2002

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument and Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain Youth Corps Program Helps Colorado Parks To Achieve Fuels Reduction Targets

National Park Service fire managers teamed up with the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps (RMYC) to help reduce wildfire danger at both Rocky Mountain National Park and Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. The crew worked for 3-1/2 months this summer, completing fuel reduction projects in the wildland urban interface along park boundaries.

Exclusion of fire for the past century has resulted in unnatural forest conditions in some areas of the parks, with significant accumulations of forest fuels and an increased risk of wildfire. The crews cut and piled the excess vegetation to dry for burning at a later date. These projects will help fire managers to restore the natural role of fire to the ecosystem.

The Rocky Mountain Youth Corps is a private non-profit organization based out of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The RMYC mission is to link community, education and environment through service. The program provides young adults with services to help them develop job skills, work ethic, environmental awareness and healthy lifestyles. 70% of the program funding is obtained from the fee for service projects and the remainder from various grants. Corps members receive a stipend of $300 per week and may be eligible to receive AmeriCorps education awards.

Park staff facing a difficult challenge to find local contractors, were quick to seize the opportunity to forge a partnership with RMYC. Park fire crews provided chainsaw training, field experience and program oversight. Crew leaders were further instructed on project specifications and required only minimal supervision from park staff. “Once we had them headed in the right direction, they operated very independently and took great pride in completing this tedious and strenuous assignment,” said Scott Beacham, Fuels Technician and program coordinator.

This is the first year that a fuels reduction crew comprised of 18-25 year olds was fielded. The crew safety record was impressive, with only several very minor injuries reported in 12,000 work hours. During the 15-week work period, the crews assisted in treating approximately 125 acres. The 20 person crews built almost 6000 slash piles and hauled out 50 cords of wood for firewood sales. RMYC members camped out during the entire length of the project.

As with any new program, there were some unexpected start-up costs and minor glitches to overcome. Having worked these issues out, the park is planning to have the crews back to work this summer. “This is a definite win-win program,” according to park Fire Management Officer Jesse Duhnkrack. “The Youth Corps members receive some valuable job skill training and the park is able to make accelerated progress on fuel reduction treatments in the wildland urban interface. Contracting has become such an important issue in the fuels management arena and we will definitely be looking forward to partnering with this group again next year.”

For more information
Program Coordinator
Scott Beacham
ph 970-586-1348
scott_beacham@nps.gov

Additional Reading
Agee, James K. 2002. The Fallacy of Passive Management – Managing for Firesafe Forest Reserves. Conservation Biology in Practice 3(1):18-25.

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
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