LE GACY CONSERVATION CORPS NORTH CAROLINA USFS SOUTHERN REGION

Uwharrie National Forest

This youth crew consisted of two sessions, each lasting three weeks and two crews made up of six youth members and two crew leaders. In total 14 individuals assisted in the work accomplished by this crew over six weeks. They improved a total of fi ve acres of land, which included constructing over 200 feet of fencing, collecting 11 bags of litter, and maintaining four miles of trail.

Most of the work completed by the fi rst crew was at the Canebreak Horse Camp, where they resurfaced the entire campground with new gravel, fi xed the split rail fencing outlining the campground, and reset signposts. The second crew removed fencing at the Cove Boat Ramp and replaced it with bollards. In total, they placed 25 bollards along the road in the parking lot. They also repaired stairs leading from the boat ramp to a nearby campground, completed rock work around the stairs, and installed several drains along the path to allow better draining.

The Canebreak Campground is heavily used, especially in the summer months. With the added wear and tear of horses, the ground at the campsites needed some care. Our crew’s work on repaving the entire campground will help countless visitors, human, and horse alike, enter and exit with ease. The intent behind replacing the fencing at the boat dock with bollards was to prevent visitors from parking along the road. The rangers saw accidents occur and vehicles get stuck in this area. The addition of the bollards will make the boat ramp a safer and happy place for all those who use it.

The youth also picked up litter around the areas they worked. This impacted the youth members greatly; they started to pay attention to how much litter was always around them. At the end of their session, each youth member will take this experience and go back to their communities and create an impact there. Everyone learned about conservation work and how to talk to the public about the work they were accomplishing. Not only did they impact the visitors they came in contact with while in the Uwharrie, but they also impacted those around them at home with everything they took from their time in the Forest.