Project Titles:

• Employ YCC Enrollees at 6 Rural Field Stations (FFS #R2NA)
• Employ YCC Enrollees at 6 Urban Field Stations (FFS #R2ND)
• Employ 9 SCA Interns (FFS #R2NE)
• Employ 20 Temporary Hires (FFS #R2NF)

State: Regionwide

Project Description: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is using funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to support youth employment through the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) program, the Student Conservation Association (SCA), the Student Temporary Employment Program (STEP), and the Student Career Experience Program (SCEP).

Youth Conservation Corps

YCC is an eight-week summer employment program for youth ages 15 through 18 administered by the Department of the Interior and other federal agencies including the Service. The purpose of the YCC program is to provide meaningful employment for youth of all social and ethnic backgrounds, and provide the young employees an opportunity to perform public lands conservation work and learn about the natural environment.

The youth completed a wide variety of projects and duties under the supervision of refuge staff. In turn, refuge staff members provided YCC employees valuable training sessions in outdoor, water and fire safety skills, CPR and Environmental First Aid, and “leave no trace” environmental practices.
  
Employ YCC Enrollees at 6 Rural Field Stations

Six U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) in Arizona, Oklahoma and Texas employed approximately 24 Youth Conservation Corps students with Recovery Act funds to work on exciting, vital projects essential to the daily function and overall mission of the refuges.

YCC employees performed duties at Arizona refuges including Cabeza Prieta, Cibola, Imperial and Kofa; Buffalo Lake NWR in Texas; and Oklahoma’s Salt Plains NWR.

Under refuge staff supervision, YCC enrollees completed construction projects, which included building a new trail, bridge, and a duck blind; laying concrete pads; repairing a damaged historic cabin; restoring and building fences; painting a prairie dog observation blind; maintaining antelope pens; and crafting bat and bird houses.

Ecological projects included assisting in reptile and amphibian sampling, trapping lizards for study, creating habitat for endangered fish, repairing irrigation lines, and removing invasive plants and debris.

Employ YCC Enrollees at 6 Urban Field Stations

Several U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) in Arizona and Texas employed Youth Conservation Corps students with Recovery Act funds to work on construction and ecological projects essential to the daily function and overall mission of the refuges.

YCC employees performed duties at Texas refuges including Santa Ana NWR and South Texas Refuges Complex and Arizona refuges including Cabeza Prieta.

YCC students in Texas helped with wetland animal rescue activities, built a bird blind for youth, created a butterfly garden using native species, removed brush around levy systems, removed invasive species, collected native species for river reforestation, put up boundary signs and conducted fence repair.

Projects in Arizona included maintaining a Sonoran Pronghorn antelope pen, creating habitat for endangered fish, developing irrigation plots for a bird demonstration area, camp ground renovation, road clearing, fence repair and maintenance, and landscaping.

Photos:

YCC employees assist in the restoration of a working irrigation system at Imperial NWR in Arizona.

A YCC crew from Kofa and Imperial NWRs helps eliminate trash along five miles of highway in Arizona.

Student Conservation Association

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service used Recovery Acts funds to hire nine Student Conservation Association interns to work on a variety of projects at National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) in Arizona, Oklahoma, and Texas.

The Student Conservation Association is a national non-profit conservation corps that works to build the next generation of conservation leaders by connecting college and high school students with temporary employment opportunities dealing with the natural environment.

The Service is a resource management partner with the SCA. The interns participate in hands-on duties with Service resource management professionals to gain new skills and experience that can be used toward a future career in conservation and stewardship.

SCA employees performed duties at four refuges including Trinity River NWR and Attwater Prairie Chicken NWR in Texas; Bill Williams River NWR in Arizona; and Sequoyah NWR in Oklahoma.

The interns assisted with assorted projects as needed, including ecological and species monitoring and study, research, conservation, native species restoration, water monitoring, and invasive species removal.

Podcast: SCA Intern Experience at Bill Williams River NWR
Play the podcast below to learn about the hands-on experience and knowledge intern Nicki Devanny of Ohio gained working as a Student Conservation Association (SCA) intern at Bill Williams River NWR in Arizona.

Read the transcript for this podcast!

Photos:

Student Temporary Employment and Student Career Experience Programs

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service used Recovery Acts funds to hire Student Temporary Employment Program (STEP) and Student Career Experience Program (SCEP) interns to work on a variety of projects at Southwest Region national wildlife refuges in New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Both employment programs are part of a government student employment program. In STEP, students can seek temporary federal employment opportunities regardless of academic study area or career goals. SCEP provides temporary work experience directly related to a student’s academic study and desired career.

Funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has helped the Southwest Region offer employment and on-the-job training to college students interested in field biology work in the Region. The Recovery Act also supported national wildlife refuges throughout the Region in employing students and other temporary hires to complete projects that would otherwise have been delayed due to a lack of funding or available staff.

STEP and SCEP employees performed duties at refuges including Bitter Lake, San Andres and Bosque del Apache in New Mexico; Deep Fork, Sequoyah and Wichita Mountains in Oklahoma; and Hagerman, South Texas Lower Rio Grande Valley, South Texas Santa Ana, Texas Mid-Coast San Bernard and Texas Mid-Coast Headquarters in Texas.

Originally posted 08/19/2010
Updated 08/24/2010
Updated 08/27/2010
Updated 08/30/2010
Updated 10/19/2010
Updated 11/02/2010
Updated 01/17/2011
Updated 02/02/2011
Page Completed 03/02/2011