Last updated: October 20, 2026
Article
Youth & Young Adult Conservation Crew at Minidoka National Historic Site
Photo Courtesy of American Conservation Experience.
Meet Hunter, an American Conservation Experience (ACE) Conservation Crew Lead, who served at Minidoka National Historic Site this spring. Hunter and his crew, made up of youth and young adults joined preservationists from the National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Training Center (HPTC) to help stabilize a construction site for rehabilitation efforts at Minidoka National Historic Site.
Minidoka National Historic Site is the site of a former Japanese concentration camp during World War II, preserved through structures like the Root Cellar, Mess Hall, and Barracks. With the three structures being built in the early 1940’s, these historic resources had become significantly deteriorated and structurally unstable over time.
This project is part of the National Park Service & HPTC’s efforts to engage the next generation of public service workers in traditional trades while addressing critical facility and maintenance needs at parks, funded through the Great American Outdoors Act’s (GAOA) Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF).
Photo Courtesy of American Conservation Experience.
Running with the Opportunity
Hunter has always been passionate about conservation and the outdoors. Growing up in Florida, Hunter boated and fished, even taking matters into his own hands to pick up litter in nature and urge his parents to recycle. In high school, Hunter became inspired by his environmental science teacher, who he credits with putting him on his current career path in conservation.
Graduating college with a degree in Environmental Science, Hunter worked in customer service for two years before finding an AmeriCorps position with ACE doing hands-on environmental conservation. There, he travelled around the Pacific-West region with a crew of six ACE members, tasked with facilities maintenance, habitat restoration, trail construction, and other projects that are vital to keeping parks and nature open and accessible to visitors. With that experience, Hunter was able to secure his first term as a Conservation Crew team lead before moving into a more permanent team lead position with ACE.
Photo Courtesy of American Conservation Experience
Contributing to 250 Years of History
With the direction of HPTC preservationists, Hunter spent six weeks leading his crew, working hard to clear Minidoka’s historic structures from almost 50 years of dirt, tumbleweeds, and even live snakes living within the structures. On the outskirts of the structures, the ACE crew completed fence work surrounding the construction site and installed a new pathway to reroute visitors and give a safe, alternative viewing of the historic structures and rehabilitation project during construction. Hunter considered himself and his crew “the mini hands” for the large-scale project at the historic site, though their contributions far exceeded expectations. He discussed how this project really opened his eyes up to the world of historic preservation.
“I definitely learned a lot about the world of historic preservation and what goes into it. The work itself was enjoyable, and I had never worked on such a proper construction site like that before. It was cool to pick the brains of all the workers on-site and get a feel for these processes while actively helping to preserve the history behind the park.”
Hunter’s crew was able to work hand-in-hand with the park’s archaeologist while preparing the site. They found artifacts like glass bottles, vegetables, and playing marbles in the Root Cellar. When it came to more detailed tasks like this, HPTC preservationist, Curtis Ward, described the crew as “easy to trust.” Curtis went onto describe how Hunter, as a crew lead, was able to re-distribute tasks to his team diligently, which really eased processes for the initial stabilization of the three historic structures at Minidoka National Historic Site.
Hunter was pleased that he was able to help preserve the history of Minidoka. Since some of the crew he had worked with was unaware of the history of Japanese Americans during World War II prior to the project, Hunter mentioned how he was able to witness how NPS sites preserve the sometimes lesser known, yet crucial stories of American history.