Northwest Youth Corps

Leave It to Beavers – Renewing rivers one rodent at a time

Originally from: https://www.patagonia.ca/stories/leave-it-to-beavers/story-149108.htmlBy: Amanda Monthei All photos by Greg Mionske It’s barely above 50 degrees in a mountain meadow at the headwaters of the John Day River, deep in the Blue Mountains of Eastern Oregon. Dew soaks the ground, and the consensus is that today’s work conditions are already significantly better than yesterday’s. “It was the hardest day this year,” says Alex, a 19-year-old Northwest Youth Corps crew member sipping coffee from a mug covered in faded stickers. A random thunderstorm blew through yesterday morning and caught him without his rain jacket. Weather and morale have improved significantly in the last 24 hours. Alex and the rest of the four-person crew from the conservation service and job-training program, as well as three Trout Unlimited employees, pull on mud-caked boots and waders, finish coffees and collect their tools—chainsaws, an errant bundle of shovels, towers of five-gallon buckets, branch loppers and wooden posts shaped like enormous pencils, shouldered two at a time. “If all goes according to plan, a passing beaver might see these human-made dams, complemented by the soft, pooling water they love, and think, ‘This is nice … but I could do better.’” Shifts start at 7 a.m., and although […]

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Serving our Community in honor of MLK

Each year, Northwest Youth Corps honors Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of service and social change by organizing volunteer service projects for staff to get engaged and do good for the community.  At our Washington office, staff members volunteered with the Tacoma area Habitat for Humanity to help build homes for those in need. The team spent the day installing siding on a new townhome and kept spirits high through frigid temperatures by rocking out to early 2000’s hits on the radio! Washington office staff members volunteering with Tacoma area Habitat for Humanity Unfortunately in Oregon and Idaho, devastating storms caused severe tree and infrastructure damage cancelling service day projects and leaving thousands in the area without electricity for more than a week. In the wake of these storms, Northwest Youth Corps was quick to see the community in need and was proud to volunteer services to the restoration of local parks in the Eugene/Springfield area. Northwest Youth Corps Oregon staff using pole saws, chainsaws, and chippers to remove downed trees and debris at Willamalane Park and Recreation District, Day Island Park in Springfield. OR. Knowing that many employees did not get the opportunity to serve their communities

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Sound to Summit program wins Project of the Year!

Northwest Youth Corps (NYC) received the prestigious Project of the Year Award from The Corps Network in recognition of NYC’s unique Sound to Summit program. The Corps Network  – also known as the National Association of Service and Conservation Corps – presents this award on an annual basis to select organizations from their membership of more than 140 Corps across the country. Awardees are chosen through a competitive nomination and review process. “This national recognition is a testament to partnership” states Jay Satz, Northwest Youth Corps’ Senior Director for External Affairs. “Mount Rainier National Park staff recognized the value of engaging neighboring urban youth with the park, and Metro Parks Tacoma was looking to expand youth programming that created a sense of neighborhood stewardship. Northwest Youth Corps was able to step in as the connector to create the program model based on our extensive experience running backcountry conservation service crews (40 years) and community based conservation service crews (15 years). The result has been an inspiring program impacting 163 members and leaders (thus far). Northwest Youth Corps is honored to receive this award from The Corps Network.” National Project of the Year Award Info: Project of the Year Awards are presented on

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New Urban and Community Forest Crews to serve in OR, WA, and ID

Northwest Youth Corps (NYC) is grateful to receive a $12 million grant from the USDA Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Inflation Reduction Act to engage youth and young adults in urban forestry stewardship and education activities in Boise, ID, Eugene, OR, and Tacoma, WA. Working with local partners, NYC will invest $4 million over five years in urban forestry programs in each of the three state program areas. “This grant from the US Forest Service is a remarkable investment in our community”, says Parker.  “Our work over the next five years to increase the health and resilience of our urban forest will further enhance the health benefits of living in these communities. The young people who participate in this paid service initiative will graduate with skills and abilities that will help them advance their goals in the classroom and the workforce.” – Jeff Parker, Executive Director, Northwest Youth Corps Urban forests provide numerous benefits, including: • Reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.• Lowering energy consumption by providing shade and reducing heat island effects.• Improving water quality and reducing stormwater runoff.• Enhancing property values and economic vitality.• Improving public health and well-being. Urban and Community Forest Program Overview for

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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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Project Spotlight – Olympic National Forest

In partnership with the Olympic National Forest, our summer Youth Camping Washington Orange Crew completed a number projects from August 14-18th, 2023.  Some of the projects included:  2 Bathroom Interiors painted. 2 Bathroom doors painted. 2 picnic tables assembled. 2 old picnic tables disassembled. 4 Old fire rings removed (with concrete anchoring them) 4 New fire rings installed. Half a load of gravel approximately 7 tons of gravel spread throughout campground (Klahowya) and Trail (Bogachiel) Brushed approximately .25-acre Amphitheater (deferred maintenance) in Klahowya Campground as well as brushed around the exterior of both vault toilets. All tasks were completed by a crew consisting of 4 members and 2 crew leads of the Northwest Youth Corps. Before After Quotes from the crew members:  “Being at the heart of the ecology in Washington is amazing. This is such a unique system. Plus seeing the old trees has been pretty cool.”  -Lucas, Crew Lead   “Finishing a project. There is a feeling of accomplishment and gratitude for the work done. In 5 years you could go back and say that you helped get this place to a better state and it feels good to know I did something to help conserve the natural

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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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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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Youth crews help protect homes from wildfire thanks to state-funded training

Originally from: https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2022/10/youth-crews-help-protect-homes-from-wildfire-thanks-to-state-funded-training.htmlBy: Sami Edge | The Oregonian/OregonLive Lindsay Nava hauled branches up a long wooded driveway near Grants Pass under the burning midday sun on Tuesday. Her blonde hair, tucked into braids and bound back with a bandana, poked out from underneath her orange hard hat while she felled trees and limbs, building a pile to turn into wood chips. Nava, 22, is on a five-person team of young people working to clear fire hazards from around homes and buildings in Southern Oregon, through a new effort funded by the Legislature in 2021 as part of a sweeping $195 million package to boost Oregon’s wildfire preparedness. The Oregon Conservation Corps program allows young people to develop the skills to become wildland firefighters and land managers while helping vulnerable communities mitigate fire risks. The Higher Education Coordinating Commission, which distributes the funds, expects nearly 400 corps members ages 16 to 26 to work on crews overseen by tribes, schools and nonprofits around the state. Crew members on Nava’s Northwest Youth Corps crew receive a $4,235 stipend and $1,678 for school costs during their 10-week assignments, during which they camp near their worksites. The crews learn to use chainsaws and power tools and take courses that

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Project Spotlight

In partnership with Oregon  Bureau of Land Management , our fall young adult crews have been working at Twin Prairie Meadows (near cottage grove, OR ) removing conifers to allow for the madrones and oak trees to thrive. These meadows offer essential habitat for plants and animals amongst the otherwise thick tree canopies of the area. The project provided an excellent opportunity for the crew to practice bucking logs into decomposition piles, after getting their saw certifications the week prior. While working on a steep incline made for an intense and physically demanding project, it offered the crew epic views that they will not soon forget.

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