Annual Report 2019 Mission
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 project, program, and funding partners and the creation of a youth development center.
Dear Friends of Rocky Mountain Youth Corps,
We hope this report finds you all healthy and happy! Please enjoy this summary of Rocky Mountain Youth Corps’ 2019 operations and successes. We served a record number of youth and young adults in our four program models: • Youth Corps: 295 youth ages 11-18 years from ten northwest Colorado counties. • Conservation Corps: 153 young adults ages 18-25 years from throughout the country. • Natural Resource Internship Program: 34 conservation-career oriented youth and young adults ages 16-27 years from throughout the country. • Yampa Valley Science School: 295 Routt County six grade students and 18 high school students. Additionally, our crew members and interns contributed record-breaking service and conservation project accomplishments to our partnering project agencies. See details in this report. RMYC also stimulated the local and regional economies through the following financial contributions: • Provided $2M in wages and stipends to staff and participants; • Facilitated $291,000 in AmeriCorps education awards to 160 AmeriCorps members; RMYC not only contributes to our communities and environments, but our participants gain valuable life skills and individual assets through improved self-efficacy, resilience, civic engagement, job readiness skills, conservation career exploration, improved knowledge of healthy lifestyle impacts, and most of all, the strength and ability to overcome significant adversity. The staff, board members, and participants are very proud of our large and committed family of partners that are so essential to our success. Thanks to all of you who take the time and effort to learn about us, support us, engage in fundraising and operations, and most of all believe in us! We truly appreciate and honor your contributions and welcome you to visit us at our Campus or in the field! Thank you for being an important part of the solution.
Staff
Board of Directors
gretcHen van De carr executive director mark wertHeimer Gretchen Van De Carr Deb Proper associate director Executive Director Board President cHriSSy lyncH finance & human resource director annie kakela accounting & payroll manager Deb ProPer president kate warnke Paige baker vice-president development associate gregory Henion treasurer ryan bankS Paul SacHS secretary program director Margi Briggs-Casson past president liz Doby aDam alSPacH administrative & intern program coordinator HeiDi barbee rob DuDDy avrom Feinberg conservation corps program manager Frank mayer carlyn lawatScH kelly nortHcutt youth program manager Darcy owenS-traSk SuSan PeterSen HannaH clune assistant youth program manager SHerri SweerS Scott witHer alan cHaPman operations manager Suzanne munn Advisory Board
2019 Impact “The physical skills I learned pales in comparison to what I learned about leadership, confidence, humility, discipline, kindness, and all manner of interpersonal rela onships from the people slogging through the forest. I'm not sure where I’d be had I not stumbled into RMYC, and I don't care to imagine it.”
11 Miles of Fence Constructed/Removed/ Repaired
306 of Bridges Constructed & Improved
104 Partnering Agencies
795 Program Par cipants
199 Project Weeks "This fantas c program ins lled a desire for mentoring youth that has stuck with me since my first day at Yampa Valley Science School. Currently, I am a junior at Colorado State University studying to get my teaching license to con nue my passion for mentoring youth, and it all started at the Yampa Valley Science School."
7389 Trees Thinned/Removed Fire Mi gated 6742 63
of Water Diversion Structures Installed/Improved/Maintained
rridor Cleared M il es of Trail Co
70 Miles of Trail Constructed/Improved/Maintained
Revenues and Expenditures
revenues $3,172,177
expenditures $2,932,232
Highlights YVSS
2019 yamPa valley Science ScHool
We had a record breaking number of 295 sixth-grade students! They spent 5 days and 3 nights getting dirty while learning about the natural world through our hands-on, experiential learning curriculum directly aligned with the State of CO Dept of Education Content Standards. Students participate in over 30 hours of structured interactive lesson activities throughout Routt County, while also learning to appreciate their teachers, peers, and high school students in a more relaxed environment.
Personal Development Highlights
Project Highlights
Demonstrated an increase in education understanding of 48% based on the pre-post education test results, with final scores on average of 87%. Students enjoyed games, lessons, and activities that helped build social skills, teamwork, and gained an increased excitement for science!
Visiting Elkstone Farm to dissect a flower, examine biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem, and experience what it takes to grow a successful food garden in northwest Colorado. Making cookies in our solar-powered oven while learning about renewable energy! Testing the local water quality and discovering that our Yampa River has healthy water flowing. Community Service Projects at Stagecoach, Hayden Speedway, Yampa River Clean-Up, Perry Mansfield Campus Cleanup, and Run Rabbit Run managing the Fish Creek Aid Station. "I love the outdoors and had an amazing time during my science camp week” “My interest in science sparked!”
Moonshine Ski & Dine
The 13th Annual raised over $18,000 for our local youth programs and Yampa Valley Science School. Thank you to our sponsors, silent auction donors, board members, volunteers, and event attendees.
Youth Corps HigHligHTS
2019 youtH corPS
Youth Corps programs provide consistent steppingstone experiences for youth ages 11-18. Service Learning Crew (SLC) ages 11-13, a comprehensive community service program that provides education about citizenship, volunteerism, and selfdevelopment had crews in Lake, Summit, and Routt county. Community Youth Crew (CYC), ages 14-15 expanded to Grand County in addition to operating in Routt, Summit, Rio Blanco, Garfield, Lake, Eagle and Pitkin Counties. Camping throughout northwest Colorado the Regional Youth Crew (RYC), ages 16-18 spent 2 residential weeks working on habitat restoration and trail projects.
Personal Development Highlights
As a result of their participation, youth increased resiliency, self-esteem, job readiness, and leadership skills. Youth Corps education consists of lessons, activities, and reflection focused on job readiness, healthy life skills, environmental education, substance use and risks thereof, and civic and social responsibility. it is designed with continuity, building on lesson content and complexity throughout the age-level crews. Residential camping offers opportunities for deeper engagement in social learning and to connect with non-profit, government, and other local agencies.
Project Highlights
SlC accomplishments include 5,900 feet (ft) of trails maintained, 101 bags of weeds removed, 160 plants planted, 17 bags of trash picked up, 90 ft of fence repaired, and 220 square ft of seeds planted. Crews also worked on the newly established Oak Creek Mountain Bike Park, helped out at the Routt County Humane Society, wrote letters to residents at Casey’s Pond Senior living Facility, and read to preschoolers at Young Tracks Preschool.
CYC maintained and constructed 9.5 miles of trails, revegated 3,830 ft of trail, collected 4 bags of trash, 6 bags of weeds removed, and 1,300 ft of fence repaired. The program expanded into grand County and partnered with Rocky Mountain National Park alongside our conservation crews to establish a new partnership with Headwaters Trails Alliance to build and maintain mountain bike trails near Winter Park.
RYC repaired and removed 8 miles of fence, constructed 1,200 ft of fence, cleared 4.5 miles of corridor, and built 70 ft of retaining walls. Crews spent four weeks working with Colorado Fourteeners initiative on Mt Elbert, Colorado’s highest 14er and greys and Torreys peaks! “I learned how to get along with others that I didn't know and work as a team.”
Conservation Corps Highlights
2019 conServation corPS
Rocky Mountain Youth Corps engaged 125 members, 24 leaders and 4 field coordinators over the course of the Summer and Fall season.
Personal Development Highlights
140 total participants received AmeriCorps Education awards for completing their full season totaling over $291,000! Crewmembers demonstrated significant increases in resiliency, confidence, job skills, and healthy lifestyles choices.
Project Highlights
Some highlights from the season include our partnership with the Colorado Fourteeners initiative and the National Forest Foundation. We continued a multi-year project rerouting portions of the South Mt Elbert trail to create a more sustainable route to the summit of the tallest mountain and one of the most popular 14,000 ft peaks in the US Rockies. The project featured restoration of the existing old trail in addition to cutting new hiking tread for the reroute and fortifying steep sections with rock retaining walls and staircases to prevent soil displacement and erosion.
Trail crews collaborated with the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Bitterbrush State Wildlife Area, Safari Club international, and Dinosaur National Monument to complete 8 Miles of barbed wire fence removal within a trophy game Management Unit to improve wildlife habitat and prevent herd death. Additionally, crews partnered with the Roaring Fork Mountain Bike Alliance and Eagle, Pitkin, and garfield counties to complete a 7 mile mountain bike trail on “The Crown” area near Carbondale.
Our Wildland Fire and Chainsaw crew worked with Rocky Mountain National Park for a total of 10 weeks completing roadside fuels reduction all over the park. During this time the Park engaged our crew in a Search and Rescue Course and Certification. The crew was utilized to support a multitude of search and rescue efforts throughout their time at the park in addition to the fuels reduction project.
“Two of the greatest things that RMYC has instilled in me are the value of hard work and the impact of the connections we make.”
internship prograM
We hosted 34 interns this year, doubling our numbers since the program's inception in 2017! Positions included Archaeology, GIS, botany and soils, hydrology, and trails working in collaboration with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Kremmling, Meeker, and Craig; the United States Forest Service in Meeker, Dillon, Steamboat Springs, Eagle, and the regional office; and the Yampa River Botanic Park in Steamboat. Our hydrology internship positions are specifically designed in partnership with BLM to provide local high school students exposure to careers in natural resources and to inspire them to become first-generation college students. We have found excellent success with this partnership with now 7 of the 8 participants over the last 3 years going on to attend college with a focus in natural resources. We are so proud of these youth and are excited to see the impact they make on the world in the years to come!
Cierra LeCluyse “CJ”
RMYC CORPSMEMBER OF THE YEAR
Cierra leCluyse (CJ) completed 3 seasons with the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps. last year as a Crew leader for a Conservation Corps trail crew and each of the 2 preceding seasons as a corps member.
When she arrived at Rocky Mountain Youth Corps to begin her season we had already been a week into training for leaders and CJ was to be an Assistant Crew leader. immediately after our first circle up with the new assistants one of our leaders decided to leave and it was clear to us from the get go who would be best set up for success taking on an unexpected greater level of responsibility. CJ to our good fortune accepted the promotion that came the next day. As a corps member CJ always worked hard, led by example and was an active member in the community of her crew. With that said she was never the loudest voice around the campfire and has always brought a thoughtful and somewhat reserved demeanor to the table. As is often the case on trail crews, not everyone gets along, many people realize that the work is not for them, and the mission continues whether accommodating or not. CJ has always had a deep sense of the value that can be gained from an experience like this regardless of if one chooses to make it their profession and this is something that she was able to share with her crew and translate into a hard work ethic, pride in what they did and a sense of family amongst the members even at the rockiest of times. She did not need to be loud, she did not need to have an answer to everything or be the best and fastest at each skill used on the project site.
What she did need and utilized was her passion, her compassion, a selective choice of confident words when necessary or the humbleness to seek help and admit that she did not have the answers. The lives of those on her crew are forever changed for the better not just because of this experience of service in the woods but more importantly because CJ was there to lead them through it at the forefront and by their side.
Program + Project 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 Engaging young adults in intensive community service work with the goal of meeting the critical needs of the community and environment, we are proud to partner with AmeriCorps, providing service opportunities to young adults across the country.
the Corps netWorK RMYC is a proud member of The Corps Network, providing critical leadership to the corps movement and to the nation’s service and conservation corps as they tackle some of America’s greatest challenges. 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. RMYC is honored to be a partner.
21st CenturY Conservation serviCe Corps RMYC is proud to be a member of the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps. The 21CSC is a 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. The program is operated through a public-private partnership between government, industry, non-profit and community organizations, working together to foster the next generation of community leaders and resource stewards. nationaL Forest Foundation Engage 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. RMYC is proud to partner with the National Forest Foundation. great outdoors CoLorado (goCo) invests a portion of Colorado lottery proceeds to help preserve and enhance the state's parks, trails, wildlife, rivers, and open spaces. RMYC receives both project funding, and program support through gOCO's generation Wild initiative. the CoLorado departMent oF huMan serviCes Office of Behavioral Health funds prevention programs that aim to reduce rates of substance use disorder. guided by prevention science, these programs lower risk by building protective factors--proven strategies that help children and teens bond with their families and communities. OBH has supported RMYC's Youth Corps programs for nearly a decade.
Ace Hardware Aspen Snowmass Environment Foundation BlM Colorado River Valley BlM Kremmling BlM little Snake BlM National Operations Center BlM White River BookTrails Boulder Mountainbike Alliance Carpenter Ranch Nature Conservancy Casey’s Pond Senior living Community City of Craig City of leadville City of Rifle City of Steamboat Springs Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed CO Dept of Human Services CO Department of Natural Resources CO Divison of Reclamation Mining & Safety CO Fourteeners initiative CO Mountain College-Timberline Campus CO Parks and Wildlife CO State land Board CO Youth Corps Association CPW - Bitterbrush State Wildlife Area CPW - Colorado State Forest State Park CPW - Elkhead Reservoir State Park CPW - Radium State Wildlife Area CPW - Rifle Falls State Park CPW - Stagecoach State Park CPW - Sylvan lake State Park CPW - Yampa River State Park Craig-Scheckman Family Foundation CSU Routt County Extension Office Denver Water DOW - Piceance/little Hills SWA
DOW - Radium SWA Foundry Treatment Center Friends of the Dillon Ranger District Friends of the lower Blue River Friends of the Yampa Friends of the Eagles Nest Wilderness Friends of Wilderness (Zirkel) garfield County gOCO - get Outdoors leadville! gOCO - garfield grand Teton National Park great Outdoors Colorado greater Arkansas River Nature Assoc. Hayden lake Village Headwaters Trails Alliance High Mountain institute Historic Routt County HistoriCorps lake County lake County Mineral Belt Trail Committee Main Street Steamboat Maryland Creek Ranch / Summit Sky Ranch Middle Park land Trust National Forest Foundation NPS - Dinosaur National Monument NPS - grand Teton National Park NPS - Rocky Mountain National Park Office of Behavioral Health Oak Creek Parks and Recreation Parachute Recreation District Pitkin County Prima Ranches, llC Public lands Service Coalition Rio Blanco County Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers Roaring Fork Valley Horse Council
Roundup Riders of the Rockies Routt County Humane Society Routt County Riders Routt County United Way State land Board CPW - Steamboat lake State Park Summit County The Corps Network The greenlands Reserve Town of Battlement Mesa Town of Breckenridge Town of Carbondale Town of Eagle Town of Frisco Town of granby Town of gypsum Town of Hot Sulphur Springs Town of Meeker Town of Minturn Town of New Castle Town of Oak Creek Town of Parachute Town of Silverthorne Town of Winter Park USFS - Arapaho - Roosevelt NF USFS - Bridger-Teton NF USFS - Medicine Bow-Routt NF USFS - Pike-San isabel NF USFS - White River NF Walking Mountains Science Center Western Center for Historic Preservation Wildlands Restoration Volunteers Yampa River Botanic Park Yampa Valley Austism Program Yampa Valley Sustainability Council Yampatika
Chainsaw Level
$10,000+
Pulaski Level
gOCO get Outdoors leadville! Suzanne Munn Routt County Tony and Emily Seaver State of CO - Office of Behavioral Health Steamboat Springs Education Fund
$1,000-$ 9,999
Anonymous Environment Foundation of Aspen Russ and Carol Atha Brad and Paige Baker BAP! Big Agnes Steven and Kelly Bloom Tim and Janet Borden Central Park liquor Duffey Foundation William and Judith Emerson Adam and Alyssa Feiges Myrtle l Atkinson Foundation Carrie Hayden Honey Stinger
Hard Hat Level
Kroger Jennifer locsey luck Family Foundation Ed and June MacArthur McEvoy Share Plan Routt County United Way Chris Rundall Bill and Barbara Sanders Marilyn Staff Steamboat Sticker Denny and Joy Swanson The Summit Foundation Three Moon Fund Yampa Valley Community Foundation
$500-$ 999
Anonymous Alpine Bank of Steamboat Springs Backdoor Sports ltd Peggy Bass Berglund grayson Bauer Bryan and Karen Bomberg Cam and Jill Boyd Chaos ink Community First Foundation Susan Dreska Drunken Onion, llC Jon and Kristin Feiges Fox Construction gerber Berend Design Build glas Deffryn Ranch Fund gary and loretta Hammerslag Hawkridge Endowment Fund Heart of Steamboat Foundation Judy Odom Endowment Jim and Susan larson Phil and Anne lauinger liman Family / Twin Enviro Services
Dean and Karen Massey Mcginnis Family Fund Mountain Tap Brewery The Morris Family Northern lights Jewelry Old Town Hot Springs lyman Orton and Janice izzi Victor Padilla and laurene Maxwell Powdercats Rocky Mountain Remedies Katie Riemenschneider Stu Roberts and lulu gould Robison-Bouquet Fund Benjamin Sachs Hans and Susan Schell Jack Sprengle Bonnie Starr Steamboat Sotheby's international Realty Steamboat Pilot & Today The Porches of Steamboat Curt and Mary Weiss
SUPPORTiNg AgENCiES & iNDiViDUAlS
City of Steamboat Springs Craig-Scheckman Family Foundation Daniels Fund Bill and Debbie Feiges Valerie gates gates Family Foundation gOCO garfield County
SUPPORTiNg AgENCiES & iNDiViDUAlS
Trailblazer Level Anonymous
$250-$ 4 99
Penny lewis life Essentials Day Spa Michael lyman and Karen McNish Kerry and Chrissy lynch Adam and Elisa Maines Mountain Home Stove & Fireplace Andrew and Janice Poirot Ken and Deb Proper Curtis and Wendy Rogers Tom and Pam Ruehle Bill Schell Scott and lola Schlapkohl Paul and Arianthe Stettner Tredway, Henion, Palmquist, & Kusy, P.C. Mark Wertheimer and Kim Brooks Robert and Carol Wertheimer lance Whitner WinterWondergrass Yampa Valley Bank
Wolf Bennett Evan Christopher Brad and lara Craig Barry and Robin Crossan Win and Elaine Dermody Dave and Jacqueline Desposato Ross and Sally Dyer Mark and Vanda Dyson Fred Emerich Bob and Audrey Enever Mirko Erspamer Avrom Feinberg and Erica gallagher Paul and Bridget Ferguson greg and Kate Friedman Rich and Kristin Hager Brad and Kathy Hoefer Terry Huffington and Ralph Dittman Susan Kerrigan
Groundbreaker Level Anonymous Adam and Pearson Alspach B&K Distributing John Baer Carol Baily Heidi Barbee and Norbert Samlowski Andy Baur lauren Beversluis Margi Briggs-Casson Ken and lynette Brink Jacquelin Buratovich Sean and Jenny Carey Pat Carney Central Park Management Sally Claassen and Mark Darlington Colorado group Realty Foundation Jerome and Kathy Craig Chris and Eileen Diamond Robert Duddy Jack Dysart and Carole Milligan Paul and Barb Feinberg Matthew Feinberg Caroline Fisher Scott and Sherri Ford Tom and Karen Fox Betsy Frick Donna garth gO AlPiNE
Friend Level
$ 100-$ 24 9
Kevin Hampson Daniel Harris Doug and Ellen Hayes Daniel Hewitt Michael Holcomb and Marie Ford Holcomb Mike and Barbara Hughes Brad and Kathy iversen Judith Janec Robert Jones liana Jones Bart and Nancy Kounovsky Tom Krabacher Ron and Sue Krall Mahogany Ridge Brewery & grill Stephen Malcom Sheila Martin Robert and Sharon Mattison Frank and Kim Mayer Donald Mclaughlin Keith and Sandra Miller David and Monica Niedermeier Michael O'Hare PCB Endownment Fund Billy and Susan Petersen Mike and Michelle Petix Charlie and Karen Pharris Chuck and Maria Porter
$1-$Joe99 and Julia Haines
Anonymous Adonna Allen Kathleen Alexander Joe and Katie Armstrong Julie Baker Eric Baker Ben and Millie Beall lawrence and Ursula Berkowitz Joe and lynne Bier Ben Blair geoff and Betsy Blakeslee Chris and Tina Bradley Nelson Carmichael Alan Chapman Jim Hoy and Heidi Chapman-Hoy Dan and Patty Chovan Susan and Kelly Colfer Colorado group Realty John and Claudia Courtway gavin and Cindy Crain Jason Dietz Ryan and Sophie Dingle Robert Dippold Trish Donahue Steve and Pinky Downs Patrick and Mary Duddy Steven and Michele Dunklin Robert Ellsworth and Sarah Katherman gardner and Millie Flanigan Elizabeth Foster Heather gibbson Deborah gooding Samuel and Sarah grayson
Curtis and laura Hanock Karla Harding greg Henion Emily Hines Elizabeth Jackson Frani Jenkins Fred Honebein and Anne Kakela Christian and laura Karch Pete Kenney Diane letson Jan levy Rebecca lewis Janine lodico Jimmy and lisa lorenz Susan R lupori Rebecca A Mabius Walter and Cristina Magill Kevin Marks Stacey Martinez lock McShane Jacob and Caryn Mielke george Blau and linda Miller Callum Becvarik & Marta Miskolczy lois Mitchell Dr. John and Dorothy Montgomery Sidney Moon Megan Moore-Kemp Nancy Westphale Nelly Navarro Emily Osterman John Paulus Rob and Erin Perlman
Allan Reishus Barbara Robinson Paul and Annie Sachs Tom and lesley Schuldt Michael Scott isaias Simon and Olga Marina Ayala Peter and Heather Sloop Roberta Smith Alan and Pamela Sorkin Jim and Jacquie Stegmaier Mike and Fran Stoltz Strings Music Festival Rosalie Summerill Kathleen Titus Norbert and Melanie Turek Eric Uhlberg United Methodist Women Peter and gretchen Van De Carr Jimmy and lauren VandenHurk David Wallace Steven and Patti Warnke Carrie Warren-gully Tara Weaver Kevin and Cynthia Weeks Thomas Wood Wade Wykert Bo Yennie Donna Young
geoffrey and lisel Petis Jason and Reall Regan Kelly Reilly Denis Rey and Patricia llanes Megan Richard Anonymous Bud and Jane Romberg Denis and lisa Rondeau Dean and Ann Rosemeyer gerald Ross Jacob Rotmensch and Nadine Foster Jess Ryan Safeway Foundation Brooke Salazar Dennis Savage and Julie guda John Saveson and Sheila Murphy Robin Schepper Becky Slamal Wendy Smith Mikelsons Sheri Steiner Stoller Family Chris Tamucci george and Jenny Tempest Jerome and Connie Thisse Karen Sue Timson Wesley and laura Trimble Connor and logan VanOveren Skip and Kate Warnke Benjamin Weaver Bob and Paula Weaver Holly Wilson Scott Wither
Boots on the Ground
The hard work, perseverance, and grit of our program participants is a true inspiration. Special thanks to our crewmembers, leaders, ďŹ eld coordinators, and interns. last year rocked because of you!
rockymountainyouthcorps.org
w w w. roc kymountainyouthcor ps. org
991 Captain Jack Drive Steamboat Springs, CO 80487