Eco-jobs in the great outdoors are now available for 20,000 Americans ages 15-25 this summer. Interested? Read on.
On the East Coast, representatives from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) joined Salazar and Sutley to promote the $3.7 million in competitive grants for 20 projects across the country that will put more than 500 young people from diverse backgrounds and experiences to work on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands and national forests and grasslands.
Alaska
California
Oregon
Restoring the Future: Pathways to Careers in Conservation: Mt. Hood Community College will hire and train 30 urban youth and 2 crew leaders to complete essential restoration projects over two summers in the Sandy River Basin, just east of metropolitan Portland. Youth will work with agency professionals and Basin partners to gain job-readiness skills and hands-on experience in salmon habitat restoration, trail work, native plant restoration, project management, and invasive-plant removal. $35,000 Forest Service; $35,243 BLM; $107,000 non-federal funds.
Tillamook Coho Stream Restoration Project: The Tillamook School District will partner with the BLM to monitor Coho salmon stream restoration sites and collect data to assess the effectiveness of ongoing stream restoration on the Wilson, Nestucca, and Trask Rivers. A crew of one adult leader and five youth members, will work on will conduct aquatic invertebrate sampling, riparian fence monitoring, fish habitat evaluation, water quality sampling and analysis, and photo-point monitoring. $42,570 BLM; $77,500 non-federal funds.
Klamath Basin Stewardship Project: The Northwest Youth Corps will hire 50 local youth, at least 40 percent from the Klamath Tribe, to work on riparian fence building, invasive species removal, native plantings, survey completions and data management, and public lands access management. This project supports the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Upper Klamath Basin Keystone Initiative by implementing high priority stewardship projects near the city of Klamath Falls, the Wood and Sprague River systems and the Williamson Delta. $99,995 BLM; $108,073 non-federal funds.
Nevada
Virgin River Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Habitat Restoration: The Great Basin Institute will partner with Nevada Conservation Corps and Partners in Conservation to restore 40 acres of BLM land along the Virgin River near Mesquite, Nevada. Partners in Conservation will recruit 70 young people to engage in hands-on restoration and monitoring and visit with hydrologists, biologists, and other natural resource professionals to learn about conservation career pathways. $80,000 BLM; $252,515 non-federal funds.
Montana
Crown of the Continent and Prairie Next Generation Stewards: The Montana Conservation Corps will engage young people from urban communities, rural Montana and Native American tribes to accomplish 43 weeks of stewardship, restoration and monitoring projects to enhance the Southwestern Crown of the Continent ecosystem, and will work on the Flathead, Lolo and Helena National Forests and the BLM’s Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument and northern prairie landscapes. $38,000 Forest Service; $42,000 BLM; $169,755 non-federal funds.
Colorado
New Mexico
Collaborative Forest Restoration and Education in New Mexico: The Forest Guild and the Cibola National Forest will hire and train 12 Tribal youth from Cibola and McKinley counties for part-time seasonal jobs for up to two years. The young people will help with gathering habitat structure data to carry out management for an area that is habitat for keystone species such as northern goshawk, Mexican spotted owl, and Abert’s squirrel. $50,482 Forest Service; $25,000 Wells Fargo; $75,492 non-federal funds.
Utah
Wisconsin
Kentucky and Indiana
Conservation Career Training in the Ohio River Watershed: The Ohio River Foundation will hire two crews of six high school students for three weeks of summer work on the Ohio River Watershed on the Boone and Hoosier National Forests near Red River Gorge, Ky., and Norman, Ind. Activities will restore riparian habitat by removing invasive species and planting native species, and will protect water quality by reducing erosion. $28,300 Forest Service; $37,000 non-federal funds.
Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee
Bridging the Forestry Diversity Gap: Chattahoochee, Cherokee and Nantahala-Pisgah National Forests will work with Groundwork Hudson Valley and The Wilderness Society to recruit 16 youth ages 18 to 21 New York to introduce participants to camping, develop job readiness, leadership, and team-building skills. The eight member youth crews will restore 24-plus miles of wilderness trails to standard over two years in areas prioritized by the Forest Service- $25,000 Forest Service; $25,000 Wells Fargo; $51,672 non-federal funds.
Maryland
Potomac River Conservation Job Training Program: The Maryland Department of Natural Resources, in partnership with the BLM, will expand the Maryland Conservation Corps and the Civic Justice Corps to involve students and young adults in conservation projects along the Potomac River at Douglas Point, Md. Participants will be guided and instructed by professionals in park planning and natural resource restoration science and will tackle high-priority restoration work. $100,000 BLM; $100,000 non-federal funds.*
Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee
Bridging the Forestry Diversity Gap: Chattahoochee, Cherokee and Nantahala-Pisgah National Forests will work with Groundwork Hudson Valley and The Wilderness Society to recruit 16 youth ages 18 to 21 New York to introduce participants to camping, develop job readiness, leadership, and team-building skills. The eight member youth crews will restore 24-plus miles of wilderness trails to standard over two years in areas prioritized by the Forest Service- $25,000 Forest Service; $25,000 Wells Fargo; $51,672 non-federal funds.
Maryland
For information on all federal job openings and applications visit USA Jobs.
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