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Heart of Oregon Corps tells Crook County board its summer YCC crews employed local youth, planted hundreds of acres
Summary
Heart of Oregon Corps told the Crook County Board of Commissioners that its 2024 Youth Conservation Corps program hired local crew leaders, employed 16 Crook County youth and completed planting, weed treatment, trail and campground work in the Ochoco National Forest.
Maddie Cunningham, summer program manager for Heart of Oregon Corps, told the Crook County Board of Commissioners on Oct. 9 that the organization’s 2024 Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) crews completed a season of conservation work in the Ochoco National Forest and provided paid work experience to local teenagers.
Cunningham said Heart of Oregon ran an eight‑week season from June 24 through Aug. 15 that included a college day, a career day at Wildcat Campground, an employer‑style resume workshop and an awards day. She reported the organization hired three Crook County crews out of 47 applicants and employed 16 Crook County youth, while the program served 72 youth system‑wide.
"We hired 16 youth from Crook County," Cunningham said. "Crook County youth worked a total of 3,689.5 hours throughout the season, and they earned $55,342.50" (total crew youth wages).
She outlined on‑the‑ground accomplishments the crews achieved in the Ochocos: about 368 acres of tree planting (including tree shelters), 26 acres of noxious‑weed treatment, 26 miles of Forest Service road work, maintenance at several campgrounds, trail work in Mill Creek Wilderness and Lookout Mountain Trail, aquatic work including beaver‑dam analogs, and 77 days of wildlife‑related work.
Cunningham also highlighted a participant story to illustrate program impact. She described Cynthia, a multi‑year YCC participant who returned to serve as a crew leader after losing a brother in a mid‑season traffic crash. ‘‘YCC gave her a sense of family, a sense of meaning, and a sense of purpose to help her push through that grief,’’ Cunningham said.
Looking to 2025, Cunningham asked the board to continue funding support. She said Heart of Oregon plans to continue at least three local crews and hopes to expand to four if funding allows. The organization also intends to raise wages to $15.50 per hour next season to keep pace with the local job market; at that rate she estimated individual seasonal earnings could exceed $4,000 per youth.
During a brief question‑and‑answer period, Cunningham offered to present to local collaboratives and provided flyers and a QR code for recruitment and partnership information.
The presentation concluded with thanks to Crook County for its financial support, which Cunningham said was essential to running the local crews and connecting youth to public‑lands stewardship work.
