2025 NPF Report - Conservation Legacy

IMPACT PURPOSE • PEOPLE • PLACE

2025

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IMPACT: PURPOSE • PEOPLE • PLACE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Conservation Legacy thanks the National Park Foundation staff and leadership who have made this partnership a continued success. We would not be able to do this without the Foundation’s support!

CONTACT INFO FOR CONSERVATION LEGACY Joey Ruehrwein Senior Vice President of External Affairs 701 Camino del Rio, Suite 101 Durango, Colorado 81301 Email: joey@conservationlegacy.org Phone: 970.401.2381 www.conservationlegacy.org

Southeast Conservation Corps Individual Placement Victorias servicing at Fort Pulaski National Monument

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IMPACT OVERVIEW In collaboration with the National Park Foundation, Conservation Legacy spearheads protection and preservation service initiatives that amplify efforts at National Park Service sites while prioritizing impact, transformation and public service. Conservation Legacy’s mission is to engage future leaders who protect, restore and enhance our nation’s land through community-based service. Our emphasis is two-fold: protecting America’s natural resources in partnership with the land management industry, and developing the workforce by engaging the next generation of stewards and conservation leaders.

In 2025, projects through this partnership achieved many impactful results at National Park Service sites. Crews and individual placements connected the public to historic sites through education and community outreach, increased access to parks and trails, assisted on archaeological digs, helped to preserve historic sites through masonry, and much more. These initiatives also resulted in immeasurable growth in young stewards’ confidence, perseverance, technical skills and job-readiness, setting them up for greater future success both professionally and personally.

The partnership between Conservation Legacy and the National Park Foundation aligns the goals of both of our organizations. Together, our projects take care of parks and lands to protect the beneficial goods and services nature provides to humans – while ensuring that young people and military veterans are part of a future workforce in land management. Our collaborative efforts result in enduring natural and cultural landscapes and lifetime stewards of America’s national parks and monuments, ensuring that these special places are here for generations to come.

Featured Corps:

BY THE NUMBERS Our Service Reach in 2025

30,003 Service hours completed 29 National Park sites supported 76 Members served through crews and individual placements

Youth Empowerment Steward Individual Placement, Katie, poses with her NPS team where she serves at NAMA.

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Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site In 2025, two Individual Placements From Appalachian Conservation Corps were brought to the Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site focused on Community Outreach, Education and Partnerships, as a way to connect the greater Richmond community to its rich history and highlight the impact Maggie L. Walker made for people of color in a time of great change in U.S. History.

A daughter of a former slave, Maggie L. Walker became the first American woman to establish and head a bank. In addition to serving as president of the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank, Mrs. Walker was active in many civic and charitable causes. She was founder and president of the Richmond Council of Colored Women and employed her fund-raising talents to aid improved health care for African Americans.

Established in 1978, Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site is the country’s first national park devoted to the story of an African American woman. The site includes Walker’s fully restored and furnished residence which, as a house museum, serves as the primary visitor resource and the focus of public interpretation. In addition to Walker’s home, Maggie Walker NHS includes five adjacent historic buildings that provide a visitor center, auditorium, bookstore, exhibits, classroom, offices, and archival storage and research room.

“...I've seen my work impact the community by raising the visibility of the NPS locally. Before a lot of individuals, community groups and organizations were not aware that a NPS site was in their backyard. It has been a joy to do public outreach and encourage the usage of our parks, especially as we are a "no fee" site making it very accessible for anyone to visit. To be a part of this movement means taking steps to ensure that public lands and natural spaces are saved for the present and for the future. America has a strong cultural asset in our nature, lands, and cultural spaces. I see my role as a way to ensure it is protected for my continual use and the people that may come after me. " -Makayla Donigan, Community Partnerships Individual Placement The members worked with many community partners during this project, including schools (Virginia Commonwealth University, University of Richmond, Brightpoint Community College, Henrico County Public Schools), non-profit organizations (RVAonWheels, BHMVA, Woodland Cemetery) and others to develop engaging events for the community to learn more about the rich history of African American's in the City of Richmond, and the legacy of Maggie Walker. Events were curated based on the groups attending.

Education and Outreach IP Hannah Bashkow made sure to incorporate her background in arts into her internship position. Here she poses next to a portrait she painted of Maggie L. Walker that she incorporated into an activity engaging a schoolgroup in the celebration of Maggie's 161st birthday.

"My values around national service have been very strongly and positively shaped by my experience with the National Park Service. To me, service means putting the community before yourself, protecting the goods of the community through stewardship, acting with integrity and honesty, and a respect for my fellow citizens as the Parks belong to everyone...

During their term, the IPs assisted Richmond and Regional archeology team in a multi-process archeological dig at the Gains Mill NPS site.

Pictured is an NPS staff (left) and Community Partnerships IP, Makayla Donigan.

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Traditional Trades Advancement Program (TTAP) Historic Preservation Training Center (HPTC) Aztec Ruins National Monument (AZRU)

During the season, the Individual Placement worked closely with the historic preservation masonry team to support preservation efforts at Aztec Ruins National Monument. Their work focused on a range of masonry techniques, including dry stone and wet stone masonry, stone shaping, and plastering, all contributing to the protection of the monument’s historic structures. In addition to this specialized work, they also assisted with general maintenance across the monument grounds and around the Great Kiva, helping ensure the site remains preserved and accessible for visitors.

Bandelier National Park (BAND)

Individual Placements spent the season assessing and preserving key ancestral sites at Bandelier National Monument.

Their work focused on identifying walls at Tyuonyi Pueblo and the Longhouse that required stabilization, followed by hands-on efforts to strengthen and repair those structures. They also supported preservation efforts within the monument’s CCC Historic District by assessing aging wooden elements and replacing deteriorating vigas beam ends. Through this work, the team helped protect both the ancestral architecture and historic infrastructure that make Bandelier such an important cultural landscape.

Flagstaff Area Monuments (FLAG)

Individual Placement Harvey Young worked with the masons of Aztec Ruins National Monument learning how to properly preserve the architecture for future generations to visit the site.

Members spent the season monitoring and documenting culturally significant landscapes, including Horseshoe, Middle, and Crack In Rock Mesa. They conducted rock art monitoring along Crack In Rock Road at the Coyote Water Site, constructed park boundary fencing, completed the 2025 Ranger Cabin Statement of Work report, and maintained ongoing monitoring of the Wupatki crack monitor and test walls. Members also helped restore the landscape by removing invasive species from Deadmans Wash.

“Harvey’s attention to detail and eagerness to learn more about historic preservation and Ancestral Puebloan architecture at AZRU shows everyday. As a young adult navigating an ever-changing workforce it has been a pleasure working and guiding Harvey in his exploration of historic preservation with the National Park Service. I am honored to have been Harvey’s TTAP mentor.”

- Stephen Matt, Aztec Ruins National Monument

While assisting the Flagstaff HPTC crew, members strengthened their connection to these historic sites through hands-on preservation work. At Tuzigoot National Monument, they painted and installed 33 wooden windows as part of a rehabilitation project, and on the Lomokai Trail they shaped and laid stone steps for a new staircase, helping preserve and improve access to the landscape.

Mese Verde National Park (MEVE) At MEVE, members performed masonry-focused projects requiring dry stone masonry, wet stone masonry, stone shaping, re-pointing, preparing amended and earthen mortar mixes. Major preservation projects this year included: Opening maintained archeological sites for the season, and stabilization and preservation of Step House & Long House Cliff Dwelling.

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Youth Empowerment Stewards Stewards Individual Placements launched the Youth Empowerment Stewards (YES) initiative in 2021. YES aligns with each park's unique mission and directly fulfills national priorities as outlined in the DOI Secretary’s Order S0-50-3246, which is intended to ensure that all NPS sites remain open and accessible for the benefit and enjoyment of the American people, as well as provide the best customer service for all visitors.

YES!

With support from NPF, Stewards has been able to support YES members at NPS sites in which their scope of service assists park staff in assessing, planning, and implementing improvements that ensure all visitors can navigate and enjoy public lands more fully.

Traditionally YES members have been AmeriCorps State & National members; however, in 2025, with support from NPF, Stewards was able to expand upon the YES initiative model to also include AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) service members.Whereas State & National members can provide direct service, VISTA members provide indirect, capacity-building service by building organizational infrastructure. Through strategic planning, volunteer management development, grant research, partnership cultivation, and program design, VISTAs help create sustainable systems that continue to benefit communities long after their service year concludes.

Katie poses with her supervisor, Emmanuel Ekekwe, and colleagues: YES member Isabel and CVA Thomas.

“Being a YES VISTA has given me the unique opportunity to be the only VISTA member in service to America at the moment doing what I'm doing . . . through my work, I'm supporting disabled people's access to the cultural and natural resources I see every day. As a disabled person myself, this is even more meaningful.”—member, Katie Greenstein

Katie Greenstein is a YES VISTA member with the National Mall and Memorial Parks (NAMA) in Washington, DC, where she strengthens internal capacity to expand accessible volunteer programming and community engagement. During her first weeks of service, she collaborated with the FDR Memorial Legacy Committee to design a comprehensive volunteer management program, develop recruitment materials, and created a planning framework for the memorial’s 25th anniversary to reinforce long-term partnership with NPS. She also created position descriptions, outreach strategies, and program plans for Girl Scout volunteer projects at Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument, laying the groundwork for future invasive plant removal and stewardship efforts. She also began researching grant opportunities to improve access initiatives across NAMA sites, increasing the park’s longterm operational capacity and public engagement reach.

YES exemplifies the greater good that can be achieved through collaborations and partnerships with NPF, Stewards Individual Placements, and the NPS. As the YES initiative continues to grow, it demonstrates how investment in service and partnership can create lasting, welcoming access to America’s most treasured public lands.

Katie and fellow YES member Isabel served together to review photos and develop a data spreadsheet for all the wayfinding pylons in the National Mall and Memorial Parks. Their NPS colleagues will use this information to replace and repair these signs ahead of America 250.

6 Katie serving with colleagues at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens for MLK Day of Service to remove fallen branches and clear paths for visitors and volunteers. Their group used handsaws to do this important accessibility task.

Southeast Conservation Corps Fort Pulaski National Monument Fort Pulaski

What does it mean to care — for our communities, our environment, and ourselves? During June of 2025, Fort Pulaski National Monument partnered with several local arts and wildlife education organizations to bring area students to their local national park and answer this question for themselves.

Over the course of 4-5 weekly visits, students engaged in recreational learning by exploring Fort Pulaski and Cockspur Island’s unique ecosystems, taking fishing lessons, and reflecting on stewardship’s meaning through art projects and hands-on workshops. Students and their families will also have the opportunity to receive GA state fishing licenses as part of this program, encouraging continued engagement with Fort Pulaski’s natural spaces and recreational resources. At Fort Pulaski, students will build the skills and tools to become stewards for their communities through the “Casting Connections” program.

Students from the Savannah Impact Program explore marshes at Fort Pulaski, during a summer camp program where they will learn to fish, explore coastal wilderness and learn the history of Fort Pulaski.

Loop It Up Savannah and the Summer Impact Program summer camp

FOPU partnered with Loop It Up Savannah and the Savannah Police Department's Summer Impact Program summer camp to bring about 30 kids out for 5 workshops at FOPU in June/July 2025.

The students took part in wildlife workshops and fished from the park's public fishing dock on the Lazaretto Creek, with support from Oatland Island Wildlife Center and other local naturalists. Fort Pulaski’s YCC crew members also assisted with staffing JRA programming. The programs capped off with a dolphin cruise around Cockspur Island for the chaperones and students.

Individual Placement Victorias spends her days guiding visitors throughout the Fort, or teaming up with resource managers to protect the park’s natural treasures.

Fort Pulaski pushed messaging around fishing licenses earlier in the program this year, and as a result, nine parents/guardians of participants received an annual fishing license through the GA Department of Natural Resources. All student participants also took home a fishing pole, so they are set up for continued engagement. Southeast Conservation Corps IP Victorias supported the JRA programs in June and July, then staffed natural resource pop-up programming and made hundreds of contacts throughout the summer (including distribution of JRA "Let’s Go Fishing!" books and badges).

Victoria also assisted the park Resource Management team with planning for an Adopt-A-Wetland program at the park.

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Looking Forward Participation in corps programming has a rich history of success, providing young people and military veterans with invaluable professional and life skills while fostering a deeper appreciation for natural and cultural stewardship. Conservation corps endeavors align seamlessly with the shared mission and vision of both the National Park Foundation and Conservation Legacy.

The unwavering, continued support from the National Park Foundation has been profound. Our continued collaboration will expand opportunities for young people and military veterans to serve on America’s lands, addressing critical needs such historic preservation, maintenance, restoration and preservation of historic sites, access to recreational trails, public campgrounds, and hunting and fishing areas.

These experiences allow participants multiple pathways into natural resource careers through technical skills, training and certifications in conservation and disaster response. But they also result in life-changing growth such as increased self-confidence, sense of personal responsibility, resilience, “grit,” job readiness, professionalism and sense of purpose. The natural resources workforce is only growing thanks to the partnership between the National Park Foundation and Conservation Legacy. With gratitude, we look forward to continuing our partnership with the National Park Foundation.

8 Green Turtle at Fort Pulaski.

Young students observing baby turtles up close at Fort Pulaski.

“It is a great program if you are looking to get a foot into preservation work, trails, chainsaw crews, etc.

Or even if you are just unsure of where you want to begin your work career.

Providing hands on training, along with an educational reward stipend upon completion of service term.” – Participant Tyrel Kewanwyma (Hopi)

www.conservationlegacy.org