Colorado Youth Corps
Through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's “Developing the Next Generation of Conservationists” grant, the Colorado Youth Corps will employ youth and veterans to restore wetland habitat and riparian areas on BLM land. The work will be completed through Rocky Mountain Youth Corps, Western Colorado Conservation Corps and Southwest Conservation Corps-Los Valles.
Western Colorado Conservation Corps and the Grand Junction BLM Field Office: The crew will plant native grasses and sagebrush, remove invasive species, and perform forest thinning in order to facilitate a return of the Greater Sage-Grouse to the area.
Western Colorado Conservation Corps and the Grand Junction BLM Field Office: The crew will remove Russian olive, tamarisk and noxious weeds that have invaded the Indian Creek riparian zone, which has resulted in decreased wildlife habitat diversity, a degradation of water quality and flow, and increased fire danger.
Western Colorado Conservation Corps and the Gunnison BLM Field Office:. The crew will construct new rock structures as well as maintain and improve current rock structures to restore brood-rearing habitat used by the Greater Sage-Grouse, neo-tropical migratory birds, and improved grazing space for elk and mule deer.
Rocky Mountain Youth Corps and Colorado River Valley BLM Field Office: The crew will remove encroaching pinion pine and juniper trees that are re-invading an area treated over a decade ago and threaten to degrade conditions for Greater Sage-Grouse habitat.