Dig that Conservation Corps

Spring is here everywhere I turn in Montana. We have a corny old axiom for those of you who cannot visualize the weather we're eternally captivated by. "Wait five minutes or drive five miles and you'll see different weather," we say. Likewise with my mind. I mean, it seems the same is true of my spring-y ambitions.

In an earlier post, I wrote about my interest in summer firefighting. I had just sacrificed my spring break for a weak of training. I-100 Introduction to the Incident Command System, S-130 Firefighter Training, S-190 Introduction to Wildland Fire Behavior, L-180 Human Factors on the Fireline. These classes were all in the bag.

Here's a segment of what I wrote:

My life at 18 has been a series of peaks, mountains and river valleys in Missoula, Montana. It's winter now, but when spring roles around, I'll be training in Basic Wildland Firefighting and by summer I'll be out in the woods.

I don't see this as a job, as much as work that tunes into my vision. I'll be doing my community a serious service-- it'll look swell on paper. But this adventure is also for my consciousness. I do some of my best thinking in the forest and I do not need the input of others to stay captivated by the absolute intrinsic value of greenery.

The latter half of the passage is still true today-- I'm going to work in the woods. The difference? Instead of firefighting, I will now pursue employment with the Montana Conservation Corps, which has a rich history of public servitude.

After the United States Civilian Conservation Corps was established under Franklin Delano Roosevelt during the Great Depression, it became one of his administration's most popular social programs. Restoring national parks, planting trees and many other outdoor projects were offered to young men in the 1930s through a quasi-military structure.

When World War II broke out, FDR's system was scrutinized. It was supposedly an inefficient war economy, ill-prepared to supply a Warmachine to tackle the axis powers. And so the unfortunate recipients of a backhand, having the amazing draw of young able-bodied Americans, was the CCC.

Wikipedia explained it so:

The CCC lost importance as the Depression ended about 1945. Initial opposition to the program was primarily from organized labor, but as unemployment fell, so did the need for the CCC.[1] After the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan in 1941, national attention shifted away from domestic issues in favor of the war effort. Rather than formally disbanding the CCC, the 77th United States Congress ceased funding it after the 1942 fiscal year, causing it to end operations.

Luckily for me, there are 110 conservation and environmental corps in the following states: Texas, Arizona, Minnesota, Washington and Montana.

After reading about the type of projects that crew members carry out (trail work, historical restoration, biological research, fencing, conservation and watershed restoration, and community service) and reading about the scholarship awards and biweekly pay, it's apparent that I'm not going to strike gold; I'm not going to get rich doing the sort of work I dig at this time. But that's just fine.

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