NATIONAL COALITION URGES INCREASED SUPPORT FOR
YOUTH SERVICE ON PUBLIC LANDS
(WASHINGTON, DC)—Advocates for America’s young people and public lands today announced a new effort to create and propel opportunities in youth service, career development and resource management jobs. Leaders of the Public Lands Service Coalition say the best way to increase employment among young people, bring diversity and contemporary skills to land management agencies, and address the burgeoning backlog of park maintenance is to expand youth service and green job training on public lands.
The Public Lands Service Coalition is an alliance of more than a dozen national, regional and local nonprofit organizations. According to Dale Penny, Coalition steering committee member and President of the Student Conservation Association, the coalition’s first priority is to win authorization and funding for the Public Lands Service Corps Act (HR1612, S1442) and other related legislative and bureaucratic initiatives.
“Young people are stepping up to serve in record numbers across our country, only to be met by high hurdles and red tape,” says Penny. “As our nation suffers from such severe economic and environmental distress, we must act now to streamline administrative processes, empower our future workforce, and protect our public lands.”
“We call upon the Administration and Congress to work with their partner youth organizations such as Service and Conservation Corps and SCA to clear the way for conservation work, plow a path to prosperity, and support young people, including those from low-income and minority communities who seek to serve their country’s parks, forests, refuges and seashores,” adds Sally Prouty, president of The Corps Network. “The next generation of employees for public land management agencies has already stepped up and the Coalition’s partner organizations can turn their intentions into service.”
“The irony here is that no one disagrees with the solution,” states the Coalition’s Harry Bruell, president of the Southwest Conservation Corps. “President Obama, cabinet secretaries and agency directors all strongly support a major increase in youth engagement. Nearly half of all land managers are of retirement age, even as their agencies prioritize long-neglected maintenance projects. And America’s youth face record unemployment and daunting prospects as they attempt to enter a green economy.”
Coalition leaders say engaging young people in service programs with dual vocational and academic tracks will result in more qualified, committed and diverse entry level employees for resource management agencies. The combination of short term productivity improvements and long term workforce development benefits make an expanded youth service program a powerful win-win, according to Coalition officials.
The Public Lands Service Coalition is dedicated to promoting youth service jobs and career development on public lands. The Coalition was founded by the Student Conservation Association, The Corps Network, and the Southwest Conservation Corps; member organizations represent millions of young people engaged in various types of service each year. The Public Lands Service Coalition consists of:
Steering Committee Members
American YouthWorks
Coconino Rural Environment Corps
Montana Conservation Corps
Nevada Conservation Corps
Southwest Conservation Corps
Student Conservation Association
Rocky Mountain Youth Corps (CO)
The Corps Network
Utah Conservation Corps
Partner Members
Colorado Youth Corps Association
National Parks Conservation Association
Sequoia Community Corps
Washington Conservation Corps
Supporting Members
Campfire USA
Civilian Conservation Corps Legacy
YMCA
For more information, contact:
Kevin Hamilton, SCA
603-543-1700
khamilton@thesca.org
Marty O’Brien, The Corps Network
202-737-6272
mobrien@corpsnetwork.org
Coming together to spend two weeks camping was intimidating; but by the end of the first couple of days the nicknames were beginning. We worked together to build new trails in Black Canyon and some rock walls. After that we weathered some of the worst flooding and tornado warnings together and laughed the whole time.
-Toot Grumpus, Giggles Tucker, Tea Party, Lala the Stumpin’ Milkman, Biskit, Grumbles, Guido, and JC
This past hitch my crew (The Muddy Hornets – long story short, we got muddy and stung by some hornets) spent two weeks back country in the Gila National Forest in New Mexico. We hiked in for seven hours with 70 pound backpacks filled with a week’s supply of food, tents, sleeping bags and clothes at high elevation and this is what we wanted!
Our previous three weeks we worked in Imperial Country California at
227 feet below sea level with a camp with showers, so we were ready to build our SCC street cred with a back country hitch. This just goes to show how varied each hitch is.
Every hitch is a new adventure in a different location in the southwest. You have people on your crew from all over the country, different ages and backgrounds and you all come together to hike, camp and work outside in nature. I’ve learned to use tools I did not know previously existed and cooked new foods I did not know previously could be made like scrambled brownies!
SCC is definitely a different type of a job but that is what makes it so cool.
By Ross Peizer Crew Member-Sonoran Desert Branch
Nine Durango AmeriCorps VISTAs (two from SCC Headquarters) worked together to host a light bulb exchange in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.’s community service legacy. Community members were excited to have the opportunity to exchange up to 4 incandescent light bulbs for 4 compact florescent light bulbs for free! La Plata Electric Association donated all of the CFLs and provided information on energy efficiency, recycling and renewable resources. At the end of the event 370 light bulbs were exchanged. This makes a huge impact considering, “CLFs consume 66% less energy than incandescent blubs, yet last up to 10 times longer”. Just these 370 light bulbs will save the community members a total of $14,760 over the lifetime of the CFLs and will prevent 148,000 pounds of greenhouse gas going into our atmosphere! (Touchstone Energy Cooperatives)
It was exciting to see how the Durango locals came together and showed their enthusiasm for this positive event. Many people already had CFLs throughout their house, but were happy to know that the word was getting out there. The snow didn’t stop people from checking out our table, asking questions, and discussing the small ways to make big changes!
TUCSON – Tucson officials asked for help and city residents answered by taking 12 minutes out of their day to give our city a makeover.
For just 12-minutes, Tucsonans looked around their homes and businesses and clean them up.
Pam Cornell with the Sunnyside School District is fitting the quick task into her tight schedule.
Pam said, “I have a school board meeting tonight as well, so I’m not in the attire for cleaning but I wanted to be a part of this.”
Juan Corella and his crew are with Southwest Conservation Corps. They’re also chipping in, and even found a football while picking up debris.
“It’s good recycling, so we’ll keep this for our crew and just use it out in the field when we have down time,” Juan said.
Greg Davila is contributing just outside his home. “We took time off and started cleaning our little area, a couple of minutes and it’s done,” Davila said.
12 minutes of cleaning plus multiple communities working together equals a cleaner city.
Greg said, “It would be nice if more people come out and do a little bit of there part in cleaning up the neighborhood.”
The city plans on doing this event again next year on January 12, 2011.
Southwest Conservation Corps would like to welcome Megan Strauss to the Los Valles Region Team! Megan is joining SCC fresh from an AmeriCorps term in the Northwest. She grew up in Texas and received an undergraduate degree from Texas A&M for psychology. Intent on making the world a better place, she pursued her Masters in Social Work from the University of Texas. After graduation Megan joined an AmeriCorps trail team in the Wenatchee National Forest with Northwest Service Academy – Mt. Adams Center. She had such an amazing time living in the outdoors and doing service that she dedicated another year to AmeriCorps and NWSA through an Environmental Internship Program. Most recently, the allure of more adventure, service and sun brought Megan to Salida where she will spend the rest of her days playing with her dog, exploring mountains, splashing around in the Arkansas River and making sure that SCC members have the best darn experience of their lives.
Tucson CLDP Crew Chainsaw Training
by Todd Loubsky- Los Valles Program Coordinator
As my work tasks were thinning in Salida, CO due to the end of our crew season, I responded to a request from Tucson Field Coordinator Josh Burt to assist with a chainsaw training by driving 9.5 hours from Salida to the Tonto National Forest in Arizona. The drive from Salida began with roughly four hours of intermittent snow and icy roads. Once I passed through Santa Fe the weather broke and for the next six days I enjoyed sunny skies and fairly warm weather.
I met the crew early on Monday morning as they stood around their campfire waiting for the sun to fully rise. Josh and I began the chainsaw training by providing some background on chainsaws in regard to how they function. As this was a training conducted in the field, we used SCC vehicles as our whiteboards to write down important information and draw diagrams (with dry erase markers). Everyone on the crew was eager to learn and proved to be good students in regard to picking up the important aspects of chainsaw safety and use. After spending the morning discussing chainsaws around camp, we headed to a trail that needed to be bucked out which provided the crew with some hands on experience.
The chainsaws proved to be less enthusiastic about the training than the crew and were finicky for the duration (per usual with chainsaws). However, we got enough of them running for the crew to get a fair amount of stick time. The crew proved capable sawyers and for the most part quickly picked up proper techniques for bucking and limbing. As the training progressed, we provided more education regarding felling trees. Josh demonstrated felling with his preferred technique from Game of Logging and I spoke to the crew about my preferred technique of conventional felling. As each crew member had become much more competent and comfortable with a chainsaw, we allowed them to practice felling some ponderosa pine trees.
After visiting with our Salida crews this summer and fall, it was nice to visit with another region’s crew to see how their days and nights in the field were carried out. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with them both in regard to time spent around camp and the chainsaw training in the field. They were gracious hosts and provided me with good breakfasts and dinners. All in all, between working with Josh Burt, hanging out with the crew, and assisting in the chainsaw training, I had a great time during the week I spent in the Tonto National Forest.
Empowering individuals to positively impact their lives, their communities and the environment.
- Ancestral Lands
Acoma, NM
(970) 259-8607 - Four Corners
701 Camino del Rio Suite 101
Durango, CO 81301
(970) 259-8607 - Los Valles
7710 West Hwy 50
Salida, CO 81201
(719) 539-2438 - Sonoran Desert
1376 W St Mary Rd
Tucson, AZ 85745
(520) 884-5550
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