Youth Conservation Corps
Encyclopedia
The Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) is a summer work youth program in federally managed lands. The National Park Service
, US Forest Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management
employ teens each summer to participate in the YCC experience. The YCC has introduced young Americans to conservation opportunities in public lands since the program was created in 1970. In the late seventies and early eighties the program included a grant-in-aid component that funded state and local YCC projects nationwide. This element fell to 1982 budget cuts, but several states continued the effort with their own funds. Some employees currently working in land management agencies were introduced to their profession through the YCC.
Youth Conservation Corps members work, play, learn, and grow in public lands restoring, rehabilitating, and repairing the natural, cultural, and historical resources protected as federally preserved places. Some examples of work completed each season by Youth Conservation Corps are:
Participants are paid the established federal minimum wage. Participants in states with a minimum wage higher than the federal will be paid at the higher rate.
Youth Conservation Corps programs are conducted for 8–10 weeks during the summer. Participants must be between 15–18 years old at the start of the program. Most YCC programs are non-residential; however the National Park Service does have two residential programs at Yosemite National Park
(CA) and Yellowstone National Park
(WY, MT, ID).
The Youth Conservation Corp focuses on conservation and community. These are some of the aspects they focus on:
Recruitment for the YCC within the National Park Service
is done at individual sites participating in the program.
The National Park Service
webpage: provides information about how to enroll in the Youth Conservation Corps. Applications may be found on the NPS webpage and must be sent to parks of interest by April 15. Enrollees are selected without regard to civil service or classification laws, rules or regulation. The selection process is conducted in a public forum by the random method.
YCC is a partnership between the US Department of Interior and US Department of Agriculture established by Public Law 93-408
. Since its inception, the YCC has worked with many conservation agencies throughout the country to provide educational and team building skills to young people through participation in work projects.
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
, US Forest Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
employ teens each summer to participate in the YCC experience. The YCC has introduced young Americans to conservation opportunities in public lands since the program was created in 1970. In the late seventies and early eighties the program included a grant-in-aid component that funded state and local YCC projects nationwide. This element fell to 1982 budget cuts, but several states continued the effort with their own funds. Some employees currently working in land management agencies were introduced to their profession through the YCC.
Youth Conservation Corps members work, play, learn, and grow in public lands restoring, rehabilitating, and repairing the natural, cultural, and historical resources protected as federally preserved places. Some examples of work completed each season by Youth Conservation Corps are:
- Historic Structure Preservation
- Exotic Plant Removal
- Fence Construction
- Boundary Marking Signage
- Boardwalk Repair
- Wildlife Research Assistance
- Anthropologic Research Assistance
- Bridge Construction
- Trail Construction
- Campsite/Campground Restoration
- Environmental Education Planning/Teaching
- Habitat Preservation
- IT Work
- Visitor Use Assistance
- Energy Retrofitting
Participants are paid the established federal minimum wage. Participants in states with a minimum wage higher than the federal will be paid at the higher rate.
Youth Conservation Corps programs are conducted for 8–10 weeks during the summer. Participants must be between 15–18 years old at the start of the program. Most YCC programs are non-residential; however the National Park Service does have two residential programs at Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain...
(CA) and Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...
(WY, MT, ID).
The Youth Conservation Corp focuses on conservation and community. These are some of the aspects they focus on:
- How the work projects benefits the site or the overall environment.
- Appreciating and understanding the nation’s environmental and historic heritage.
- Gaining an understanding and appreciation of Ecosystems and Community.
Recruitment for the YCC within the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
is done at individual sites participating in the program.
The National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
webpage: provides information about how to enroll in the Youth Conservation Corps. Applications may be found on the NPS webpage and must be sent to parks of interest by April 15. Enrollees are selected without regard to civil service or classification laws, rules or regulation. The selection process is conducted in a public forum by the random method.
YCC is a partnership between the US Department of Interior and US Department of Agriculture established by Public Law 93-408
Public Law 93-408
Public Law 93-408 is:The Youth Conservation Corps was established in 1974 by the 93rd Congress and President Ford as Public Law 93-408, an act to amend the Youth Conservation Corps Act of 1970....
. Since its inception, the YCC has worked with many conservation agencies throughout the country to provide educational and team building skills to young people through participation in work projects.
External links
- http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/32/be/aa.pdf
- http://www.nps.gov/gettinginvolved/youthprograms/ycc.htm
- http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/ycc/index.shtml
- http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/ycc/
- http://www.sccorps.org/