The AmeriCorps team in Iowa, key to the conservation efforts at Planting Fields park, is currently on leave due to funding cuts from the Trump administration aimed at downsizing government programs. These young volunteers contributed significantly to the park's upkeep by removing debris and invasive species; however, their absence threatens to halt ongoing projects. A federal lawsuit from New York Attorney General Letitia James and 24 states seeks to stop these cutbacks, arguing that they violate the Congressional intent behind AmeriCorps, which serves as a crucial volunteer program involving various community initiatives.
"Many of those efforts will now be postponed until we can either launch a program of our own or secure the staff capacity needed to take them on," Rebecca Slagle, sustainability coordinator at Planting Fields Foundation, said in an emailed statement.
The agency enrolls more than 200,000 volunteers annually to work in areas such as conservation, disaster relief, the opioid crisis and education.
In New York, the agency halted 40 programs, leading to terminations for more than 1,200 AmeriCorps members, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit argues the agency's moves "flouts Congress's creation of AmeriCorps" and seizes the body's "power of the purse."
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