In this issue

• Caring for critical habitat in Litchfield
• Protecting Minnesota's heritage through erosion control
• Gully and ravine surveys
• Recruit for the Summer Youth Program
• Want an MCC water bottle?

The Litchfield Wetland Management District (WMD) of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hosted a summer crew for the first time this past summer. MCC's youth crews have primarily worked along the shore of Lake Superior and in northern Minnesota, so it was a special opportunity for the crew to visit and work on other beautiful areas in the Minnesota landscape, such as this wetland and prairie area.

Historically, the Litchfield WMD was a vast prairie and thousands of small wetlands or "prairie potholes" that were created by the last glacier. Prior to settlement by European immigrants, this wetland dotted landscape was home to waterfowl, prairie chickens, sandhill cranes, bison and wolves. Today, most of the wetlands have been drained and the prairie has been plowed for agriculture, making the Waterfowl Production Areas on the Litchfield WMD, critical habitat for waterfowl and other imperiled species.

The crew spent their time on two Waterfowl Production Areas, removing old fence and other debris, impacting over 400 acres. The Waterfowl Production Area was acquired a number of years ago and the debris was a hazard and hindrance to the public, management activities, and wildlife.

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The historic town of Crow Wing--now the site of Crow Wing State Park--was once one of the oldest settlements in Minnesota. Within the park along the banks of the Mississippi River, there is an effort to preserve artifacts from the days of trade that are still found on that site. However, lateral channel movement of the Mississippi has been eroding the shoreline and taking the artifacts with it. Human traffic and altered vegetation have contributed to this erosion. MCC crews from Brainerd and Grand Rapids worked for a week on an erosion control project that used all-natural materials.

The crews laid coconut fiber jute netting along the 6,000 square foot area and anchored it in with freshly-cut willow stakes that will sprout roots to help stabilize the bank. Next, they bundled more pruned willow cuttings to lay along the matting as protection from ice and current. Finally, the crews collected native grass seed from the park and planted the throughout the area. According to field assistant Shawn Conrad, "We really appreciated working to preserve a piece of Minnesota's history using practices that promote the health of the Mississippi River."

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Gullies and ravines are essential elements of a watershed area, and when they are "unhealthy", the results are uncontrolled erosion, excessive silt in rivers and more polluted waters. That is why the Lower Minnesota River Watershed District had an MCC crew complete a gully survey within their boundaries.

The crew, armed with GPS units, digital cameras, and pen and paper for notes, traveled through the cities of Bloomington, Chaska, Carver, Chanhassen and Eden Prairie to survey and record ravines and gullies. The crew inventoried the extent of erosion, unknown pipes, culverts, and other features. Crew member Milena Klimek shared that, "It was appalling to see the consistency of neglect and apathy of ravines found in homeowner's backyards, and subsequently exciting to know we are a part of education and future restoration of the eroded areas." This is the first time the Watershed District has done such a survey, and their intentions are to establish a baseline of the health of the ravines. After the data has been analyzed, the District will know where to focus energy at mitigating the damaged gullies and ravines.

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The Summer Youth Program is gearing up for another exciting season of work. With the New Year comes a big recruitment push to once again hire top notch youth and staff. A large part of the recruiting depends on you, the past members. There is no better way to find people who would enjoy the MCC experience than by telling your MCC stories and steering them in the right direction. Most of us can still remember the conversation in which someone told us about MCC and pointed us towards an application … and the rest is history. Talking to and recommending people to the MCC is an incredibly important piece of keeping our program moving forward.

So your New Year's resolution is to share your MCC stories with the teens in your life and steer them towards an excellent experience of outdoor education, work and fun. If you need some materials about MCC to hand out, such as flyers and information packets, please contact us. You can also direct people to the web site www.conservationcorps.org or have them e-mail eric.antonson@conservationcorps.org. This is your chance to pay it forward and give others this amazing opportunity.

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MCC is still accepting applications for our Young Adult Program. Any alum that is mentioned specifically as the referral on an application will receive an MCC Nalgene and our gratitude! Priority application deadline is 12/15/2006, though applications will be accepted until all positions are filled. Tell a friend about MCC for 2007! Download the position description and an application to refer a potential MCCer!
www.conservationcorps.org/applymcc

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As a reminder, we are inviting all past staff members to a retreat at the Baker Near-Wilderness Settlement, just 20 minutes from Minneapolis. The scheduled dates are from Tuesday, December 26 through Thursday, December 28. Many alum have already RSVPed for the event. Please notify us ahead of time if you plan on attending so we can plan appropriately. Questions and RSVPs should be directed to:
Eric Antonson at (651) 209-9900 x 27
eric.antonson@conservationcorps.org

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