Park Based Traveling Conservation Corps Vegetation Team- HTLN

Description

This agreement is intended to engage youth and assist with long-term management of the cultural and historic landscape in 15 parks across the Midwestern U.S. The Landscape Initiative, a cooperative effort between the National Park Service (NPS) and National Register of Historic Places, recognizes that landscapes are an integral part of the visitor and educational experience. This investment in maintaining these landscapes avoids higher levels of future out-year maintenance expenditures. Cultural landscapes, including those in a number of parks covered in this project, also provide local economic development opportunities related to hay leases, crop production, grazing, and occasionally salvage logging. The actions supported in this agreement control problematic plants, including federally-listed noxious weeds and other invasive plants. Without these investments, parks are subject to fines and litigation under local, state, and federal noxious weed laws. The public purposes of the project are to: 1) introduce youth to natural resource jobs and, for some, mentor them in that direction, 2) allow youth to actively participate in managing national parks, 3) provide an opportunity to develop work and leadership skills in a challenging outdoor environment, and 4) improve the condition of plant communities and habitats within parks. The Conservation Corps of Iowa will provide 4- to 6-person work crews who can deploy to parks and are ready to implement vegetation restoration. Trip durations are typically 8-days in length and work days are typically 8-hours long, although this can be adjusted to meet operational requirements. As such, each team member is trained in first aid/CPR, herbicide use, prescribed fire/wildland fire, chainsaw use, and hand tool use. In FY 19, 18 deployments are covered under this agreement.

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