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In this episode, Jeff Parker from Northwest Youth Corps discusses the evolution of conservation work, the role of youth programs in land management, and the future of shared stewardship amidst wildfire challenges. Jeff and Rachel talk about the importance of fostering youth conservation corps and how participants shape public lands stewardship whether they go into recreation and conservation careers or not.
Resources
About Jeff
Jeff Parker is the President and CEO of Northwest Youth Corps, based in Eugene, Oregon. Jeff holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Washington and a Master of Environmental Science from the Evergreen State College. He is a Co-Chair of the Public Lands Service Coalition, Chair of the Hood Willamette Resource Advisory Committee, and serves on the Oregon Youth Development Commission. He began his career in conservation service work in 1994.
Started in 1984, NYC works throughout a 4 state area, serving over 1,000 diverse youth and young adults each year in paid conservation service programs that combine education, community, leadership, empowerment, and challenge. NYC operates residential backcountry crews, community based corps programs, para professional internships, and a fully accredited charter high school. Each year, NYC crews and interns complete over 190,000 hours of conservation projects for public land management agencies, including trail construction and maintenance, invasive plant eradication, fuels reduction, wildfire protection, and stream restoration, while delivering 70,000 hours of education.
