Idaho Conservation Corps

2022 Season Recap

By Clayton Lenz, ICC Program Coordinator | Dec. 2022  originally published for Idaho Conservation league blog Since 1991, Idaho Conservation Corps (ICC) has been empowering youth and young adults through completing resource management work across the state. Some of our crew members aspire to work in the conservation field, while others just want a fun way to spend their summer! Through hands-on, challenging work, these young people build and maintain the outdoor spaces that Idahoans love. In 2022, Idaho Conservation Corps served 53 teens, 39 young adults, 19 crew leaders, and 35 interns throughout the state. This season (May to October), ICC crew members:       Restored or improved 10 acres of habitat       Treated 13,047 acres for invasive species removal or prevention       Installed 155,655 plants       Created 99 trail features       Maintained 132 miles of trail       Bucked out 725 logs from trails       Deconstructed 1 mile of obsolete trail       Built 5 miles of fence       Removed 6 miles of obsolete fence       Built 500 feet of retaining wall       Spread 28,000 native seed over 11 acres       Thinned 14 acres of forest land to reduce fire danger …

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Days Off | Day in the life of ICC

By: Jack L, 2022 ICC Participant  You arrive at your campsite just before sunset. The day started with breakfast at a cozy cafe, complete with a dazzling menu and a retro record player playing good vibes. After breakfast, you and your crew find showers – a necessity after working a full week outdoors. Feeling refreshed, everyone piles back into the truck and you start the drive towards the campsite. Music and podcasts entertain your mind for the next few hours, along with the stunning scenery of the Idaho wilderness. Creeks and rivers run alongside the road as you wind around mountains. After dinner in town, you make it to the campsite; it’s a little after 7 p.m. Without the city lights, darkness will settle in quickly and you retrieve your pack from the truck to set up camp. The tent that used to take you 30 minutes to set up now takes 5. You look to your left and see the orange glow of the sun gently starting to fall behind the mountains – jagged as the teeth of a chainsaw. The sky is pink, the trees are glowing. As you look around, all your worries, concerns, and fears dissolve. You …

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