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In
2002, the 1,279-acre El Morro National Monument, located
in west central New Mexico, received special project
funding to complete a 50-acre Wildland Urban Interface
(WUI) project. The project involved thinning pinyon
and juniper stands and removing heavy dead-and-down
fuel to reduce the likelihood of wildland fires crossing
into or out of the monument. Cut fuels were scattered
outside of the treatment boundary and will be allowed
to decay, while the larger fuel, which could be used
for home heating, was placed in an area for access by
local residents.
In the spring of 2002, the monument applied for a Public Land Corps grant of $18,000.00 to fund the Southwest Youth Corps (SYC) to perform all or part of the work. The Southwest Youth Corps, a non-profit organization based in Durango, Colorado, is modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930’s. The goal of SYC programs is to engage young men and women, ages 16-25, as resources in the stewardship of public land throughout the Four Corners area while introducing them to careers in public land management, furthering their education and developing pertinent life skills.
Since its founding in 1998, SYC has continued to develop special programs and partnerships. In 2001, they launched a pilot program called the Fire and Fuel Reduction (FFR) crew. The purpose of the program is to hire and train young individuals in the techniques of pre-fire site preparation and fire fighting. The lead role of the crew is in Hazard Fuel Reduction. Towards that end, the crew went through two weeklong classes. The first was “Wildland Power Saws” which taught the crew to appreciate and safely operate chainsaws. The second class S-130/190, or “Basic Wildland Firefighter”, was dedicated to teaching the crew about fire behavior and techniques for containing wildfires. These classes were accompanied by certain certification tests, which rewarded each crewmember with a Red Card (fireline certification) and a Green Card (chainsaw certification).
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