Annual Report 2022
Rocky Mountain Youth Corps engages young people in the outdoors, inspiring them to use their strengths and potential to lead healthy, productive lives. We teach responsibility for self, community and environment through teamwork, service and experiential education.
Vision
Rocky Mountain Youth Corps will be the leader in NW Colorado to provide diverse opportunities for young people to participate in outdoor based service and education for their growth, respect and responsibility to self, community and environment. We will do this through strong sustainable collaborations with projects, programs, and funding partners.
Dear Friends of Rocky Mountain Youth Corps,
We finally feel like things are getting back to normal after an interesting couple of years dealing with Covid and the many impacts it had on so many young people. Our programs continue to grow in both capacity and scope of services. Our year-round staff structure continues to expand to maintain and increase our high quality of service to our participants and land management agencies. We are now a 15-person crew of senior staff members!
Our board and staff are making great progress on our four strategic plan focus areas:
• Vision, Mission, Goals, Core Values
• Succession Planning
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity
• Financial Sustainability
We have implemented many strategies to engage a broader spectrum of participants by providing our materials in both English and Spanish; focusing recruitment on females, veterans, and opportunity youth & young adults; providing gear and fee scholarships to all in need; and expanding our mental health support services.
Our Natural Resource Internship program is rapidly establishing as one of our largest as we provide conservation career opportunities to more young adults in collaboration with our land management partners.
We are growing our endowment! We are making progress on our goal to attain an endowment balance of $3.5M as we have received generous donations/pledges of over $1.5M over the past 2 years.
Our ability to empower young people to lead healthy and productive lives continues to be our primary focus with service and community engagement as the medium through which this is achieved.
Thank you for your support, and please enjoy this Annual Report highlighting the youth, projects, and accomplishments of 2022, RMYC’s 30th program season!
Gretchen Van De Carr
Paige Baker Chief Executive Officer Board President
Project & Program Partners
RMYC values the many agencies that we partner with to fulfill our mission. We would not have success for our participants or the communities and environments we serve without our diverse and strong collaborative partnerships.
Basalt State Wildlife Area
Bears Ears Ranch
Bee Grateful Farm
Bee The Future
BLM Colorado River Valley Field Office
BLM Kremmling Field Office
BLM Little Snake Field Office
BLM National Operations Center
BLM White River Field Office
City of Steamboat Springs
Colorado Department of Natural Resources
Colorado Fourteeners Initiative
Colorado Mountain College
Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Colorado Youth Corps Association
Conservation Legacy
CPW - Colorado State Forest State Park
CPW - Little Hills State Wildlife Area
CPW - Stagecoach State Park
CPW - Steamboat Lake State Park
Denver Water
Eagle County
Eagle Valley Outdoor Stewardship Coalition
Friends of the Dillon Ranger District
Friends of the Eagles Nest Wilderness Friends of Wilderness (Zirkel)
Garfield State Wildlife Area
Grand Lake Metropolitan Recreation District
Hayden School District
Headwaters Trails Alliance
HistoriCorps
Main Street Steamboat
Mountain Bluebird Farm
Murphy Larson Ranch
National Forest Foundation
Natural Resources Conservation Service
North Routt Charter School
Northwest Colorado Health Aging Services Coalition
NPS - Rocky Mountain National Park
Oak Ridge State Wildlife Area
One Track Mind Foundation
Partners for Youth
Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts Camp
Public Lands Service Corps
Roaring Fork Mountain Bike Association
Roaring Fork Valley Horse Council
Roundup Riders of the Rockies
Routt County Council on Aging
Routt County Humane Society
Routt County Riders
Soda Creek Elementary School
Sonny Petrie
South Routt School District
Steamboat Montessori School
Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp.
Steamboat Springs School District
Summit County
The Corps Network
The Haven Assisted Living
The Nature Conservancy Carpenter Ranch
Town of Breckenridge
Town of Eagle
Town of Frisco
Town of Hayden
Town of Oak Creek
Town of Silverthorne
USFS - Arapaho - Roosevelt NF
USFS - Bridger-Teton NF
USFS - Medicine Bow-Routt NF
USFS - Pike-San Isabel NF
USFS - White River NF
Warhorse Ranch
Wildlands Restoration Volunteers
Yampa River Botanic Park
Yampa Valley Austism Program
Yampa Valley Sustainability Council
Yampatika
Major Partners
RMYC values the many organizations and agencies that we partner with to fulfill our mission. We would not have success for our participants or the communities and environments we serve without our diverse and strong collaborative partnerships.
AMERICORPS We are proud to partner with AmeriCorps by engaging young adults in service work with the goal of meeting the critical needs of the community and environment.
COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT (CDPHE) provides public health and environmental protection services that promote healthy people in healthy places. Guided by prevention science, RMYC’s programs lower risk by building protective factors and proven strategies that help young people bond with families and communities, promoting healthy and successful adulthood.
COLORADO YOUTH CORPS ASSOCIATION Transforming lives and communities through service, personal development, and education statewide, CYCA aspires to be the leader in conservation and service and empowers corps to change lives statewide.
THE CORPS NETWORK The Corps Network provides critical leadership to the corps movement and to the nation’s service and conservation corps as they tackle some of America’s greatest challenges.
21ST CENTURY CONSERVATION SERVICE CORPS RMYC is proud to be a member of this bold national effort to put thousands of young Americans and veterans to work protecting, restoring, and enhancing America’s great outdoors and cultural and community resources. This public-private partnership between government, industry, non-profit and community organizations works together to foster the next generation of community leaders and resource stewards.
GREAT OUTDOORS COLORADO (GOCO) invests a portion of Colorado Lottery proceeds to help preserve and enhance the state’s park, trails, wildlife, rivers, and open spaces. RMYC receives both project funding and program support.
NATIONAL FOREST FOUNDATION Engages Americans in promoting the health and public enjoyment of our National Forests, which are at the core of America’s natural riches, and yet, today these treasures are threatened by unprecedented challenges.
US FOREST SERVICE For more than 100 years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service has brought people and communities together to answer the call of conservation, caring for shared natural resources in ways that promote lasting economic, ecological, and social vitality. RMYC has partnered with the US Forest Service across Colorado, Wyoming, and neighboring states on hundreds of projects over the years.
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
The BLM mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. RMYC has partnered with the BLM in Colorado since 1993!
TOTAL REVENUE $5,070,417
TOTAL EXPENDITURES $4,907,900
Revenues & Expenditures
Total Revenues do not include a $200,000 donation to RMYC's Endowment Fund
YOUTH CORPS
Youth Corps provides leadership and hands-on workforce experience for youth ages 14-18. Service Learning Crew engaged 109 participants ages 11-13 through a comprehensive community service program that provided 3,000 volunteer hours in Routt, Moffat and Jackson counties. 104 Community Youth Crew participants ages 14-15 were paid while gaining valuable skills. Camping throughout northwest Colorado, 56 Regional Youth Crew participants ages 16-18 camped 24/7 with our Long-Term (4-week) crews receiving CPR/First Aid Certification. Our Junior Leader opportunity attracted 6 Routt County teens ages 16-19 to develop leadership skills while working with youth crews ages 11-15.
YAMPA VALLEY SCIENCE SCHOOL
YVSS is a place-based and hands-on experiential science program that sparks excitement for learning for Routt County sixth graders. After a two-year hiatus due to COVID19, YVSS once again included an overnight component in 2022. 249 6th graders demonstrated an increase in education understanding of 65% based on the pre-post education test results. RMYC partnered with Yampatika to upgrade the curriculum.
“He seemed to love going. A few days later, he explained the entire food chain cycle. The camping option was also incredible, his first experience doing that, and it was a great 'toe in the water' for future overnight kid camps or camping away from Mom and Dad.”
CORPSMEMBER OF THE YEAR Alison Reinhoffer
HIGHLIGHTS
Service Learning Crews removed vegetation from trails, stabilized barbed wire and built a quarter mile of single track bike trails. Participants also helped Senior Citizens in Moffat and Jackson counties maintain their yards through pulling weeds, planting and yard cleanups.
Community Youth Crews in Routt County protected and maintained 430 trees, maintained and widened 1 mile of trail and removed 25 bags of invasive species. Bike trails in Steamboat Springs were made more accessible by hauling and smoothing dirt, ADA trails were improved, and 10 feet of rock walls were installed.
Regional Youth Crews enhanced bike and pedestrian trails in Frisco, CO by widening the trail, improving switchbacks, installing rocks steps and seeding 2,700 square feet of backslope, removing 35 plants and trees and collecting 4,050 square feet of rocks.
“Getting to walk on the trails we build gave me a sense of accomplishment that was unlike anything I've felt before. It was just pride and happiness and gratitude that I could be a part of this adventure.”
Alison joined RMYC as a crew member in 2020, returned as an Assistant Crew Leader only to be promoted to Leader during training in 2021, and then returned as a Crew Leader in 2022. Alison explained the main reason for returning was to “shake the dust from their life” and further declared, “Camping for 11 straight weeks seemed crazy to me at that point so naturally I applied. Thank goodness I did! I attribute so much of who I am now to RMYC.”
Alison says that self-doubt was the biggest obstacle to overcome as a Crew Leader in 2022. “Going into the season, I was nervous about always making the right decisions for my crew and leading them the ‘right’ way. In the past, it was this kind of self-inflicted pressure that often prevented me from taking any action at all. I realized this season that messing up is inevitable, so I should lead with my gut, enjoy the successes and learn from the mistakes.”
The chainsaw certification and Wilderness First Responder training received opened up new job opportunities for Alison, and they attribute their RMYC experience as the catalyst for changing their college major to Conservation and Natural Resources, which was funded in part with their AmeriCorps Education Award. Alison’s impact on their 2022 Crew Members is impressive as several members are returning in 2023 in leadership roles, and they cite Alison’s influence and guidance as the biggest reason why they feel confident in doing so.
To say that Alison is dedicated to the corps life and the ideals which make RMYC what we are would be a huge understatement!
Highlights
CONSERVATION CORPS
The Conservation Corps fielded 15 Summer and 7 Fall crews with a total of 205 crew members ages 18-25 years.
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT HIGHLIGHTS
162 participants received AmeriCorps Education Awards for completing their full season totaling over $352,000! Crewmembers demonstrated significant increases in resiliency, confidence, job skills, problem solving, decision making, and healthy lifestyle choices.
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
Three crews working in Arapaho Roosevelt National Forest totaled 35 weeks in continued efforts to rehabilitate the extensive Stillwater Pass and Grand Lake trail systems after the East Troublesome fire of 2020. Last year our adult Conservation Corps crews focused on stabilizing trails and adding substantial drainage for the inevitable flooding that would occur post-fire. They built bridges designed for OHVs, and countless feet of buck and rail fencing to keep users on the trail and out of delicate areas.
Our new, smaller Strike Teams made up of 5 people worked in some incredible locations! Combined, our two Strike Teams worked in all 6 ranger districts of the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest in addition to the Pinedale Ranger District of the Bridger-Teton National Forest. They cleared 1,500+ trees on many miles of the Continental Divide Trail and improved a whole network of trails in the Mount Zirkel Wilderness.
Project partners reported satisfaction rates over 95% for the work these crews performed!
“I loved working on a CFI (Colorado Fourteeners Initiative) crew. The work was incredibly demanding, but it left me with such a profound sense of accomplishment. Our project partners were kind and enthusiastic and they made me super excited and passionate about our project. This really pushed me physically and mentally, but I loved it and feel stronger as a result ”
NATURAL RESOURCE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
Our Natural Resource Internship program is designed to engage youth and young adults in valuable hands-on work experiences within natural resource public land management agencies and nonprofits. In 2022 we hosted 77 total interns in fifteen locations giving us our biggest year yet!
Positions included Archaeology, Hydrology, Wilderness Characteristics Surveying, Forestry Technician, Wilderness Ranger and Trail Crews, Recreation & Interpretation, Sage Grouse Monitoring, Visitor Information Services, Vegetation and Soils Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring (AIM), Oil and Gas Monitoring, and Survey/Cadastral assignments in collaboration with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the United States Forest Service (USFS).
These diverse opportunities allow participants to advance their educational knowledge through experiential work while exploring career opportunities in natural resources.
“Surveyors are needed everywhere, and my knowledge of Trimble equipment, GIS, and GPS systems has set me up, maybe for the rest of my life, in the natural resource world.”
CHAINSAW
AmeriCorps
Anonymous
Myrtle Atkinson Foundation
James & Katherine Boyle Charitable Trust
City of Steamboat Springs
CO Dept of Public Health & Environment/OBH
Craig-Scheckman Family Foundation
Daniels Fund
Education Fund Board
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Iron Horse Family Foundation
Routt County
Routt County United Way
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Marilyn Staff
State of CO Attorney General
Steamboat Springs Rotary Club
The Summit Foundation
Yampa Valley Community Foundation
PULASKI
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BJT Foundation of the YVCF
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William & Judith Emerson Charitable Fund
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Kate & Malcolm Hawk
KFMU Radio
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McNeely Family Endowment
Moniker Foundation
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Todd & Kathryn Pedersen
Point 6
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Robison-Bouquet Fund
James & Barb Ross
Jack Sprengle
Kelly & Brandt Vanderbosch
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Yampa Valley Bank
Supporters
TRAILBLAZER
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Supporters
We want to extend our heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to all our crewmembers, participants, leaders, field coordinators, camp specialists and interns. Our success is a direct result of your hard work, dedication and passion!
