The Road-RIPorter, Spring Equinox 2008
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© 2008 Wildlands CPR
Wildlands CPR works to protect and restore wildland ecosystems by preventing and removing roads and limiting motorized recreation. We are a national clearinghouse and network, providing citizens with tools and strategies to fight road construction, deter motorized recreation, and promote road removal and revegetation.
P.O. Box 7516Missoula, MT 59807(406) 543-9551 www.wildlandscpr.org
Director
Bethanie Walder
Development Director
Tom Petersen
Restoration ProgramCoordinator
Marnie Criley
Science Coordinator
Adam Switalski
Legal Liaison/Agency Training Coordinator
Sarah Peters
Montana State ORV Coordinator
Adam Rissien
Utah State ORV Coordinator
Laurel Hagen
Program Associates
Cathrine Walters Adams
Membership/Web Marketing Associate
Josh Hurd
Journal Editor
Dan Funsch
Interns & Volunteers
Mike Fiebig, Andrea Manes, Greg Peters
Board of Directors
Amy Atwood, Greg Fishbein, Jim Furnish,William Geer, Chris Kassar, Rebecca Lloyd, Cas- sandra Mosely, Cara Nelson, Brett Paben
Economic Stimulus, Restorationand Green Jobs
I
t’s not hard to find positive talk of green jobs these days — even the Presidential can-didates have gotten into the game. It is hard, however, to find mention of restorationin those discussions, at least at the national level. I can’t help but think how nice itwould be if we could bring the concept of restoration into the green jobs discussion, andsee it as a viable path to economic stimulus.Most discussions about green jobs touch on a few themes. First, green-collar jobstend to be concentrated in the energy and climate sectors. Second, the focus is oftenon providing jobs for out-of-work blue-collar workers — shifting the shrinking blue-col-lar field into a growing green-collar field. And third is a recognition that building a greeneconomy will require federal workforce development programs to create a skilled laborpool, in addition to federal tax credits or direct inputs to stimulate private sector invest-ments.That’s where economic stimulus comes in. Unfortunately, much of the recentdiscussion on stimulating the national economy has focused on consumer spendingrather than job creation. The economic stimulus bill that passed Congress in Februarydid not include much for actual job creation, even though some members of Congressargued adamantly for such provisions. Instead, the Congress and President passed astimulus package consisting largely of tax rebates to stimulate spending. We’ve enteredan era where the U.S. economy is profoundly dependent on consumer spending, but thisrequires consumer income, and the only way to create lasting consumer income at thebroad scale is to create more jobs. In reality, a one-time windfall of ~$600 per person isnot likely to stimulate the economy for long, especially when much of the money is likelyto be used to buy cheap goods produced in another country, or to pay off existing debt.Our lawmakers had an opportunity to create new jobs instead of giving peoplerebates. If you look at the jobs and economic benefits that were created, for example,through the Civilian Conservation Corps, it’s incredible. (Never mind the fact that theCCC constructed a lot of roads in national forests and other wild lands.) A far-reaching,comprehensive approach to economic stimulus makes more sense than a quick fix thatmay actually cost more than it benefits.There will likely be future stimulus packages. The two remaining democratic can-didates have both endorsed pending legislation that would provide funding for creatinggreen jobs and helping build green economies. We hope that any future stimulus or greenjob creation packages include watershed restoration as a viable component of thoseprograms. Restoration jobs are high-skill, high-wage, local jobs. If watershed restorationwork is fully funded by public and private interests, including potentially through eco-nomic stimulus, we will see the emergence of a viable, dynamic and exciting new sector ofthe economy.
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