Lassen National Forest’s revived Youth Conservation Corps employed a four-person crew from Susanville, Westwood and Janesville once again this summer to work on forest projects.
Crew members Danielle Allen, Aaron Crowther, Kody Gifford and Destiny Richardson participated in an eight-week program that has kept them busy for most of the summer.
The youths have built new fences, removed old and abandoned fences, planted trees, cleaned and rebuilt equestrian corrals at Hay Meadow and Dow Wells, removed ladder fuels and eradicated mistletoe within a plantation.
The crew members shared which work was particularly meaningful or enjoyable for them; for both Allen and Gifford it was the removal of encroaching trees from Aspen stands, as well as dealing with diseased trees, such as those with mistletoe.
Crowther liked fence building and learning how to use the right tools for the job. What stood out for Richardson was cutting off the limbs of some of the trees around the Eagle Lake Bike Trail and painting the Dow Butte Lookout at the marina.
They all agreed the hardest task was removing old fence, but also that once it was done, it looked clean and nice.
“This year’s program would not have been a success without the YCC crew supervisor, Mo Suarez,” said Youth Program Manager Paula Dante.
Suarez’s primary job is range management on the Eagle Lake Ranger District. He supervised last year’s YCC crew and was asked again by Eagle Lake District Ranger Ann Carlson to run the 2011 program. According to Dante, “His knowledge of the Forest, resource management and how to safely and effectively get projects accomplished are exactly what the program is all about.”
“Juarez also enjoys working with our local youth and gets a lot of satisfaction from teaching them how to safely and effectively work on Forest projects.”
The YCC program is designed to prepare America’s youth for the ultimate responsibility of managing the nation’s natural resources for the future. The Lassen National Forest intends to continue to promote this program next year and may extend opportunities in other communities within the boundaries of the Forest.
