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The Corps Network Sends Sign-On Letter in Support of the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act to Capitol Hill and the Administration

*Versions of this letter were sent to officials in the Obama Administration as well as staff from the Senate Agriculture Committee and the House and Senate Natural Resources Committees. 
 

November 10, 2015

To Whom It May Concern:

On behalf of The Corps Network’s Service and Conservation Corps (Corps) across the country, we write to respectfully request your support for the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act, H.R. 167 and S. 235. This important legislation will reform how wildfire suppression is funded in order to significantly minimize the harmful practice of transferring funds from critical programs to pay for wildfire suppression. The Wildfire Disaster Funding Act would fund response to the most disastrous wildfires similar to how the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds other disaster response under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. Instead of competing with funding for response to other natural disasters such as floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes, wildfire disasters would have their own relief mechanism.

The Corps Network’s 100+ Corps are diverse in mission and membership and strive to improve quality of life for our participants and in our communities. From building trails and campgrounds on our nation’s iconic public lands, to responding to natural disasters and wildfire remediation and fighting, Corps provide communities with valuable services, improve lives, and the environment. Increasing disasters such as fires, risk the lives of Corpsmembers as well as interrupt other recreation, maintenance, and economic development activities on public lands.

Wildfire seasons are getting longer and major wildfires are becoming increasingly more costly to suppress. This national problem is causing a crippling burden on the Department of the Interior and the USDA Forest Service’s land management functions as they shift resources to fund suppression activities. Federal wildfire suppression will always be fully funded by the government – even if it comes at the expense of programs that improve forest health and mitigate future wildfires. However, this current ad hoc process of funding wildfire is inefficient and ineffective in delivering on nationwide agency land management priorities set by Congress and virtually assures that overall federal outlays will increase.

We believe a solution to fire funding should: 1) allow access to disaster funding; 2) minimize impacts from transfers; and 3) address the increasing costs of suppression over time. The WDFA, (S. 235, H.R. 167) is a bipartisan proposal that addresses these three items. We encourage you to incorporate WDFA language in the FY2016 appropriations or other related legislative vehicles moving through Congress to ensure this serious budgetary issue is addressed this year.

Additionally, since the Land Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) was not reauthorized in the most recent Continuing Resolution and the fund continues to be used to pay for wildfire suppression, it is also important that take action be taken to fully fund and reauthorize LWCF. Without LWCF, access to our public lands is diminished and proactive forest management provided through LWCF’s Forest Legacy Program is reduced. We cannot afford for conservation programs like LWCF to bear the burden of wildfire suppression and fighting.

We again respectfully urge your support for Wildfire Disaster Funding Act (WDFA) language in the FY16 appropriations omnibus or passage through other must-pass legislative vehicles. The WDFA is a critical, important step to ensure the long-term sustainability of our nation’s forests and other public lands and our Corps stand ready to continue helping manage and improve our nation’s important natural resources and great outdoors.

Sincerely,

Mary Ellen Sprenkel
CEO

Co-signed:
The Member Corps of The Corps Network
 

The Corps Network Joins Green For All for “Forum on Climate Change, Clean Energy, and Communities of Color”

Van Jones moderates a panel of expert speakers at Green For All’s Forum on Climate Change, Clean Energy, and Communities of Color.

Yesterday several members of The Corps Network’s staff were honored to join Green For All at an event that focused on the opportunities presented to communities by President Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency’s finalized Clean Power Plan.

Speakers included:

  • Julian Mocine McQueen, Green For All Outreach Director
  • Vien Truong, Green For All National Director
  • Kim Noble, Green For All Director of National Partnerships
  • Van Jones, Green For All President and Founder
  • The Honorable Raul Grijalva (AZ), U.S House of Representatives
  • Elianne Ramos, Principal and CEO of Speak Hispanic Communications
  • Key Chatterjee, Executive Director, US Climate Action Network
  • The Honorable Keith Ellison (MN), U.S. House of Representatives
  • Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III, Senior Pastor, Trinity United Church of Christ

In her opening remarks, Vien Truong put a big emphasis on her desire to tell the uplifting stories of those people who have not traditionally benefitted from the economics of the energy industry and who probably have been negatively impacted by pollution. She said that there were already many positive examples, from places like California, where new programs were helping communities benefit from clean energy economically as well as environmentally.

In his keynote, Van Jones then spent a few minutes detailing the challenge that President Obama has faced in reducing carbon emissions. He then introduced a panel he moderated by asking “How do you take the new rules [of the Clean Power Plan] and push down on the pollution and up on jobs? That’s what we are going to hear about today.”

Van did not shy away from bringing some less savory thoughts and comments out into the open, and began the panel by asking Elianne Ramos, CEO of Speak Hispanic Communications, to respond to the idea “that a lot of people pretend that Latinos don’t care about the issue [environmentalism].” Elianne responded that this perception was false and that connections with nature were strong within Latino cultures. For instance, she mentioned that recycling and reusing materials was a well-established part of Latino culture.

Keya Chatterjee, Executive Director of the US Climate Action Network, spoke about the importance of giving people the opportunity to come together and find common ground. She mentioned that the recent climate march in New York City was attended by a variety of immigration and AIDS advocacy groups, whose chief cause might not have been climate change, but nonetheless it was something that they supported.

U.S. Congressman Keith Ellison (MN) emphasized that in regard to positive developments in the clean energy sector, “people who profit from the status quo are going to push back.” He said, however, to not be deterred, and to “not treat the clean power plan as a Washington thing.”

Van Jones asked U.S. Congressman Raul Grijalva to speak about a bill he recently introduced that would boost clean energy on tribal lands. The Congressman responded by explaining that “having clean power as an economic tool could be powerful.” He mentioned that the excess energy produced by tribes could be sold outside of reservations, providing a new economic resource for tribes. He also noted that tribes own lands that count toward more than 25% of the United States’ renewable energy capacity.

The conversation then took a turn and focused on how to build a stronger grassroots movement. Elainne Ramos spoke about the need to establish leadership pipelines that would provide young people with more opportunities to be involved and receive mentorship from current environmental leaders. This is the type of work, of course, that members of The Corps Network excel at doing. 

One of the other big topics discussed by the panel and also later in a keynote address by Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III, were how to blend together the goals of religious groups and envionmentalism. Rev. Moss III highlighted how as part of Green For All’s “Green the Church” initiative, his church had implemented a variety of environmental practices, including an organic farm. He noted that organic farming in particular, was a fantastic hands-on opportunity to incorporate STEM-focused learning for participants. He also talked about how his church was involving returning citizens from prison in projects, including the renovation of the church into a LEED-certified building.

In his concluding remarks, Congressman Grijalva implored for the audience to reach new people and broaden the movement and “keep it personal, and talk about the future.” He added: “Climate change is the most important unifying issue we have as a country and a globe… Barack’s got a nice wingman right now with Pope Francis on the issue.”

The Corps Network looks forward to continuing to work with Green For All to broaden the environmental movement to communities of color. We will also continue to work with our members to implement the Clean Power Plan and activities that combat climate change.

California Conservation Corps Corpsmembers Continue Fire Response

From the California Conservation Corps

This week the California Conservation Corps has more than 600 corpsmembers — 47 crews — out on eight different wildfires, including the devastating Valley Fire in Lake County.

Crews are involved in fire suppression and fire camp support for Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service. There are also two crews helping displaced residents at a Red Cross shelter.

Photos: Camarillo fire crews on the Rough Fire in Fresno County

The Corps Network Joins SCA to Celebrate 99th Birthday of National Park Service

National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis and SCA President and CEO Jaime Maytas prepare to blow out the birthday candles.

Who doesn’t enjoy celebrating a birthday? Take pity on those who can’t or don’t enjoy sinking their teeth into a delicious piece of cake.

Fortunately for The Corps Network’s staff, on Tuesday we were invited to join the Student Conservation Association and the National Park Service for a “Servabration” at the Washington Memorial in honor of the National Park Service’s 99th Birthday. Speakers included SCA President and CEO Jaime Maytas, National Mall and Memorial Parks Superintendent Karen Cucurullo, National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis, and SCA Alum Ayomide Sekiteri. There were also a few small opportunities for fun, including a trivia contest and a small service project to assemble seed bombs.

SCA Alum and Volunteer Centennial Ambassador Ayomide Sekiteri with Mary Ellen Sprenkel, CEO of The Corps Network.

You can see more photos of The Corps Network staff and the event here.

Celebrations of the birthday of the National Park Service took place nationwide and online. The National Park Foundation published a list of 99 Ways to Find Your Park. For comedic pleasure, a Mother Jones story that made the rounds online titled, “I Can’t Stop Reading One-Star Yelp Reviews of National Parks.” Clearly those people didn’t watch Acadia Gettin’ Funky. The National Parks Conservation Association shared a nice new video [watch below].

 

We look forward to continuing to celebrate the National Park Service’s 99th birthday and especially its upcoming Centennial! We know that The Corps Network and our members have played, and will continue to play, a large role in the stewardship of our national park system. We look forward to telling these stories over the coming years.

Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council Proposes an $8 Million Gulf Coast Conservation Corps Program

A Climb CDC Corpsmember and Texas Conservation Corps Crewleader work together on a pilot project as part of The Corps Network’s Gulf Coast Restoration Initiative. Photo Credit: The Nature Conservancy

Last week the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration (RESTORE) Council released its Draft Initial Funded Priorities List. Using funds obtained from settlements following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Restore Council now aims to solicit public feedback on $139.6 million of proposed projects by September 28th. In addition to the opportunity to provide written feedback, several public meetings have been scheduled in Gulf Coast states. 

Among the proposed projects is a Gulf Coast Conservation Corps program. The $8 million program would be administered by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) with support from the U.S. Department of Interior, as well as the state governments of Gulf Coast states. In addition to training local youth and veterans, a major emphasis would be placed on the engagement and recruitment of tribal youth. The Restore Council states that “The initial recruitment target is to employ approximately 25 crewmembers per State, per year, with a total of approximately 375 crewmembers working a total of 750,000 hours.”

Ecologically the program would aim to restore at least 500 acres of coastal habitat, as well as assist with the completion of other priority projects, including some of those that are part of the Draft Initial Funded Priorities List. Rather than establishing a new federal Corps program, NOAA, DOI, and the states would partner with pre-existing regional and local Corps programs who could help coordinate the implementation of the program.

The Corps Network’s CEO Mary Ellen Sprenkel released the following statement on the proposed Gulf Coast Conservation Corps project:

“The RESTORE Council’s commitment to restoring the Gulf Coast is not only a victory for the ecosystems, wildlife, and the Gulf of Mexico— it’s a victory for people. Thanks to the support of the Walton Family Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, and many partners in the Gulf Region over the past year and a half, we have demonstrated through several pilot projects that young people have the will and desire to be involved in this critical work. By recruiting local young people and veterans to these new, high-impact demonstration projects, a growing tide of people throughout the Gulf Region will see how empowering youth to learn how to restore their region’s lands and waters pays off for local economies and communities, as well as for the Corpsmembers themselves.” 

The Corps Network has been working with a number of its members and partners in the Gulf Coast Region to demonstrate the role Conservation Corps can play in coastal restoration and in the development of a locally available conservation workforce. A number of pilot projects are ongoing as part of our Gulf Coast Restoration Initiative. 

YCC Responds to Tornado


 

On the night of Sunday, August 2nd, an EF1 tornado with wind speeds up to 100 miles per hour touched down in Lake County, IL. The storm created a path of destruction over seven miles long, prompting Youth Conservation Corps (YCC), based in Waukegan, IL, to adjust their programming schedule to offer disaster response assistance.

YCC YouthBuild members have spent the better part of this week clearing debris. Their first stop was the home of an elderly woman whose house and driveway were buried in downed trees. The crew was able to clean the property and free her car. They next offered assistance at the home of a person with disabilities. So far, the crew has touched nine homes.

“It just so happens that this is my community and these are my neighbors,” said Ben Richards, YCC Program Director. “It brought a lot together for me. I was uplifted personally by what YCC AmeriCorps can and did do.”

Financial Literacy Training for Corpsmembers Through DOI Federal Credit Union


Mario Mejia (Center) of DOI Federal Credit Union at Green City Force 

Did you know that the Department of the Interior Federal Credit Union (DOIFCU) offers a free, comprehensive financial literacy training designed for Corpsmembers?

Through both The Corps Cooperative and The Corps Network, staff and Corpsmembers from member organizations of The Corps Network, as well as their immediate family members, have the option to bank with DOIFCU. Part of the Credit Union’s mission is to not only offer the resources to manage your money, but to help people understand money management practices, too.

“My main goal is to link knowledge to the resources,” said Mario Mejia, The Corps Network’s account manager for DOIFCU and the lead organizer of the financial literacy training program. “Everyone has financial needs, but everyone isn’t eligible to access resources.  Partnerships like this open the doors to meet financial needs through competitive resources in a low to no fee structure, that’s step one. Step two is simply providing the literacy so that each member is equipped with the knowledge to maximize the resources. I see it as, you can have a car and keys, yet learning how to drive is the game changer.

Mario recently visited New York City to conduct a training with Corpsmembers from Green City Force. The topics covered included Credit Unions v. Banks; Money Management Benefits; Steps to Improve your Financial Management; Budgeting; Practical Money-Saving Tips; Banking 101; Credit 101; and Money Management Tools. The training involves an informational presentation as well as activities that prompt Corpsmembers to make financial goals, consider their current expenses, and develop an action plan for how to meet their goals.  


Mario Mejia (Center) of DOI Federal Credit Union at Green City Force 
 

“This training is specific to Corps, with a focus on youth and young adults from every stage of life,” said Mario. “…I’ve found that over the span of years from adolescence to young adulthood can have its advantages or disadvantages.  During that time frame, several life changes can take place that the average person isn’t prepared for, and can have a lasting effect on your finances.  This can range from situations such as first time homebuyer, birth of a child/children, a loss of a loved one, college expenses, first time saving/checking accounts, etc.  This is where access to financial resources and literacy has its greatest effect.  We realize every situation may be different, but good money habits coupled with access to services and financial coaches is the best way to direct through life’s changes.  Sadly, it doesn’t take much to end up in an upward climb to get back on track.  Often times your credit can be damaged even before you’re 18, which a good amount of youth encounter from misusage due to family members or lack of information.  Even if it’s not the topic of credit I regularly receive questions like: how do I get started, how do I get ahead, or how do I fix that…?”

Though Mario hosted the training for Green City Force, the presentation and activities have accompanying notes, allowing Corps staff the flexibility to lead the training themselves. Mario is currently working with a Corps to develop a way to do the training via video conference so Corps staff will be better equipped to present and answer Corpsmember questions in future trainings. Additionally, though the training at Green City Force offered a general overview of financial management, Mario is happy to customize the training around particular topics a Corps may want to cover.

“To me, the Green City Force training was extremely successful,” said Mario. “I considered the success rate based on their questions from the beginning, and how much their questions advanced by the end.  I watched as they began to connect the dots, internalizing the information and making it relevant to their own lives.  I heard the side conversation and as a presenter I watched the principles germinate throughout the room. That said I knew they were getting it…People walked away and I felt like they were encouraged and equipped with credit union sheltered services, a plan, and knowledge to make S.M.A.R.T decisions with their financial lives.  The resources were going to be a lot more successful because something clicked. They said I can do this and I feel comfortable doing this.”

Mario is currently in conversations with several Corps about the training and is excited to talk with any other Corps that are interested. In the future, Mario hopes to provide the training as a day-long seminar or as 2-hour-long segments for each topic that the Corps wants to cover. All seminars are customized to fit your needs.  At the end of the training, Corpsmembers receive a certificate in recognition of their achievements and commitment to better their lives with sound money management habits.

Interested Corps can contact Mario by email, phone (703-801-5713), or through the Special Offers page of The Corps Network website’s Members Only section.

***This is a free service provided to all Members, Affiliates and AmeriCorps Basic Members of The Corps Network.

How Northwest Youth Corps’ American Sign Language Crews Overcome the Communication Barrier

Northwest Youth Corps (NYC) has developed a program dedicated to recruiting Deaf and Hard of hearing youth, and deploying them as American Sign Language (ASL) Inclusion crews. This fits into the Corps’ mission. Since 1984, the Corps has strived to provide opportunities for youth and young adults to learn, grow, and experience success. They focus on giving youth chances to experience education, challenges, community service, and develop critical life and leadership skills. NYC enrolls over 1000 young people each year.

Emma Bixler was crucial to making the American Sign Language program a reality. She is the Inclusion Coordinator of the program. She stays with the crew for most of the summer program not only as the coordinator but as the interpreter as well. She helped bring the program to life, after working on similar inclusive crews at Conservation Corps Minnesota and Iowa.

The ASL crews consist of ten young people between the ages of 16 and 19, whom are Deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing. They are accompanied by two Crew Leaders, who are fluent in ASL. The ASL crews work throughout the state of Oregon and in Northern California to maintain and construct hiking trails, restore habitat for native plants and animals, and complete many other environmental conservation projects.

As part of the experience, Corpsmembers who can hear learn American Sign Language and other lessons throughout their term of service so that they can better communicate with their peers.

“We give them flash cards and some lessons to go over, so they can learn basic signs to communicate with the Deaf youth… The growth that occurs with communication over the next five weeks is very impressive… To see that growth is really exciting.” says Gruening.

Gruening says that after an initial period of acclimation, the ASL Inclusion crews have a similar experience to other crews.

“They have the same amount of challenges any other crew would have: they are all out of their comfort zones, not being able to sleep in their beds, no showers, not being able to go on their cell phones.”

Each of the crews in the summer program get to meet during the weekends. The first couple of weeks are a little shaky but through fun activities and bonding experiences, the crews get better every day at communicating to the point where they don’t require an interpreter.

The ASL Inclusion Crew program at Northwest Youth Corps is about so much more than land conservation and leadership development. It’s about uniting Deaf youth and hearing youth so that they have a common experience.

Gruening remarks that “I wish people could see what I see, when I see all the youth the first week off in their own little corner like really shy and quiet, you know? Not really wanting to engage with everyone. Then by the end of the five weeks they are this huge group that have learned to overcome the communication barrier. While also just learning to have fun and work with each other, even though it might be difficult.”

You can watch a video demonstration advertising the ASL InclusionCrew program below:

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Mary Ellen’s Blog: Outdoors for All

 

Originally published on the Huffington Post 

On September 30th, just 61 days from now, one of the most important funding streams supporting the conservation of our public lands and waters is set to expire.

Created by an Act of Congress in 1965, the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) is critical to the maintenance of our parks and the protection of outdoor recreation access. LWCF has provided funds to nearly every state and every county in the country for the creation of parks, the protection of natural treasures and the expansion of outdoor recreational opportunities. There’s a good chance that your local playground, public park, or community ice rink benefited from LWCF.

Congress established the LWCF as a way to do something positive for the environment with revenue from oil and gas drilling. The idea was to protect natural places for all Americans as a counterbalance to the depletion of natural resources. Now, unless Congress reauthorizes the fund, our public lands and waters are at risk of falling even further into disrepair. Every year, oil and gas companies pay $900 million dollars to the federal government, but most of this money does not go towards conservation. Since 1987, the average annual appropriation for the LWCF has been only $40 million.

Protecting public lands is at the heart of the Corps movement. The Civilian Conservation Corps, the predecessor to today’s Corps, was created during the Great Depression as a way to put millions of young men to work constructing new parks, planting billions of trees, and restoring our existing public lands infrastructure. Modern Corps continue this legacy; on any given day, you can see Corps hard at work building trails and restoring habitats in our national, state and local parks. The work for many LWCF-supported public lands maintenance and improvement projects has been carried out by Corpsmembers. If LWCF is allowed to expire, Corps could suffer from decreased project funding, but, more importantly, we all could suffer from reduced outdoor recreation access.

The great outdoors should be available to all, but many Americans, especially those living in urban areas, need parks and recreational facilities in order to get outside. Even people who are surrounded by nature in more rural communities benefit from well-maintained trails and waterways free of pollutants and invasive species. Access to the outdoors should be a right, not a privilege. But we need funding – like the LWCF – and dedicated individuals – like those involved in the Corps movement – to protect this right by maintaining our public lands and waters.

This summer, The Corps Network introduced Eli the Elk. Similar to how Smokey Bear speaks about the dangers of forest fires, and Woodsy Owl reminds people to “Lend a hand – care for the land,” Eli is traveling around the country as a paper cutout to highlight the importance of America’s treasured public lands, and the federal funding that supports conservation, through his slogan “Conserve today for access tomorrow!” If you agree with Eli’s message, follow him on Twitter to show your support. The week of July 27th – 31st is Eli’s first social media campaign; be sure to get online and use the hashtags #EliElk and #outdoors4all to help him spread his important message to as many people as possible. If you plan to be outside soon, print out a copy of Eli and take him with you. Snap a picture with him and share it on Twitter @ElitheElk. Every new person engaged in the campaign helps. You can also help protect the outdoors by signing the Land and Water Conservation Fund’s petition to Congress to reauthorize the LWCF.

This is a very important time for public lands conservation. We need to take action now.