Outdoor Industry Association reports on conservation corps

Stimulus money pushing youth conservation corps to full capacity

Youth conservation corps across the country are turning down record numbers of applicants despite a surge in stimulus money that will let them put thousands of more kids to work in national parks, forests, wildlife refuges and other public lands this summer.

Youth conservation corps leaders say that with unemployment rates for teenagers ranging from 24 percent for whites to 38 percent for African Americans — they are being flooded with applications. High unemployment among college graduates and a renewed sense of voluntarism is also adding record numbers of applicants.

“Last year we turned down 2,000 and hired 600,” said Harry Buell, president and CEO of Southwest Conservation Corps (SCC) in Durango, CO. “This year we are running even higher. There are about six applicants for every position. We are getting many more people coming to us to get one more thing on their resume and some money in their pocket.”

The SCC has so far received about $4.5 million in money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), or nearly enough to double its annual budget of $5 million. Its biggest source of funds has been the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which has awarded it grants totaling $1.3 million to complete trail maintenance projects within the San Juan National Forest. That grant will employ 130 crew members for 18 to 24 months. In all, the SCC received six USDA grants in the year ended Sept. 30, 2009, worth $2.6 million, compared to none from the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI). From Sept. 30, 2009 to March 31, 2010, however, it received six DOI grants worth $275,000 from DOI.

Directors for a few of the larger youth conservation corps told OIA WebNews they expect stimulus funding to peak this summer as more DOI stimulus money finally reaches their coffers.

The DOI awarded 10 grants or contracts worth $2.6 million to the California Conservation Corps in the six months ended March 31, compared to 10 grants valued at $2.2 million for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2009. The Student Conservation Association (SCA), the nation’s only national youth conservation corps, expects to receive as much as $7 million in stimulus money this year, up from about $2 million last year, said Richard Wizansky, associate vice president of corporate relations. That will bring employment to 4,200 kids this year, up 250 from last year, when hiring grew by 300 thanks largely to ARRA, said Kevin Hamilton, vice president for marketing and communications with SCA.

SCA expects to grow another 15 percent in 2011 even as ARRA funding tapers off. That is because while individual donations have declined during the recession, corporations are donating more to programs aimed at engaging underrepresented urban youth in conservation and the outdoors. Sponsors include American Eagle Outfitters, REI and L.L. Bean. Last week, Deuter announced it had also made a cash donation to SCA. The company has donated or sold gear at deep discounts to SCA for years.

Finally, SCA is hopeful Congress will pass the Public Land Service Corps Act this year. OIA is supporting the bill, which would make it easier for the secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce and the Interior to establish and fund conservation programs that would prioritize the hiring of unemployed youth between ages 18-24, giving priority to those coming from underserved communities.