 

 The camps are keyed to a well-rounded education with each corps- 

 man exposed to reading material stressing the needs and benefits of 

 natural beauty and resources. As to practical application, corpsmen, 

 through proper guidance and instruction, are charged with the re- 

 sponsibility of beautifying their own immediate areas through land- 

 scaping and creation of greenbelt areas within each center. 



The program has an interlocking relationship with Federal, State, 

 and local authorities each being in harmony with the needs of com- 



