Show f All public recreation programs under one proposal By C to the Vernal Thia is the fourth of a series of five articles detailing a proposal by a Carter task force to a new Department of Natural President Carter Is now considering the Washington-All outdoor recreation programs at the federal level would be centered in a new Department of Natural Resources under a proposal of a task force headed by William W. Harsch in the Office of Management and Budget Under the Harsch task force a new Department of Natural Resources would be created out of the Interior with the addition of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from the Commerce the Forest Service and some functions of the Soil Conservation Service from the Department of Agriculture and some functions of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from the Department of the All recreation would be centered in one Administration of Heritage and Wildlife within Under the present the Forest Service within the Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers each provide as many recreation-use days per year as all of the Interior agencies put together not the task force One of the top missions of the National Park Service Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management is to provide outdoor recreation to the American public on public land under their management-although this is by no means the only mission of any of these all presently within the Interior If a new were all recreation programs would be lodged within one Including the responsibility for budgeting and In other the Forest Service and the Army Corps would no longer have responsibility in these The Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service Bureau of Outdoor in the Interior now has inter-agency coordinating functions to come up with a comprehensive national outdoor recreation But it does not have sufficient scope of authority and responsibility to implement such and development of such a plan has been delayed lit under the present policies differ from agency to agency and interdepartmental coordination is required to establish uniform user regulations and data to conduct the task force The states have difficulties coordinating federal recreation planning and management practices with their own The only overview now being exercised at the federal level in public outdoor recreation is it Under the the and states and local governments would have to go to only one federal department for information on public Uniform regulations could be established across the board for such activities on public lands as try use of off-road size of recreation definition of commercial and non-profit It would be quicker and simpler to conduct wild and scenic river and scenic trail studies through one All policy and budget review f could be conducted by the administration set up within to handle such thereby resulting in allocation of recreation funds on the public the Harsch task force |