Updates & Stories

Yesterday afternoon, while spraying buckthorn behind our local Department of Natural Resources office, the Ottertail Crew took a short break to watch a juvenile bald eagle harangue a cluster of frightened mallards. No luck; it's still figuring this out, it seems. We can appreciate that.This is our last workweek together as a crew. Spraying invasives is frustrating and sometimes demoralizing work, but this week the crew is pleasant and contemplative. We discuss families and vacations, job interviews and tickets home. It's just that time of year. There's a lot of words for the emotions that come with leaving a program like this, but suffice it to say we've enjoyed our time together and will miss one another when we leave. Read More

Wow! We are overwhelmed and grateful for you generous support of the Corps on Give To The Max Day! We exceeded our goal and secured the match, raising $6,300 to support life-changing experience for young people and our natural resources. Read More

More than 10 years ago, Minnesota Conservation Corps crews built the only disability-accessible fishing pier currently in use in northern Minnesota, on a beautiful trout stream near Bemidji. In late October, the Northwoods crew rebuilt three of the pier’s four fishing platforms on the banks of the Clearwater River.  Read More

In mid-October, Field Coordinator Derick Schneibel and five crew members from Iowa headed to Detroit to help communities recover from an August 11 storm that dumped more than 4.5 inches of rain on the city, the most on a single day in 89 years. Read More

In mid-October, Field Coordinator Derick Schneibel and five crew members from Iowa headed to Detroit to help communities recover from an August 11 storm that dumped more than 4.5 inches of rain on the city, the most on a single day in 89 years. The storm flooded streets and caused heavy damage to more than 118,000 homes and businesses. Schneibel and cre­­w members partnered with Nechama, All Hands, NCCC and other AmeriCorps Disaster Response Teams from Montana, Arizona and Texas on the efforts, which included assessing damage to homes, scheduling work and digging in to muck and gut the ruins. The three-week deployment was a powerful experience for both crew members and the people they served. Read More

We worked for a week at a site in Baudette, Minn. on a household property whose owner in the 1960s dumped trash into their yard, which sloped gradually downward into a lake. Random objects buried in shards of broken glass and rusty scraps of tin told of its age: blue and green mason jars, soft plastic doll limbs, simple fishing reels, shattered bakelite kitchenware. Where the land curved down into the lake, the trash was more deeply layered. Each shovel full of broken glass and metal revealed another layer underneath. I joked with a co-worker about discovering a new kind of geological stratum. We found more recent trash scattered about the property as well: bits of foam board insulation, plastic wrapping, beer and pop cans. Read More

It’s the little things that you remember about a job most clearly. I think years from now I might not remember what project I was working on or where, but I will remember the seemingly small, yet hilarious events that got me through the days. I’ll remember the savory bite from a freshly made hamburger followed by a slip and then a Dwyane Wade style slam dunk into the fire pit. I’ll remember a lottery bear tag accidentally expiring and the subsequent wrath of a Paul Bunyan mode crew leader when the realization set in that the bear rug would have to wait another year. You may find, that in your work, you won’t recall the rock you had to detach from the mantle of the Earth or the tree that got hung up so bad that it’s probably still out there... but instead the quirks of the people you interact with on a daily basis and the laughs you’ve had in between. Read More

While common and glossy buckthorn both are significant sources of our troubles in wooded areas, they are not the only players out there. Exotic honeysuckle species, Oriental bittersweet, autumn olive, and even some tree species are out there wreaking havoc on our wooded areas by out-competing native tree and shrub species. Years ago when experts realized what was happening and put a stop to transporting and selling buckthorn, for example, one of their first questions was probably “where do we begin?” The next question was probably “how?” Even though today’s eradication methods have come a long way from where they were, they’re still not perfect.  At least we know what we can do, learn how we can improve, or just find out what doesn’t work. Read More

On a sunny Saturday morning in October, four Youth Outdoors crews led about 15 community volunteers in planting dozens of varieties of native species at Como Regional Park. More than 400 plants, purchased with a grant from the Saint Paul Garden Club, were installed around the Kilmer Memorial Fireplace, near signs and along trails and split rail fence at the Como Woodland Outdoor Classroom. Read More

Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa young adult crews recently completed work on rebuilding aging staircases at Hagge Park in Sac County in Iowa. During four weeks in September, three crews tore out 40-year-old steps and replaced them with 350 new box steps on four staircases.  Read More