Updates & Stories

The NPS roving crew had the opportunity to work with the Midwest Archeological Center again this month, using ground-penetrating radar to search for human remains in an old cemetery at Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield near Republic, Missouri. The Edgar family used this cemetery to bury their loved ones back in the early 1800s, before the Civil War battle at Wilson’s Creek in August of 1861, and the National Park Service has been eagerly waiting to locate the bodies within the cemetery in case they someday need to reinter the remains. Read More

Ah, vacation. Such a beautiful word. Conservation Corps gave us 10 days off over the Fourth of July holiday this year, and since we just can't get enough of each other, my co-workers and I decided to go on a road trip together. Read More

Take a moment to picture a scene... it's a sprawling prairie, part of the Midwestern landscape as it was a long time ago. Tall native grasses sing that song of swishing blades in the wind. In the distance, perhaps there are bison. Now imagine the people who would live there, and imagine yourself as one of them. Most likely you would see a homesteader, a man or woman who came to start anew in such a place.  Read More

During my time with Conservation Corps we have worked entirely with plants. We’ve cut buckthorn and cleared firebreaks, planted natives and picked weeds. It’s been great learning to identify things we haven’t seen or heard of before but one thing we have all been missing is wildlife. That said, we have recently had the opportunity to rescue some animals!  Read More

No tree is sacred. These were the instructions national game refuge staff gave my crew during a ten-day work stint in eastern North Dakota. Staring up into the branches of an enormous cottonwood, that claim reverberated dubiously between my ears. After carrying my chainsaw and a backpack full of fuel and oil a half-mile under the hot Dakota sun, the shade of the cottonwood grove engulfed me like a cool towel.  Read More

A week for the water trails crew is quite a bit different than the other crews located in the Central District. Learn more in Melissa Gearman's photo blog post. Read More

Deployed in Texas working on flood relief was hectic. I didn’t realize that it was all just smoke preparing to become fire. “It’s time to say your last words to Louis, the doctors say he won’t make it through the night,” I heard from my close friends. My best friend and brother had been hit by a car. He was in critical condition in my hometown of Benicia, California.  Read More

The NPS roving crew has been busy controlling invasive woody plants in the prairies at George Washington Carver National Monument and Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield this past month. The amount of invasive species in the prairies is overwhelming and at times feels like a lost cause, but past GIS data shows great progress. By fighting back invasive species, we begin to see more native species returning to the prairie, such as the nodding ladies’ tresses (Spiranthes cernua). Read More

“It’s a horrible monster!” Pete yelled as the rest of our crew (YO2) and YO3 quickly gathered around him.“What is it, Pete?” I asked.“It’s a horrible monster,” he said again, pointing to a glove lying on the path.I looked down at the glove and didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary at first, but as I bent down for a closer look I saw a giant spider scurrying across the mulch-covered pavement.  Read More

As an avid hiker and one new to living in the city, I always find paved trails a little boring. A miniature road with rules, boundaries, restrictions and likely social encounters… I’d rather pass. My type of hike is over soil, rocks and streams; discovering places few people have been before. As a conservationist, this leaves me conflicted. I know the importance of staying on the path to keep critical species alive and invasive species out, but I want to see what lies just over the next hill, around the next turn! Read More