Montana Conservation Corps

Montana Conservation Corps (MCC) is a conservation-service and youth-development organization modeled on the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s. It uses practical environmental and community projects to help young people develop leadership, citizenship, workplace, and interpersonal skills. The organization operates as an AmeriCorps program and deploys small crews to public-land and community projects across Montana and neighboring northern Rocky Mountain states. MCC maintains crew operations in Missoula, Kalispell, Helena, and Bozeman, with its central office in Bozeman. Its crews generally consist of four or five Corpsmembers led by two co-leaders. Crew Leader terms typically run from February through November, while Corpsmember terms generally run from May through October. Members come from varied backgrounds, including recent college graduates, former Peace Corps and AmeriCorps participants, environmental educators, people seeking careers with the Forest Service or National Park Service, and individuals looking for a structured change in direction. The organization’s field assignments, often called “hitches,” cover a broad range of conservation work. Projects include trail construction and maintenance, fencing, invasive-weed control, habitat restoration, tree planting, wildfire-fuels reduction, historical-building renovation, campground improvements, recreation-area management, cave restoration, stream rehabilitation, and playground construction. MCC works with Montana state agencies and federal land-management bodies, including the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management. Crews also undertake community-service work such as repairing homes for older residents, distributing food, and building community gardens. MCC extends beyond its core young-adult field crews through specialized service programs. The Youth Service Expedition gives Montana teenagers an opportunity to spend approximately four weeks on summer conservation projects and receive an award after completing the expedition. Veterans Green Corps serves veterans of the post-September 11 conflicts through conservation job-skills training intended to support later employment with public-land agencies. Through the Big Sky Watershed Corps partnership, participants assist communities with watershed health and conservation activities. The organization began in 1991 as a primarily summer program for disadvantaged youth. AmeriCorps funding beginning in 1993 supported its expansion into a year-round operation. In 1995, funding from the Montana Board of Crime Control helped establish CorpsLINK, which used Corpsmembers to supervise youth completing community service and to mentor at-risk young people. MCC has also mobilized crews for disaster-response and recovery work, including hurricane relief in Florida, Hurricane Katrina recovery, and Hurricane Sandy relief. MCC is governed by a volunteer board of directors and managed by a staff based in Bozeman. Its work is supported by public and private project sponsors, with more than 200 agencies reported as sponsoring projects in a typical year. AmeriCorps support administered through Montana’s Governor’s Office of Community Service and payments or contributions from project sponsors form the principal support base. The organization’s stated mission is to inspire young people through hands-on conservation service so they become leaders, stewards of the land, and engaged citizens who improve their communities.

Montana Conservation Corps was created in 1991 by Human Resource Development Councils in Billings, Bozeman, and Kalispell. Its original design drew on the Civilian Conservation Corps tradition: small teams would carry out useful conservation work while participants gained discipline, practical skills, and a stronger connection to their communities and public lands. In its first phase, MCC concentrated mainly on summer service for disadvantaged young people. A significant institutional change came in 1993, when the newly established AmeriCorps National Service Program began supporting the organization. That funding enabled MCC to move toward year-round operations and to broaden both its participant base and project portfolio. Rather than limiting its work to seasonal youth activities, MCC developed a more durable service structure involving young adults working with public agencies on natural-resource and community projects. In 1995, a grant from the Montana Board of Crime Control supported the creation of CorpsLINK. The program used Corpsmembers to supervise young people performing community service and to mentor at-risk youth. This expanded MCC’s role beyond land stewardship, linking conservation-service work with youth development, accountability, and community support. MCC crews also began carrying out projects that directly addressed local needs, including home repairs for older residents, food distribution, and construction of community gardens. Over time, MCC established a network of crew operations in Missoula, Kalispell, Helena, and Bozeman, while retaining its central administrative office in Bozeman. Its field work has included trail building and repair, fencing, invasive-species control, habitat improvement, tree planting, wildfire-fuels reduction, historic-structure renovation, campground improvement, recreation-area management, cave restoration, stream rehabilitation, and playground construction. Project sponsors have included Montana state agencies and federal agencies such as the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management. Crews have worked across Montana and have also served conservation needs in Idaho, Wyoming, and North Dakota. MCC’s operating model is based on small crews led by two co-leaders and composed of approximately four to five Corpsmembers. The structure is intended to make field service both productive and developmental: participants perform physically demanding conservation work while practicing teamwork, leadership, communication, and problem-solving. Crew Leader service generally runs from February through November, and Corpsmember service from May through October. The organization later developed additional pathways for specific groups. The Youth Service Expedition provides Montana teenagers with a concentrated summer service experience, generally lasting four weeks and ending with a monetary award. Veterans Green Corps provides conservation job-skills training for veterans of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, with the longer-term objective of helping participants pursue employment with public-land agencies. MCC also participates in the Big Sky Watershed Corps partnership, through which members assist communities with watershed health and conservation. MCC has periodically applied its field capacity to emergency response. It dispatched crews to hurricane-relief operations in Florida in 2003 and 2004, supported Hurricane Katrina relief in 2005, and participated in Hurricane Sandy relief in 2012. These deployments demonstrated that the organization’s conservation-service model could be adapted to urgent recovery needs outside its regular Montana project base. Governance is provided by a volunteer board of directors, while a small Bozeman-based staff manages the agency. The organization’s support model combines AmeriCorps funding administered through Montana’s Governor’s Office of Community Service with project support from public and private sponsors. More than 200 agencies have been identified as project sponsors in a typical year, with land-management agencies providing much of the project-based support. Across its history, MCC has positioned conservation work as both an environmental service and a form of civic and workforce development.

• 2012

  Hurricane Sandy relief service

  [1]Montana Conservation Corpsen.wikipedia.org

  MCC sends crews to assist with Hurricane Sandy relief.

• 2005

  Hurricane Katrina relief service

  [1]Montana Conservation Corpsen.wikipedia.org

  MCC crews participate in recovery work following Hurricane Katrina.

• 2003

  First recorded Florida hurricane-relief deployment

  [1]Montana Conservation Corpsen.wikipedia.org

  MCC dispatches crews to Florida for hurricane-relief service.

• 1995

  CorpsLINK is launched

  [1]Montana Conservation Corpsen.wikipedia.org

  Montana Board of Crime Control funding supports a program for youth community-service supervision and mentoring.

• 1993

  AmeriCorps support enables year-round development

  [1]Montana Conservation Corpsen.wikipedia.org

  AmeriCorps funding helps MCC expand beyond a seasonal program and move toward year-round service operations.

• 1991

  Montana Conservation Corps is established

  [1]Montana Conservation Corpsen.wikipedia.org

  Human Resource Development Councils in Billings, Bozeman, and Kalispell establish MCC as a summer program focused mainly on disadvantaged youth.

A mission-driven AmeriCorps conservation-service organization combining public-land stewardship, workforce development, youth leadership, and community service.

• Conservation service · 1991

  AmeriCorps conservation crews

  MCC’s core offering is a small-crew service model in which young adults complete supervised conservation and community projects. Assignments can include trail construction and maintenance, fencing, invasive-weed control, habitat restoration, tree planting, fuels reduction, historic-building work, campground upgrades, stream rehabilitation, and community improvements. The work is designed to produce tangible public benefits while developing leadership, vocational, and interpersonal skills.

• Youth development

  Youth Service Expedition

  The Youth Service Expedition provides Montana teenagers with a concentrated summer service experience. Participants spend roughly four weeks working on conservation projects, receive field-based instruction and teamwork experience, and earn a monetary award after completing the expedition. Training has included activity at Camp Paxson.

• Veterans workforce development

  Veterans Green Corps

  Veterans Green Corps serves veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts through conservation job-skills training. Its stated employment objective is to prepare participants for careers with public-land agencies by combining practical field experience with exposure to conservation occupations.

• Watershed conservation

  Big Sky Watershed Corps

  Through the Big Sky Watershed Corps partnership, participating members assist communities with watershed health, conservation planning, and related stewardship activities. The partnership extends MCC’s service model from field crews into community-based watershed work.

• 2012Hurricane Sandy Relief

  United States

  MCC sent crews to assist communities affected by Hurricane Sandy.

  Outcome. The cited material confirms participation in relief work but does not detail the individual projects or results.

  Source
• 2005Hurricane Katrina Relief

  United States Gulf Coast

  MCC dispatched crews to support relief and recovery efforts after Hurricane Katrina.

  Outcome. The crews participated in post-hurricane relief work; specific assignments and quantified results are not provided.

  Source
• 2004Florida Hurricane Relief

  Florida · United States

  MCC conducted another hurricane-relief deployment in Florida.

  Outcome. The cited material confirms the deployment but does not provide detailed results.

  Source
• 2003Florida Hurricane Relief

  Florida · United States

  MCC deployed conservation-service crews to assist with hurricane-relief activities in Florida.

  Outcome. The crews contributed field labor to disaster-relief operations; the cited material does not specify project-level outcomes.

  Source

• 1995

  Add youth mentoring and community-service supervisionStrategy

  Background

  MCC sought to address community needs beyond natural-resource projects and to connect Corpsmember service with youth development.

  Action taken

  With Montana Board of Crime Control support, MCC created CorpsLINK to supervise youth community service and mentor at-risk youth.

  Aftermath

  The organization expanded its civic-service role alongside its conservation work.

  Source

• 1993

  Expand from a seasonal youth program to year-round serviceStrategy

  Background

  MCC began as a primarily summer program, and the availability of AmeriCorps National Service Program funding created an opportunity to broaden its operating calendar and service model.

  Action taken

  The organization used AmeriCorps support to develop year-round conservation-service operations.

  Aftermath

  MCC evolved into a broader young-adult service organization working with public agencies and communities.

  Source

1. 1Montana Conservation Corpsen.wikipedia.org