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Field News Recap- August

Oregon: Our Blue crew spent the first four weeks of their five month term they were at Crater Lake National Park, where they cleared 13.25 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail of downed trees using crosscuts. For their final week Blue was in the Rogue River Siskiyou National Forest working on the Hanging Rock trail, where they improved 1.31 miles of trail. Red crew worked all over the state. Their first week was spent at Loon Lake, improving campgrounds and doing light trail maintenance. They then worked in the Rogue River Siskiyou National Forest, removing 12.76 acres of invasives and collecting seeds. Their final two weeks were at Saddle Mountain State Park, where they completed gabions baskets at the end of a challenging hike in. This wonderful work was fueled in part by 126 Kinder eggs. Our Yellow crew spent their first week removing invasive plants at the Dean Creek Elk Viewing Area near Reedsport, then removing more invasive plants in the Rogue River Siskiyou National Forest. Their final two weeks were spent working on the Pacific Crest Trail in the Umpqua National Forest, where they did 3.5 miles of trail maintenance and cleared 50 drainage structures. Orange crew began …

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Field News Recap- Youth Camping Crews Session One

Oregon: Our Youth Camping Crew 7, Red Crew 1 spent their first three weeks in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest before heading out to central Oregon and finishing in Coos Bay. Throughout the session they pulled invasives, fixed trails and even maintained campgrounds. The work included installing 12 fire rings, clearing over 5 acres of invasive plants and maintained over 6.5 miles of trail. YCC 8, Blue Crew started in the Fremont-Winema National Forest in the south, moved to the Malheur National Forest in eastern Oregon and finally finished up north in the Mt Hood National Forests, fixing trails the whole way. They maintained over 12 miles of trail over 5 weeks and cleared 35 logs with crosscut saws. YCC 9, our red 2 crew started the season working with a couple other youth crews in the Fremont-Winema National Forest clearing trails before finishing near the coast with some invasive removal. They were able to maintain over 2.5 miles of trail in two weeks before clearing well over an acre of invasive species. YCC 10 Orange  crew also worked in the Fremont-Winema National Forest for 3 weeks before tackling a couple weeks of invasive removal, ending the season in Northern …

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Field News Recap – May

Oregon Update: In May, Oregon graduated one crew, the blue crew!  Two of our other Oregon crews partnered with the Hood River and Barlow Ranger Districts. They worked alongside recreation staff. Crews tackled maintenance projects around the districts including removing graffiti from Little John warming shelter, repainting forest boundary signs, and removing trash left after the winter snowmelt. Crews also assisted the trails program in restocking the Fivemile Butte Lookout with firewood.  Our Expedition Crew ending the month working out at Diamond Lake with the Umpqua National Forest helping to get the campgrounds ready for the summer season.  Previous image Next image Washington Update: Washington’s first Young Adult Spring program successfully graduated 12 members and leaders at then end of May. Crews rounded out the season working with the Washington Department of Natural Resources, Cascadia Conservation District, and the Siuslaw National Forest completing projects ranging from campground and recreation area maintenance and preparation for the summer season, and trail maintenance.   “During my term I realized I am stronger than I thought. I definitely didn’t realize how mentally hard it is rather than physically. I grew a lot as a person and hope to continue to use the knowledge I have …

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2022 Annual Report

“In reflecting on the past year, I am struck by how much we have learned about resilience and the power of community.   Northwest Youth Corps was not immune to the challenging impacts and upheaval in our social and economic systems over the last three years. Like so many, we struggled, experimented, occasionally screamed into the void, but ultimately we were fortunate to have persevered. And in 2022, we started another year on solid ground due to the dedication of our staff and support from you – partners, agencies, and individual and institutional funders. We are surrounded by a constituency of remarkable stakeholders who share our passion for our youth, our communities, and our planet.” Jeff Parker, Executive Director Dear Friends, In reflecting on the past year, I am struck by how much we have learned about resilience and the power of community.  Northwest Youth Corps was not immune to the challenging impacts and upheaval in our social and economic systems over the last three years. Like so many, we struggled, experimented, occasionally screamed into the void, but ultimately, we were fortunate to have persevered. And in 2022, we started another year on solid ground due to the dedication of our staff …

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Field News Recap – April

Oregon Update: Oregon graduated its first young adult crew for the season in April. The winter silviculture crew in Eugene graduated 6 members, and throughout the whole session they planted nearly 19,000 poplar trees. The winter camping crews have finished their season and completed 9 weeks of campsite restoration, 7 weeks of invasive plant removal, and 3 weeks of trail maintenance. Our Oregon program has launched a combo Leadership Development Program with future youth crew leads for our Washington, Idaho, and Oregon programs. They’ve started their session with getting Wilderness First Aid certifications and will be moving on to chainsaw certification in the coming weeks. The spring crews are cruising along and just completed their 6th week at the end of April. One crew has been working at Silver Falls this whole month, and the other crew has been working on a combination of campsite restoration, invasive plant removal, and Douglas Fir habitat restoration where a fire came through a few years ago. Previous Next Washington Update: Washington currently has three young adult crews. One of them partnered with Cascadia Conservation District and the Washington Department of Natural Resources to help clear out fire breaks in the community of Plain, …

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Field News Recap – March

Oregon Update: Oregon currently has five active young adult (YA) crews out in the field. Our three winter crews have been out since February and the two spring crews kicked off in March.  The winter camping crews have been working hard in Oregon state campgrounds to get them ready for the upcoming summer months by making them accessible for as many people as possible. Another of our winter crews has been working on a poplar farm in Eugene with the goal of planting 26,000 trees. These crews are approaching their final weeks for the season.  Our two spring crews are in their third week and have been focused on developed recreation projects in campgrounds. This is the first week of trail work for crew 5 and they will be in Silver Falls State Park for the next four weeks helping maintain the highly popular Canyon Trail. Poplar Project Register guard article read Here Checking the Phacelia to make sure it has plenty of room to grow and flourish. Our Oregon Expedition crew teamed up with our blue crew. Expedition crew working on the fire pits at Driftwood Campground. Previous Next Washington Update: For the first time, Washington launched three young adult spring …

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2022 National Park Foundation Partnership Report

“I have learned to adapt and persevere when times get hard… beyond learning trail building methods, crosscut and nursery operations I also learned about the importance of an expedition mindset… Overall I learned not only physical skills but interpersonal crew skills.”                                -2022 Women in National Parks crewmember Partnership Overveiw During its 39-year history, Northwest Youth Corps (NYC) has enjoyed a long partnership with the National Park Service (NPS) and, more recently with the National Park Foundation (NPF). During that time, more than 25,000 youth and young adults and 2,200 field staff have completed 3,518,480 hours of service across Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. For their service, crews have earned a total of $4 million in field wages and educational stipends, while graduates have returned home better prepared for civic leadership. We are deeply grateful for our active and innovative partnership with the National Park Foundation. NPF investments in Northwest Youth Corps since 2018 have totaled $1,155,504 to support NYC’s foundational commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programming. Projects completed by our members have improved the visitor experience; ensured critical resource management work is completed; supported NPF …

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Honoring MLK Day across three states

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day from all of us at Northwest Youth Corps! While the daily work of Northwest Youth Corps honors the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with its focus on service, community, and future generations, this federal holiday (the only one dedicated as a National Day of Service) is a time for people across the country to step up to help build more equitable communities everywhere.  This past week, Northwest Youth Corps staff dedicated time to reflect on the values that Rev. Dr. MLK Jr. championed and took part in community service work around our three office locations in Eugene, Tacoma, and Boise. A huge thanks to all organizers and participants of our MLK day service projects! At our Idaho office, staff members removed old wire caging and reinstalling new wire caging around trees along the Boise Greenbelt in partnership with Boise Parks and Rec. Once trees have died, uprooted, or outgrown their cages, the wire needs to be removed before it becomes a hazard or pollutant to the Boise River. Properly-fitted cages protect healthy trees from beaver damage, ensuring that important riparian habitat has the shade, soil stabilization, and productive plant life that …

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