Field News Recap- September 2024
Oregon:
camping crews
Oregon Programs launched three young adult crews in September. 14 crew members began their season at HQ on Sep. 4 before heading out to a training site in the Umpqua National Forest. From there, the three crews split up to begin project work across the region.
Red crew stayed in the Umpqua for the first week, working on the Yellow Jacket Trail Loop. From there, they went backcountry in the Steens Mountains for the next three weeks of their season. They wrapped up September by brushing and levelling multiple backcountry trails in this beautiful and unique part of Oregon.
Orange crew spent their first week in Northern California, removing invasive European beach grass from the Lake Earl Wildlife Area with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Their next two weeks were in the Rogue River Siskiyou National Forest, where they restored tread after a forest fire impacted the trail system. They then finished out the month in the Fremont Winema National Forest, removing competing tree species from an aspen meadow to allow for more aspen growth.
Our Women’s Blue crew’s first week was with the Oregon Dunes Restoration Collaborative, removing invasives in the Siuslaw National Forest. They worked in the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument for the next two weeks, removing pressure treated wood from along a trail then cleaning up the slope. In their final September week, Blue crew pulled invasive European beach grass from dunes at the Lake Earl Wildlife Area in Northern California.
Washington:
urban and community forestry crews
At the end of September, three UCF crews started their session with Metroparks. They pruned and planted an urban prairie at Swan Creek Park and prepped for an upcoming tree-planting event at Tacoma Community College (TCC). That collaboration, set for the first week of October, involves NYC, TCC, and Washington State University Tree Research Center.
Northwest Now’s Chris Anderson did a two-part story about our community programs: UCF and Sound to Summit. Anderson said he “really enjoyed meeting and hanging out with the young people working to improve not only their lives and skills but also the community and the environment.”
Idaho Conservation Corps:
camping crews
Idaho Conservation Corps launched three young adult crews this month. In the beginning of September, 10 members met their leaders at the Boise office and headed up to Boise National Forest and Payette National Forest for training. There, the crews split off to start their unique project work throughout Idaho and Washington.
For their first two weeks, Red crew worked with City of Rocks National Reserve, removing sagebrush and widening the tread on the North Fork Circle Creek Trail and Graham Creek Canyon Trail. After brushing, they serviced the fencing by fixing barbed wire and installing metal t-bars.
They finished September in Payette National Forest in the New Meadows Ranger District. They worked on fence removal and Flow Permanence Surveys with the Payette National Forest hydrology staff in Round Valley Creek and Price Valley.
Orange crew headed up to Washington for their first two weeks to work with the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in Yacolt Burn State Forest. They were assisting in the preparation for the installment of a bridge over Cold Creek. They brushed about 2,795 ft of trail that leads to a new 69 foot trail that they constructed, that will eventually connect to the bridge. The crew also mixed concrete to create the anchor points on each side of the creek.
They returned to work with Washington DNR in Naneum Ridge State Forest, near Ellensburg, WA. They are in collaboration with Evergreen Mountain Biking Association (EMBA) while maintaining mountain biking trails on Naneum Ridge XC Loop, Hustler Trail and Rustler Trails.
Yellow crew started their season in Panhandle National Forests in the Coeur d’Alene Ranger District where they logged out and maintained the Chilco Trail. They bucked out 115 logs and swamped them all. In total, they dug 52 drains and maintained a total of 4 miles of trail.
Yellow crew completed their September with Washington DNR near Omak–7 miles from the Canadian border. They’ll create 7 new campsites at Cold Springs Campground, by assembling picnic tables, brushing fire rings, and mixing concrete to create fire rings.
Internship Programs:
