ANCESTRAL LANDS
FY2023 REPORT
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
HEADER
ANCESTRAL LANDS 2023
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CONTACT INFORMATION
page two
ACK NOWLEDGMENTS
page two
ANCESTRAL LANDS OVERVIEW
page four
OVERVIEW OF PROGRAM SUCCESS page six
PROGRAM & PR OJECT HIGHLIGHTS page six
BY THE NUMBERS: DEM OGRAPHICS & LOCATIONS
page eight
FUTURE PROJECTS
page ten
PARTICIPANT AND PARTNER QUOTES
page eleven
CON CLUSION page twelve
AP PENDIX A: PRESS AND MEDIA page thirteen
AP PENDIX B: PROJECTS page thirteen
AP PENDIX C: SURVEYS page thirteen
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps, Conservation Legacy, and our partners would like to thank the National Park Service staff, Cooperators, and Partners who have made the Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps a continued success. We could not do this without your support! Additionally, we want to acknowledge our Tribal and Community partners, and specific NPS partner, listed below
NPS WASO Leadership Staff
NPS WASO Youth Programs Division Staff
NPS WASO Agreements Staff
NPS CIRCLE
Chickahominy Tribe
Cocopah Indian Tribe
Colorado River Indian Tribes
CONSERVATION LEGACY
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
FY2023 REPORT
Report Term: October 2022–September 2023
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
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs
Eastern Chickahominy Tribe
Hopi Tribe
Monacan Tribe
Nansemond Tribe
Navajo Nation
Nez Perce Tribe
Pamunkey Tribe
Pueblo of Acoma
Pueblo of Isleta
Pueblo of Sandia
Pueblo of Zuni
Rappahannock Tribe
San Carlos Apache Tribe
Upper Mattaponi Tribe
Wabanaki Confederacy
White Mountain Apache Tribe
2
Corps Partners:
Appalachian Conservation Corps
Arizona Conservation Corps
Northwest Youth Corps/Idaho Conservation Corps
Wabanaki Youth in Science (WaYS) Program
Werowocomoco Ancestral Lands Corps
Community Partners:
Albuquerque Community Foundation
Bank of America
Bernalillo County Open Space Division
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
BIA Navajo Region
BIA Southwest Region
BIA Western Region
Bureau of Land Management
Camas to Condors Partnership
Canyon of the Ancients National Monument (BLM)
Carson National Forest
Chamiza Foundation
Chemawa Indian School
Cibola National Forest
City of Albuquerque
Coconino National Forest
Colorado 14ers Initiative
Colorado Plateau Foundation
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Climate Change
Community Forum
Conservation Lands Foundation
Cornerstones Community Partnerships
EcoCulture
Escalante River Watershed Partnership
Fairfield Foundation
First Nations Development Institute
Friends of Cedar Mesa
Friends of Valle de Oro National Wildlife Monument
Fund for People in Parks
Geoscience Alliance
Grand Canyon Conservancy
Grand Canyon Youth
Grand Staircase Escalante Partners
HistoriCorps
Hopi Cultural Preservation Office
Hopi Education Endowment Fund
Hopi Foundation
Hopi Tutskwa Permaculture Institute
Jamestown Rediscovery
Jamestown Settlement
Kaibab National Forest
La Plazita Institute
Los Jardines Institute
Machicomoco State Park
McCune Foundation
Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
National Parks Foundation
National Park Trust
Native American Agriculture Fund
Native American Youth and Family Center
Native Youth Community Adaptation and Leadership Congress
National Forest Foundation
New Mexico Foundation
New Mexico Outdoor Recreation Division
Northwest Indian College
Northwest Youth Corps
Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program (USFWS)
Rising Voices – United Center for Atmospheric Research
Salish Kootenai Tribal College
Santa Fe National Forest
South Valley Main Street
Southwest Invasive Plant Management Team
Fund for People in Parks
United States Bureau of Reclamation
United States Coast Guard Training Center
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
United States Forest Service
University of Idaho Tribal Programs
Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation
Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge
Washington State University Tribal Liaison Department
Waterman’s Museum
3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps has evolved since its creation in the Pueblo of Acoma in 2008, expanding conservation corps and community-based program opportunities to include the communities of the Pueblos of Zuni and Isleta, the Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe, urban Indigenous participants in Albuquerque, NM, and an Individual Placement program that places Indigenous participants with Tribes and federal, state and local agencies and non-profits across the country. While the program has grown and evolved, we strive to keep the original mission of centering and serving Indigenous youth and young adults and reconnecting them to the land—the original teacher.
ALCC has also expanded its focus to work with Tribes, communities, and corps programs across the country to share best practices, strategies, lessons learned, and technical assistance to help catalyze and support new programming that partners with Tribes to serve even more Indigenous participants.
LEADING OUR NATIONS BACK TO ECOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL WELL-BEING .
This has led to the creation of the Yosemite Ancestral Stewards program, in partnership with Yosemite National Park and Great Basin Institute, as well as a bi-weekly Indigenous Programs working group, including staff from ALCC, Montana Conservation Corps, American Youth Works, Appalachian Conservation Corps, Arizona Conservation Corps, GEM Corps, the United States Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, The Corps Network, and many more. The group has addressed current challenges corps programs face, innovated solutions and program ideas, shared best practices, and serves as a community of learning to help new programs have success.
Secretary Haaland’s announcement of the Indian Youth Service Corps—modeled off ALCC—has brought new opportunities to expand program offerings to Indigenous participants, complete work on Tribal lands, reconnect Indigenous young people to the land and prepare them for success in the fields of natural and cultural resources and conservation. This is a watershed
moment for corps that serve and center Tribal communities and Indigenous young people, and ALCC is honored to help lead the way, remove barriers to participation, and create new and innovative corps programs across the country. This year, we are working with Appalachian Conservation Corps, Arizona Conservation Corps, Great Basin Institute, Montana Conservation Corps, Northwest Youth Corps, Southwest Conservation Corps, Wabanaki Youth in Science, and others to create a network of programs serving Indigenous participants, learn with each other, and move the needle to create sustainable and impactful program models that serve Indigenous youth and communities.
ABOUT THE PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS
Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps (ALCC)
ALCC serves as a model for the Indian Youth Service Corps which Secretary Deb Haaland announced earlier this year in partnership with ALCC, Rocky Mountain Youth Corps, and Capacity Builders. ALCC has “in-community” programs based in Acoma Pueblo, Albuquerque, the Hopi Tribe, Isleta Pueblo, the Navajo Nation, and Zuni Pueblo. This year, ALCC operated
4
OVERVIEW
OVERVIEW
31 crews and 15 Individual Placements (Interns) in partnership with NPS, engaging more than 160 participants: 31 Crew Leaders, 81 paid Corpsmembers, and 52 unpaid youth Hiking Club members. ALCC has worked with Native American communities, state, local and non-profit agency partners to provide economic opportunity, technical skills training, personal and professional development, cultural re-connection, and healing opportunities since our inception in 2008
ALCC was created in 2008 in the Pueblo of Acoma by a community member who saw the potential that conservation corps had to offer to his local community. Over the years, ALCC has grown and evolved to expand to other Indigenous communities and has partnered with conservation corps across the country to help catalyze new opportunities for Indigenous youth and young adults in conservation. We were modeled off conventional conservation corps programs, tracing our lineage to the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930’s and 1940’s. We have worked to tailor our program model to meet the needs, strengths, and opportunities unique to Indigenous communities, and to meet our participants where they are by removing barriers to their participation and success. While we still have much work to do to expand the definition of conservation to include urban and rural Indigenous communities, we are proud of what we have accomplished and look forward to growing and deepening the impact we have on the lives of Indigenous young people and communities.
Current ALCC projects include cultural reconnection, historic preservation, traditional agriculture, habitat restoration, youth hiking clubs, stream restoration, fence construction, trail construction, and more. ALCC aims to incorporate cultural reconnection and resurgence as well as personal and professional development. Our vision is to lead our Nations back to ecological and cultural well-being.
Appalachian Conservation Corps (ACC)
Appalachian Conservation Corps offers a variety of opportunities including conservation crews and individual placement internships. This report will highlight our partnership with Colonial National Historical Park and the Werowocomoco site, which supported three Cultural Resource interns in 2023.
ACC works to connect young people to critical conservation service work across Appalachia and neighboring communities in Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Maryland, DC, and Pennsylvania. Our programs focus on service, place-based learning, life skills development, appreciation of diversity, civic responsibility, and career development. ACC also provides an opportunity for members to learn about the local environment and issues affecting it and introduces individuals to recreation and resource management careers.
Arizona Conservation Corps (AZCC)
Arizona Conservation Corps was founded in 2014 through a merger of three existing corps programs. AZCC currently has offices in Flagstaff and Tucson, AZ. AZCC provides both crews and individual placements doing a wide range of natural resource projects with federal, state, local and nonprofit partners.
AZCC places up to 80 interns per year throughout the region and fields up to 50 crews annually serving 350-500 members. Given our locations, engagement with indigenous populations has been a foundational element of AZCC programming and that effort has increased significantly in the past few years as WASO funding had been the catalyst for partnership building with various tribes across the state.
Northwest Youth Corps (NYC)
Since 1984, Northwest Youth Corps, a non-profit organization, has given tens of thousands of youth and young adults opportunities to learn, grow, and experience success. Through partnerships with conservation agencies, youth and young adults gain the personal and professional skills needed to carry out a variety of stewardship projects, from which they can earn a stipend, high school credit, and/or an AmeriCorps educational award. More importantly, these young people gain skills needed to become economically and socially self-sufficient, benefit their communities as citizen stewards, and recognize that they can make a positive difference. NYC also operates an accredited charter school, internship program, and the Idaho Conservation Corps.
5
PROGRAM SUCCESS
Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps
One of the greatest successes ALCC had this year was supporting the development of the Yosemite Ancestral Stewards (YAS) program, in partnership with Yosemite National Park and Yosemite National Park. ALCC selected Nellie Tucker as an Individual Placement to work with Irene Vasauez and other NPS staff at Yosemite National Park for a year, building the foundation for the program. The YAS program launched in the summer of 2023 and ALCC sent its Diné all women’s trail crew to work alongside the YAS crew to restore a black oak meadow.
ALCC ran two Native Conservation Corps youth crews out of Albuquerque and Hopi communities in the summer of 2023. The crews learned about park history and resource management, gained professional advice from NPS employees, and assisted units with deferred maintenance. Parks visited include: Grand Canyon National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, and Petrified Forest National Park. The highlight of the NCC experience was a 10-day motorboat trip on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon National Park. During this trip, the youth learned about issues of environmental justice (such as the threat of development at the confluence of the Little Colorado and Colorado Rivers), risk management, and Indigenous identity, all while contributing to scientific sample collection projects related water quality and wildlife populations.
Crew 661 from Zuni Pueblo spent the summer of 2023 in a collaborative historic preservation project at the Flagstaff Area Monuments. The crew experience was designed to provide specialized experience and networking opportunities with archaeologists and cultural resource managers. The crew began their work with orientations and lessons from the University of Pennsylvania, learning about soil and rock types as they prepared for their preservation work on ancestral dwellings. As the crew gained experience, they began to work independently on stabilizing various structures in the monuments. Over the course of twelve weeks of work, the crew positively impacted approximately 2600 sq. ft. of dwelling surface area through stabilization, mortar work, and resetting capstones. The crew will continue to learn and apply their growing knowledge at sites within the Bears Ears National Monument for the rest of their season.
Appalachian Conservation Corps
Appalachian Conservation Corps had an incredibly successful year, with members dedicating a total of 5,2989 hours to various conservation and educational initiatives. Crew members and Individual Placements received extensive training and certifications, ranging from park maintenance and safety certifications like ROHVA, Sacred Sites, and CPR/First Aid to professional development seminars, including workplace inclusion and climate change education. They also benefited from additional specialized workshops.
6
AND PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
Appalachian Conservation Corps members restored and improved a total of 20 acres of land, mapped and surveyed 66 acres, planted nine species of plants, installed 350 feet of fence, constructed one mile of new trails, and maintained five miles of existing ones. Use of GIS mapping for vegetation and habitat analysis on Jamestown Island showcases commitment to informed conservation practices.
Appalachian Conservation Corps’ contribution to educational outreach was equally impactful, as they conducted workshops, pop-up programs, and training sessions for both tribal and state park communities. Notably, ACC educated 25 individuals at the Nansemond tribal center on Indigenous maritime technologies, provided indigenous crafts training to state park employees, and created a guide for future staff to implement natural resource dashboards in ArcGIS. Diverse educational initiatives extended to researching indigenous records databases, developing historical pop-ups, assessing interpretation opportunities, and training staff on local fees and National Park Pass issuing.
Arizona Conservation Corps
Crew 349 partnered with Grand Canyon National Park for 14 weeks to complete projects focused on recreational access, fence installation and repair, and facilities maintenance. The crew worked alongside park staff in backcountry and front country sites to complete their work. On the trail system within the park the crew completed 21.5 miles of critical trail maintenance and repair focusing on installing and cyclical maintenance of erosion control features, removal of rockfall debris, brushing of encroaching vegetation, shoveling snow, and rerouting small sections of the trail. For fence work the crew repaired damaged
sections of fence within the park, and constructed a enclosure fence to hold hay for the mules. On facilities, the crew focused on repairing buildings within the Phantom Ranch complex, clearing and brushing roadways and culverts, and assisting the boat operations facility.
Crew 173 partnered with Chiricahua National Monument for 4 weeks of project work. The crew focused on fire and fuels mitigation within the monument, specifically along roadways and around facilities. The crew used Chainsaws to safely remove hazard trees and overgrown brush in critical areas around the park. Larger material was split and stacked to be used for firewood for park staff and visitors.
7 6
BY THE NUMBERS
Bandelier National Monument
Canyon de Chelly National Monument
PROJECT
LOCATIONS:
Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail
Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Chiricahua National Monument
City of Rocks National Reserve
Colonial National Historical Park
El Malpais National Monument
El Morro National Monument
Flagstaff Area Monuments
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Grand Canyon National Park
Grand Teton National Park
Hovenweep National Monument
Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site
John Day Fossil Bed National Park
Joshua Tree National Park
Katahdin Woods and Water National Monument
Lewis and Clark National Historical Park
Mesa Verde National Park
Navajo National Monument
National Historic and Scenic Trails System
Natural Bridges National Monument
Petrified Forest National Park
Petroglyph National Monument
Southwest Invasive Plant Management Team
Tuzigoot National Monument
Walnut Canyon National Monument
Werowocomoco
Wupatki National Monument
Yosemite National Park
Zion National Park
8
BY THE NUMBERS
DEMOGRAPHICS: PARTICIPANT
TOTAL PARTICIPANTS: 174 GENDER
<15: 30% (52)
NPS: $1,790,000
AmeriCorps: $783,000
National Park Foundation: $291,00
USFS: $531,000
BIA: $90,000
Foundations/Grants: $1,118,000
EDUCATION
Some College: 13% (16)
Some HS: 21% (27)
College Degree: 16% (20) GED or HS Diploma: 43% (55)
AMOUNTS: FUNDING
Tribal Governments: $278,000
USFWS: $350,000
Local Governments: $164,043
BLM: $164,000
National Forest Foundation: $512,000
Female 25% (68) Male 67% (104) Prefer Not To Answer 6% (7) Non-Binary 2% (2) RACE American Indian or Alaskan Native 94% (162) White 2% (3) Other 1% (6) Hispanic 3% (3)
AGE
15–18: 5% (9) 19–25: 50% (86) 26–35: 15% (27)
9
*8% Prefer Not to Answer
ALCC alumni converted to federal hires: 4 2 NPS, 1 USFWS, 1 BLM
FUTURE PROJECTS
FUTURE AND PILOT PROGRAMS
Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps
Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps is working with Santa Clara Pueblo and the United States Forest Service to open a new program office in northern New Mexico; and the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone Tribes, Grand Teton National Park, and the Grand Teton National Park Foundation to open a new program office on the Wind River Indian Reservation, with plans to operate crews and IPs in coming years.
ALCC continues to work with Indigenous mental health practitioners to provide training, resources, and support to our staff and participants in moments of crisis and to help them build healthy response mechanisms to support their mental, emotional, and physical health and well-being. We are developing trainings around substance use, suicide awareness and prevention, and mental health first aid that center Indigenous young people.
ALCC is partnering with the Pueblo de Cochiti and Trees, Water, & People to run a 32-week internship with the Pueblo’s Department of Natural Resources, preparing the member for a career in natural resource management and supporting their pursuit of a bachelors degree. We are working to build a more robust program with more Pueblos in New Mexico to build local capacity, provide job training and industry-recognized certifications, and prepare them for careers working directly with Tribes.
ALCC plans broaden the impact of its youth summer programming by engaging more parks, increasing access for tribal youth to places that hold great cultural significance. The Native Conservation Corps program has found success in places like Petrified Forest, Grand Canyon, and Glen Canyon. ALCC wishes to connect youth to ancestral sites like Chaco Canyon, Navajo National Monument, and Bryce Canyon to show young people more of the complex histories of their ancestors.
ALCC also continues to refine its chainsaw operations and have seen strong interest from parks like Bryce Canyon and Flagstaff Area Monuments to assist with their thinning efforts. The program looks forward to increasing chainsaw and habitat restoration project opportunities to its members, many of whom desire to gain felling experience toward a career in wildfire or ecological restoration. The program aspires to prepare its members for these crucial positions and continue to seek ways to facilitate pathways to red cards, incident management trainings, and medical certifications.
We are also working as a part of the New Mexico higher education symposium to identify and create opportunities to connect young people to post-secondary education opportunities in outdoor recreation, including conservation and natural and cultural resource management.
Appalachian Conservation Corps
In 2024, we will continue this program with 3 26-week IP’s following a similar structure. Kalen Anderson, program alum, will hopefully be a NPS Maintenance Staff at Werowocomoco, and leading the interns on project work.
We are working with Accokeek State Park and the Piscataway tribe to launch a similar program, offering positions doing native habitat restoration in the Maryland region.
Arizona Conservation Corps
Arizona Conservation Corps will continue to engage and seek out partnerships and opportunities for service within multiple indigenous communities within Arizona. With the Tohono O’odham community in recruiting for and operating a conservation crews focused on projects in Southern Arizona National Parks. In addition, we hope to provide an individual placement internship for the community in efforts to begin building a locally supported and operated community corps.
We will continue to partner with Colorado River Indian Tribes in service efforts within the Mojave National Preserve. AZCC is also involved in meetings and discussions with the Hualapai Tribe to expand areas of service and communities around the Grand Canyon. In partnership with the San Carlos tribe, AZCC hopes to operate a crew working directly with Tonto National Monument.
10
PARTNER AND PARTICIPANT QUOTES
CAITLIN SNOOK, INDIVIDUAL PLACEMENT
‘I h ave experienced a lot of kindness and joy from community members that participate in our events or outreach programs. Knowing that I have been a part of an organization that offers so much to the community has felt very fulfilling. I have also enjoyed observing the tribal community culture and being included in that network. I have never experienced that environment before and it was a privilege to get to work closely with and learn about such rich cultures.’
MATTHEW WICKLUND, CREW MEMBER
‘It he lped me develop confidence and helped realize where I wanted to go.’
DANIEL VALDIVIA, CREW MEMBER
‘Made me realize I never want to live a stagnant lifestyle again and try my very best to make a difference in my life and in others and the environment.’
JOSIAH STRONGARM, CREW MEMBER
‘Th e biggest challenge was opening up to others and feeling good to talk to others. I had a great time at the park, there was a lot of experiences that I haven’t had.’
RAELYN TOYA, CREW LEADER
‘It w as a great first experience. I loved learning about this park (Petrified Forrest) and getting “behind the scenes” experience. I am going to school for wildlife conservation so to be able to experience different things while being in school is something I am grateful for. I truly appreciate every single staff member that took us on these adventures
and gave us advice and information that could help us further our careers and better develop different skills. This experience was the best adventure of my entire life! Each hitch was a different experience. I learned a lot about myself, personally and professionally. I developed lifelong friendships with different people and will always be grateful for it. Overall, I learned more than I would have ever imagined, I made tons of memories that I’ll be able to look back on, and had some of the best experiences of my life.’
NOAH KEENE, CREW LEADER
‘Th is summer was a summer like no other I’ve ever had, even at a kid. I got to do things that I never thought I would do. I went on a river trip through the Grand Canyon, which was an experience that a person should have once in their lifetime. I went to Petrified Forrest and learned from archaeologist about the past and the park. All in all my summer taught me to learn to live life no matter how old you are.’
QUINCY WALKER, CREW LEADER
‘Th e river trip was some of the most fun I’ve ever had. I truly felt at peace being on that boat and on the river. Being so close to some of our Zuni and Hopi relatives was very heartwarming. It was very challenging hitch but overall I got a lot of experience and got back into the world of science. Every day was a different adventure. I really love that it was an all native youth crew on the river in a place that our people once lived, hunted, prayed, traveled, danced. Overall really good experience and would recommend we do it again.’
CALVIN JIRON, CREW LEADER
‘W itnessing the ecological diversity in even just one National Park is truly a blessing. It defines how minute our problems are compared to the vastness of this living world.’
KELSEY VAUGH-WILTSEE, PARTNER
‘I j ust wanted to reach out and say how much all of us over here appreciate your work and the work of the crews that have come out. Having the crews over at the nursery has been a huge help for us. I’ve really enjoyed working with everyone. Lawrence from the last trip told me a bit about the farming that goes on at Acoma Pueblo which was really great to learn about. Thank you again and I know we’re all looking forward to working with the other crews coming out this year!” – Ash Bedford, GRCA Nursery Manager
“We really appreciated all the hard work your crews from Zuni and Hopi put in at FLAG this year. We would not have been able to accomplish our work otherwise and they were always in such high spirits and willing to do whatever was asked of them. They were super flexible and learned new tasks quickly. We look forward to future projects with ALCC and would love to have any of our crew members back next year.’
RICHARD GREENE, PARTNER
‘It wa s great working with you and the ALCC, the work you all do is top notch and y’all always had the best attitudes, work ethic and enthusiasm that was a joy to be around.’
CHRISTINE LUCERO, PARTNER
‘Gr eat communication, great staff that are helpful to the placements as well as the host sites.’
11
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
Our work centers around Indigenous traditions, ways of life, knowledge, and communities. We continuously strive to create more opportunities for our participants to continue the legacy their ancestors have passed to them as managers and caretakers of the ancestral lands and waters that now comprise the national park system and all public lands. Reconnecting them to sacred sites such as Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, and others provides an opportunity for Indigenous young people to not only visit places they have learned about through oral histories, migration stories, and songs but to also protect them as their ancestors did—the original architects, engineers, and builders of these sites.
Partnering with Tribes allows us to also complete needed projects in the present-day communities where our young people reside; meeting critical local needs around the environment, climate change, infrastructure, and job training. We look forward to strengthening the relationships we have with our Tribal partners, building new partnerships and supporting the development of new programs across the country to expand the impact corps programs have in Tribal communities and with Indigenous young people.
As we move forward, we remain enthusiastic about our partnership with the National Park Service and collaborations with Indigenous communities and conservation corps programs nationwide. Together, we are sowing the seeds of change and catalyzing programs that will further amplify the positive impact of corps initiatives in the lives of Indigenous youth and young adults, as well as within Indigenous communities and land. This transformative journey is a testament to our collective commitment to the preservation of our natural and cultural heritage, with Indigenous voices and perspectives at the forefront of these crucial efforts.
12
APPENDIX A:
PRESS AND MEDIA
A NEW GENERATION PRESERVES TRIBAL LAND AND CULTURE IN AMERICA’S NATIONAL PARKS
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/08/a-new-generation-preserves-tribal-land-and-culture-in-americas-national-parks/?1692885641
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK AND ANCESTRAL LANDS CONSERVATION CORPS RECEIVE NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION GRANT FOR NATIVE CONSERVATION CORPS
https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/npf-grant-native-conservation-corps.htm
ANCESTRAL LANDS GROUP, GRAND CANYON YOUTH PARTNER TO HELP WITH HABITAT RESTORATION
https://www.williamsnews.com/news/2021/dec/14/ancestral-lands-group-grand-canyon-youthpartner-h/
APPALACHIAN CONSERVATION CORPS RECOGNIZED AS TOP EMPLOYER FOR INTERNS IN VIRGINIA
https://appalachiancc.org/news/appalachian-conservation-corps-recognized-as-top-employer-for-interns-in-virginia
APPALACHIAN CONSERVATION CORPS INTERN SELECTED BY THE CORPS NETWORK AS 2022 CORPSMEMBER OF THE YEAR
https://appalachiancc.org/news/appalachian-conservation-corps-intern-selected-by-the-corpsnetwork-as-2022-corpsmember-of-the-year
WOOD FOR LIFE: ANCESTRAL LANDS CONSERVATION CORPS TO PROVIDE BUILDING MATERIALS TO TRIBAL COMMUNITIES
https://azdailysun.com/news/local/wood-for-life-ancestral-lands-conservation-corps-to-provide-building-materials-to-tribal-communities/article_2a113b9c-fa6c-11ed-9533-d3a82aa9c05f. html
WOOD FOR LIFE TURNS DOWNED TREES INTO FIREWOOD FOR INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES, TEACHES JOB SKILLS https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2023/05/24/wood-for-life-thinned-treesbecome-firewood-for-native-reservations/70232813007/
FOREST RESTORATION IS LEADING TO MANY PLUSSES FOR NOT ONLY THE FOREST ITSELF, BUT TO FOLKS ON THE HOPI AND NAVAJO NATIONS
https://gcmaz.com/kaff-news/kaff_news/forest-restoration-is-leading-to-many-plusses-for-notonly-the-forest-itself-but-to-folks-on-the-hopi-and-navajo-nations/
INTERIOR DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES FIRST INDIAN YOUTH SERVICE CORPS GRANT AWARDS
https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-department-announces-first-indian-youth-service-corps-grant-awards
SECRETARY HAALAND ANNOUNCES $3.5 MILLION IN GRANTS FOR INDIAN YOUTH SERVICE CORPS
https://indianz.com/News/2023/09/14/secretary-haaland-announces-3-5-million-in-grants-forindian-youth-service-corps/
INTERIOR DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES FUNDING FOR INDIGENOUS YOUTH PROGRAMS IN ARIZONA
https://fronterasdesk.org/content/1857242/interior-department-announces-funding-indigenous-youth-programs-arizona
INTERIOR DEPARTMENT AWARDS $1M TO WOOD FOR LIFE TO HELP HEAT INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES’ HOMES
https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/interior-department-awards-1m-to-wood-for-life-tohelp-heat-indigenous-communities-homes/
INDIGENOUS YOUTH FIND A WAY TO PRESERVE ANCESTRAL LANDS THROUGH CONSERVATION GROUP
https://www.kuer.org/health-science-environment/2023-08-21/indigenous-youth-find-a-way-topreserve-ancestral-lands-through-conservation-group
WOOD FOR LIFE: A CASE STUDY IN CREATING RESILIENT ECOSYSTEMS AND COMMUNITIES
https://www.nationalforests.org/blog/wood-for-life-a-case-study-in-creating-resilient-ecosystems-and-communities
THIS NEW MAP HIGHLIGHTS HOW HIKING TRAILS INTERSECT WITH INDIGENOUS LANDS
https://www.cntraveler.com/story/this-new-map-highlights-how-hiking-trails-intersect-with-indigenous-lands
Please see all Conservation Legacy press coverage at https://share. coveragebook.com/b/3a7b2d9f87ea25f9
APPENDIX B: PROJECT LIST
APPENDIX C: INTERN EVALUATIONS
Aztec Ruins National Monument P20AC00782
Aztec Ruins National Monument P20AC00782
Aztec Ruins National Monument P20AC00782
Aztec Ruins National Monument P20AC00782
Aztec Ruins National Monument P20AC00782
Bandelier National Monument P20AC00446
Canyon de Chelly National Monument P18AC00798
Canyon de Chelly National Monument P21AC10192
Chaco Culture National Historical Park P20AC00769
Chaco Culture National Historical Park P21AC10452
El Malpais National Monument P20AC00836
El Morro National Monument P19AC00924
Flagstaff Area National Monuments P20AC00503
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument P19AC00876
Grand Teton National Park P21AC10255
Hovenweep National Monument P20AC00733
Joshua Tree National Park P19AC00007
Mesa Verde National Park P21AC10867
Montezuma Castle National Monument & Tuzigoot National Monument P21AC10019
Montezuma Castle National Monument & Tuzigoot National Monument P20AC00607
National Park Service (NPS) - WASO P20AC00397
National Park Service (NPS) - WASO P19AC00178
National Park Service (NPS) - WASO P21AC10242
Petrified Forest National Park (PEFO) P20AC00727
Petrified Forest National Park (PEFO) P19AC00870
Petroglyph National Monument P21AC10662
Southwest Invasive Plant Management Team P21AC10075
Please see following pages.