Updates & Stories

Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa is the largest AmeriCorps program in the state of Minnesota and the only one with corps members trained and equipped for immediate disaster response.Our corps members represent roughly 1/4 of the state wildfire response team. The Corps is involved in suppression of roughly 40 wildfires statewide annually, totaling roughly 13,000 hours of assistance. In addition, the Corps is able to provide the largest, fully-equipped and trained chainsaw response team in the State of Minnesota. Read More

“The Land of 10,000 Lakes” they say.  The 800,000 registered boats in the state only need an average capacity of 6.75 persons to take the entire population of Minnesota for a boat ride this weekend.  And with the actual number of lakes at 11,842 there should be plenty of room.  Wow, the feasibility of this plan is pretty amazing. Just be sure to clean any plants off your boat and check for zebra mussels before you leave the boat landing! Read More

Alright, not quite sailed. Drove for hours with many stops for restrooms and refreshments would be more accurate, but sailing is both more romantic and more true to our general spirit of adventure.  There were marvelous sea…er, lake…monsters, and long vistas of unending waves stretching to the horizon. But most especially, there were storms. Storms that poured upon the seas and shook our wayward crew on our beautiful voyage in the Dakotas. Read More

During a two-part cleanup effort at the St. Croix Boom Site near Stillwater, more than 90 volunteers helped beautify five areas of public access and historical significance along the St. Croix River.  Read More

Though June rains were big news all over Minnesota, the effects of 2012 rainstorms are still making headlines in the northeast area. This spring and early summer at Jay Cooke State Park, Conservation Corps young adult and youth crews worked together to help clear a two-year-old logjam from one of the park’s most popular and scenic areas along the St. Louis River. Read More

At left, Tony Ambrose, who has volunteered at the cleanup for five years as a U.S. Bank employee, picked up trash. Read More

Conservation Corps crew and staff members worked with volunteers to clean up the Big Sioux River during Project AWARE. For… Read More

Raymond Staffa, who is serving as a summer EcoRanger through Conservation Corps, took photos of macroinvertebrates at Trout Brook Nature Sanctuary. Read More

Last summer, a Corps field crew renovated a historic icehouse on Lake Superior, on what was once an island vacation getaway for a renowned architect… Read More

After 11 years on the Conservation Corps staff, Lisa Cassioppi is off to new adventures – leading canoe trips with Wilderness Inquiry and conducting Gypsy Moth surveys… Read More