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2715 Upper Afton Road, Ste 100
Maplewood, MN 55119
(651) 209-9900s
info@conservationcorps.org
In this issue |
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| MCC at Red Lake Fishing Opener |
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After seven consecutive seasons of being closed, Minnesota's Red Lake was open for Walleye fishing again this spring, and MCC crews were there to help make the opener successful.
Located in northern Minnesota, the 285,000 acres of Upper and Lower Red Lakes represent the sixth-largest freshwater lake in the nation behind the five Great Lakes. The opening of the lakes is a sign of success for the lake's walleye population. The Red Lakes walleye fishery collapsed in the mid-1990s from over harvest. After nearly three decades of boom-and-bust cycles, a key signal of population distress, the Red Lake Band closed the commercial fishery in 1997. More closings and restrictions were enacted until 1999 when a complete harvest ban was instituted lakes-wide as part of the walleye recovery program.
MCC's northwest area crews spent the last month assisting with the opening. Everyday from May 11 through June 4, corpsmembers from either the Bemidji, Guthrie or Brainerd crew were onsite. The crews played an essential role, whether the day required them to educate anglers, pass out information, check boats, or even assist with parking.
After the first week of the opener, Tim Browning of the MN DNR Trails and Waterways said, "The crowds for the first two days turned out to be hundreds.... It was a manageable crowd and it was successful in great part because of the excellent work of your [MCC] crew members."
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Trail Psychology 101 |
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 So what does it take to make a great trail? MCC Summer Youth Program crew leaders have been learning about building quality, lasting trails as part of their summer staff training. Willie Bitter, MCC's Work Projects Coordinator, has been leading the comprehensive training.
The 25 crew leaders participated in activities ranging from modeling trails in boxes of dirt to actual trail construction during their staff spike training. Through the training, the crew leaders considered the interaction of site, slope, runoff, weather, trail width, water sources, trail use, grades, and sustainability of tread.
During the summer, MCC's Summer Youth Program crew members will find themselves working on a number of trail projects. For most of the high-school aged crews, it will be their first experience working on trails. The adult crew leaders, with the help of Willie's Trail Psychology 101 training, will make it possible for the youth crews to build or maintain trails that are well-planned and well-designed. |
| 2,000 feet of shoreline restored and more |
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MCC's Young Adult Program crew members began their service in February and have been active ever since. In the past four months, crews have been working on a variety of projects that improve Minnesota's natural resources. It is an exciting start, and crews will continue to make a big difference as the year continues. A sample of the totals include:
- 361 feet of boardwalk or steps constructed
- 1,162 students received environmental education
- 103 acres of exotic species removal
- 900 square feet lakeshore restoration
- 114 nesting structures constructed
- 9,085 acres of prescribed burning
- 187 miles of trail improvement
- 517 wildlife surveys
- 68 acres prairie restoration
- 41 plots of forest inventory and analysis
- 164 feet of foot bridge constructed
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| June 22 - Join MCC at the Mississippi River Cleanup |
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Join MCC's Adopt-A-River corpsmember, Samantha Wangsgard, and MCC crews on Thursday, June 22 to help clean up the Mississippi River. Enjoy a ride on the Harriet Bishop to the start of cleanup. Volunteers be disbursed along the river banks, and following the cleanup, everyone will re-board the Harriet
Bishop for the return trip.
Volunteers should remember to dress appropriately for hard work along the river in rain or shine. This cleanup is recommended for children over age 11 with proper adult supervision. Bags and gloves will be supplied. Pre-registration is required: samantha.wangsgard@dnr.state.mn.us. See you there!
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| Be MCC's Alumni and Recruitment VISTA |
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 Spend a year in service with MCC as our Alumni and Recruitment VISTA member. VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) members have been serving in the United States since 1965 and at MCC since 2005. VISTA members serve as capacity builders for communities and organizations for one complete year.
MCC is looking for someone to take on the role of the Alumni and Recruitment VISTA member. As the Alumni and Recruitment VISTA, you will grow MCC's alumni support and opportunities, in addition to finding innovative ways to connect youth and young adults to our programs. Find out more by visiting MCC's web page.
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| Receive Notification of Crew Openings |
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MCC has started an email notification of statewide position openings. This includes corpsmembers (crew leaders, crew members, and specialists) and staff. To receive the emails sign up here:
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Adam Thorson, 2nd year commanding officer of Rochester 2, drills a three-person troop to fight the daunting war against human ignorance and improve natural resource conservation. Recruiting agents dug deep into the woodwork to find these future soldiers. Brooke is a college grad in the natural resource field with varying resource experience. Emerson Clark, a former truck driver, masters the trailer for the squad and spends his free time
barking orders as a summer soccer coach. Karli Backus, green off of Delta Airlines, plans to pursue nursing after her time in service. As for Officer Thorson, he aims for more successful ventures in natural resources, utilizing
his B. A. Geography.
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The Bemidji MCC Crew has been keeping busy and working hard so far this year. They have been searching for stick nests, battling forest fires, guarding the precious Red Lake walleyes, restoring prairies and releasing white pine just to name a few projects they have been working on.
The Bemidji Crew consists of Jake Varshal, crew leader, from Woodbury, Joe Erickson from Bemidji, Ben Siemens from Buffalo Center IA, and Tony Guritz also from Bemidji.
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Just like Cities 97, MCC's Parks Crew is an eclectic mix of yesterday and today. Our fearless leader Jen Emerson is on her way to compleeting her third year and has a shining Blue Helmet to prove it. Shannon thinks MCC is just like a video game. jake refuses to look at a clock during the afternoons, preferring the internal sundial. Micah enjoys ice packs and Cubs games on his couch at home. Also, at the ripe old age of 20, Cortney acts as den mother to our motly crew and provides the baked goods.
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Alumni Question of the Month:
True or False:
The numerical system used by Stihl for naming chainsaws (i.e. MS260, MS440) has a direct correlation to the engine size in cubic centimeters.
Send answers to Cole Judge.
All correct answers will be entered in a drawing for an MCC water bottle.
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