provisions of applicable law. The National Park Service and Fish and Wildlife Service may, after consultation with the States, close all or any portion of Federal land under their jurisdictions, or impose such other restrictions as are deemed necessary, for reasons required by the Federal laws governing the management of their areas; and (5) Consult with the States and comply with State permit requirements in connection with the activities listed below, except in instances where the Secretary of the Interior determines that such compliance would prevent him from carrying out his statutory responsibilities: (i) In carrying out research programs involving the taking or possession of fish and wildlife or programs involving reintroduction of fish and wildlife; (ii) For the planned and orderly removal of surplus or harmful populations of fish and wildlife except where emergency situations requiring immediate action make such consultation and compliance with State regulatory requirements infeasible; and (iii) In the disposition of fish and wildlife taken under paragraph (i) (5)(i) or (i) (5)(ii) of this section. § 24.5 International agreements. (a) International conventions have increasingly been utilized to address fish and wildlife issues having dimensions beyond national boundaries. The authority to enter into such agreements is reserved to the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. However, while such agreements may be valuable in the case of other nations, in a Federal system such as ours sophisticated fish and wildlife programs already established at the State level may be weakened or not enhanced. (b) To ensure that effective fish and wildlife programs already established at the State level are not weakened, the policy of the Department of the Interior shall be to recommend that the United States negotiate and accede to only those international agreements that give strong consideration to established State programs designed to ensure the conservation of fish and wildlife populations. (c) It shall be the policy of the Department to actively solicit the advice of affected State agencies and to recommend to the U.S. Department of State that representatives of such agencies be involved before and during negotiation of any new international conventions concerning fish and wild life. $24.6 Cooperative agreements. (a) By reason of the Congressional policy (e.g., Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act of 1956) of State-Federal cooperation and coordination in the area of fish and wildlife conservation, State and Federal agencies have implemented cooperative agreements for a variety of fish and wildlife programs on Federal lands. This practice shall be continued and encouraged. Appropriate topics for such cooperative agreements include but are not limited to: (1) Protection, maintenance, and development of fish and wildlife habitat; (2) Fish and wildlife reintroduction and propagation; (3) Research and other field study programs including those involving the taking or possession of fish and wildlife; (4) Fish and wildlife resource inventories and data collection; (5) Law enforcement; (6) Educational programs; (7) Toxicity/mortality investigations and monitoring; (8) Animal damage management; (9) Endangered and threatened species; (10) Habitat preservation; (11) Joint processing of State and Federal permit applications for activities involving fish, wildlife and plants; (12) Road management activities affecting fish and wildlife and their habitat; (13) Management activities involving fish and wildlife; and, (14) Disposition of fish and wildlife taken in conjunction with the activities listed in this paragraph. (b) The cooperating parties shall periodically review such cooperative agreements and adjust them to reflect changed circumstances. § 24.7 Exemptions. (a) Exempted from this policy are the following: (1) The control and regulation by the United States, in the area in which an international convention or treaty applies, of the taking of those species and families of fish and wildlife expressly named or otherwise covered under any international treaty or convention to which the United States is a party; (2) Any species of fish and wildlife, control over which has been ceded or granted to the United States by any State; and (3) Areas over which the States have ceded exclusive jurisdiction to the United States. (b) Nothing in this policy shall be construed as affecting in any way the existing authorities of the States to establish annual harvest regulations for fish and resident wildlife on Federal lands where public hunting, fishing or trapping is permitted. sessions, trust territories or commonwealths. (b) The Youth Conservation Corps Act of 1970 (Pub. L. 91-378) provided for a 3-year pilot program to be carried out on lands and waters under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior. Public Law 92-597 amended the 1970 Act to include a pilot program (beginning in fiscal year 1974) of grants to States to assist them in meeting the cost of Youth Conservation Corps projects on nonFederal public lands and waters within the States. Public Law 93-408 made the Youth Conservation Corps program permanent. $26.2 Definitions. (a) Terms used in these Regulations are defined as follows: (1) Act. The Youth Conservation Corps Act of 1970. Public Law 91-378, as amended. (2) Secretaries. The Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior, or their designated representatives, who jointly administer the grant program. Within the Department of Agriculture, the YCC program is administered by the Forest Service; within the Department of the Interior it is administered by the Office of Youth Programs. (3) States. Any of the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. (4) Grant. Money or property provided in lieu of money, paid or furnished by the Secretaries pursuant to the Act to a State to carry out a YCC program on non-Federal public lands and waters. The amount of any grant shall be determined jointly by the Secretaries, except that no grant for any project may exceed 80 per centum of the cost (as determined by the Secretaries) of said project. (5) Grantee. Any State which is a recipient of a Federal grant for the operation of a YCC program. (6) Subgrantee. Any public organization, municipality, county, or agency which administers non-Federal public provisions of applicable law. The National Park Service and Fish and Wildlife Service may, after consultation with the States, close all or any portion of Federal land under their jurisdictions, or impose such other restrictions as are deemed necessary, for reasons required by the Federal laws governing the management of their areas; and (5) Consult with the States and comply with State permit requirements in connection with the activities listed below, except in instances where the Secretary of the Interior determines that such compliance would prevent him from carrying out his statutory responsibilities: (i) In carrying out research programs involving the taking or possession of fish and wildlife or programs involving reintroduction of fish and wildlife; (ii) For the planned and orderly removal of surplus or harmful populations of fish and wildlife except where emergency situations requiring immediate action make such consultation and compliance with State regulatory requirements infeasible; and (iii) In the disposition of fish and wildlife taken under paragraph (i) (5)(i) or (i) (5)(ii) of this section. § 24.5 International agreements. (a) International conventions have increasingly been utilized to address fish and wildlife issues having dimensions beyond national boundaries. The authority to enter into such agreements is reserved to the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. However, while such agreements may be valuable in the case of other nations, in a Federal system such as ours sophisticated fish and wildlife programs already established at the State level may be weakened or not enhanced. (b) To ensure that effective fish and wildlife programs already established at the State level are not weakened, the policy of the Department of the Interior shall be to recommend that the United States negotiate and accede to only those international agreements that give strong consideration to established State programs designed to ensure the conservation of fish and wildlife populations. (c) It shall be the policy of the Department to actively solicit the advice of affected State agencies and to recommend to the U.S. Department of State that representatives of such agencies be involved before and during negotiation of any new international conventions concerning fish and wild life. $24.6 Cooperative agreements. (a) By reason of the Congressional policy (e.g., Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act of 1956) of State-Federal cooperation and coordination in the area of fish and wildlife conservation, State and Federal agencies have implemented cooperative agreements for a variety of fish and wildlife programs on Federal lands. This practice shall be continued and encouraged. Appropriate topics for such cooperative agreements include but are not limited to: (1) Protection, maintenance, and development of fish and wildlife habitat; (2) Fish and wildlife reintroduction and propagation; (3) Research and other field study programs including those involving the taking or possession of fish and wildlife; (4) Fish and wildlife resource inventories and data collection; (5) Law enforcement; (6) Educational programs; (7) Toxicity/mortality investigations and monitoring; (8) Animal damage management; (9) Endangered and threatened species; (10) Habitat preservation; (11) Joint processing of State and Federal permit applications for activities involving fish, wildlife and plants; (12) Road management activities affecting fish and wildlife and their habitat; (13) Management activities involving fish and wildlife; and, (14) Disposition of fish and wildlife taken in conjunction with the activities listed in this paragraph. (b) The cooperating parties shall periodically review such cooperative agreements and adjust them to reflect changed circumstances. $24.7 Exemptions. (a) Exempted from this policy are the following: (1) The control and regulation by the United States, in the area in which an international convention or treaty applies, of the taking of those species and families of fish and wildlife expressly named or otherwise covered under any international treaty or convention to which the United States is a party; (2) Any species of fish and wildlife, control over which has been ceded or granted to the United States by any State; and (3) Areas over which the States have ceded exclusive jurisdiction to the United States. (b) Nothing in this policy shall be construed as affecting in any way the existing authorities of the States to establish annual harvest regulations for fish and resident wildlife on Federal lands where public hunting, fishing or trapping is permitted. sessions, trust territories or commonwealths. (b) The Youth Conservation Corps Act of 1970 (Pub. L. 91–378) provided for a 3-year pilot program to be carried out on lands and waters under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior. Public Law 92-597 amended the 1970 Act to include a pilot program (beginning in fiscal year 1974) of grants to States to assist them in meeting the cost of Youth Conservation Corps projects on nonFederal public lands and waters within the States. Public Law 93-408 made the Youth Conservation Corps program permanent. § 26.2 Definitions. (a) Terms used in these Regulations are defined as follows: (1) Act. The Youth Conservation Corps Act of 1970. Public Law 91-378, as amended. (2) Secretaries. The Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior, or their designated representatives, who jointly administer the grant program. Within the Department of Agriculture, the YCC program is administered by the Forest Service; within the Department of the Interior it is administered by the Office of Youth Programs. (3) States. Any of the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. (4) Grant. Money or property provided in lieu of money, paid or furnished by the Secretaries pursuant to the Act to a State to carry out a YCC program on non-Federal public lands and waters. The amount of any grant shall be determined jointly by the Secretaries, except that no grant for any project may exceed 80 per centum of the cost (as determined by the Secretaries) of said project. (5) Grantee. Any State which is a recipient of a Federal grant for the operation of a YCC program. (6) Subgrantee. Any public organization, municipality, county, or agency which administers non-Federal public lands and waters which successfully applied through a State for the operation of a Youth Conservation Corps project within that State. (7) Contractor. Any public agency or organization or any private nonprofit agency or organization which has been in existence for at least 5 years which operates a YCC project for a grantee or subgrantee. (8) Program agent. Individual designated in writing by the Governor to have program responsibility for all aspects of YCC operations in that State except for those projects conducted under Federal auspices. (9) State grant program. That part of the YCC program carried out on nonFederal public lands and waters by States receiving YCC grants-in-aid. (10) Project. The operating unit of the State YCC grant program. A project will be designated as either residential or nonresidential. (i) Residential project. One in which youth reside either 7 or 5 days per week at a site on or in proximity to the public lands where they conduct their work-learning program. (ii) Nonresidential project. One in which youth reside at home and daily commute to the public lands to conduct their work-learning program. (11) Operating year. January 1 through December 31. (12) Non-Federal public lands and waters. Any lands or waters within the territorial limits of a State owned either in fee simple by a State or political subdivision thereof or over which a State or political subdivision thereof has, as determined by the Secretaries, sufficient long-term jurisdiction SO that improvements made as the result of a grant will accrue primarily to the benefit of the public as a whole. Federally owned public lands and waters administered by a State or political subdivision thereof under agreement with a Department or Agency of the Federal Government are eligible under such definition if the Secretaries determine that the State or political subdivision thereof is entitled to or is likely to retain administrative responsibility for an extended period of time sufficient to justify classification as non-Federal public lands or waters. § 26.3 Program purpose and objectives. (a) The purpose of the Act is to further the development and maintenance of the natural resources of the United States by American youth and in so doing prepare them for the ultimate responsibility of maintaining and managing these resources for the American people. The Departments of Agriculture and the Interior have stressed the following three equally important objectives of the Youth Conservation Corps as reflected in the law: (1) Accomplish needed conservation work on public lands. (2) Provide gainful employment for 15- through 18-year-old males and females from all social, economic, and racial backgrounds. (3) Develop an understanding and appreciation of the Nation's environment and heritage in participating youth. (b) These objectives will be accomplished in a manner that will provide the youth with an opportunity to acquire increased self-dignity and selfdiscipline, better work and relate with peers and supervisors, and build lasting cultural bridges between youth from various social, ethnic, racial and economic backgrounds. (c) Each YCC project will have, to the maximum extent possible as determined by the Secretaries' representatives, the following characteristics: (1) A properly balanced and integrated environmental work-learning program in which environmental knowledge and awareness derives principally from meaningful work activities on public lands. (2) A mixture of youth of both sexes from various social, economic, ethnic, and racial backgrounds which is representative of the youth residing within the recruiting area. (3) A group-living component, both in residential and nonresidential programs, wherein enrollees have an opportunity to relate to each other and to staff during nonworking hours in activities which promote social interaction and group learning (e.g., evening cookouts, overnight or weekend camping). (4) An enrollment of sufficient size (not less than 10 enrollees) that will permit social interaction and group learning. The program encourages |