Rocky Mountain Youth Corps Partnership

Location:

New Mexico

Case Description

The Rocky Mountain Youth Corps (RMYC) was founded in 1995 to develop service projects for youth in the communities of New Mexico. The organization is located in Taos, New Mexico, and its crews, comprised of youth ages 16-25, travel to areas throughout the state to work on service projects. In 1997, the RMYC entered into a formal partnership with the Carson National Forest to contribute to restoration and maintenance projects on the forest during the summer months. These crews are supervised by Rocky Mountain Youth Corps staff under a detailed operating agreement with the Forest Service that contains regular reporting structures between the two partners.

 

Benjamin Romero, Forest Service Public Affairs Officer on the Carson National Forest, describes the partnership as “a win-win situation for both sides because the youth learn land ethics, they help us with the projects and we write that project off [our list of things that need to be done] once it has been accomplished.” The Forest Service develops projects that can be accomplished during one season such as fence maintenance, thinning, brush piling, riparian exposures, barrier construction, and other projects related to watershed restoration. In addition, the crews are educated about the forest ecosystem and land stewardship ethics.

 

This partnership was initiated by the RMYC and then immediately seized upon by the Forest Service. As Romero recalls, “we jumped on this opportunity.” In 1995, the RMYC contacted the Carson National Forest Supervisor because they were looking to form local partnerships with organizations that had possibilities for public service-oriented work. The Corps follows a model that mobilizes crews of young people to complete projects with the purpose of creating a stronger environment in the communities where they operate. The Forest Service was a natural partner because of the proximity of RMYC and the Carson National Forest in Taos, and because the agency manages a tremendous natural resource base.

 

The partnership was formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding and a formal Participating Agreement between RMYC and the Forest Service. They have a five-year participating agreement that can be extended after the initial five years.

This site was developed by the Ecosystem Management Initiative through a partnership with the US Forest Service and the US Department of Interior. Read more.