{"id":139387,"date":"2026-07-16T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/southwest-conservation-corps-launches-adult-day-crew-program-in-montezuma-county\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T05:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T11:00:00","slug":"southwest-conservation-corps-launches-adult-day-crew-program-in-montezuma-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/southwest-conservation-corps-launches-adult-day-crew-program-in-montezuma-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Southwest Conservation Corps launches adult day crew program in Montezuma County"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"A
A new 10-week Southwest Conservation Corps program will teach adults aged 18-30 (35 for veterans) how to run a chainsaw and prepare for entry-level jobs in conservation and other similar careers. (Courtesy of Southwest Conservation Corps)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The Southwest Conservation Corps is launching its first adult day crew program in Montezuma County this fall with the aim of addressing local conservation workforce needs and providing entry-level opportunities.<\/p>\n

The adult program was created following the success of SCC\u2019s youth program in the county.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur mission is to empower individuals to positively impact their lives, their communities and the environment, and we do that through hands-on work, typically on public lands,\u201d Teresa DiTore, SCC Four Corners regional director, told The<\/em> Journal<\/em>.<\/p>\n

This new adult day crew model addresses two key challenges. The first is providing a place for youth participants who age out of the youth program at age 18 and face barriers to continuing in SCC\u2019s multiday camping crews due to family responsibilities, jobs and other commitments. It also allows SCC\u2019s partner agencies like the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to fill seasonal positions with local workers who are certified and possess the necessary experience.<\/p>\n

\"Prior
Prior experience is not necessary to apply to Southwest Conservation Corps\u2019 new adult day crew program. (Courtesy of Southwest Conservation Corps)<\/span>Max&SamPhoto<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The day crew program will take participants ages 18 to 30, or 35 for veterans. In this model, students can live at home while gaining the technical skills and certifications needed to be hired. The crews consist of seven to nine members who are led by two experienced leaders. The crews will work on projects that include chainsaw operations, trail maintenance and community improvement. The program also provides training in wilderness first aid.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a lot of cool local work that needs to get done, so this crew will not only work on chainsaw projects, but our goal is to give them a wide variety of experience and really expose these crew members to the different opportunities in our region for jobs, for future work,\u201d DiTore said.<\/p>\n

Entrants will work with chainsaws, perform trail work and other community improvements.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll get a wide variety of experience with a wide variety of partners,\u201d DiTore said.<\/p>\n

The inaugural season for the Montezuma County adult day crew will start at the end of August. So far, there are more than 60 applications for seven positions. About 20 of those applications are from Montezuma County residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout even starting the season, there\u2019s already a lot of excitement and interest, which I think is showing us that this is a need. It\u2019s something we feel really excited to implement and see where it goes,\u201d DiTore said.<\/p>\n

If the program proves successful, Southwest Conservation Corps hopes to recreate it in other places such as La Plata County, and in doing so to break down barriers to conservation opportunities she said.<\/p>\n

Selected participants will earn a living stipend during their 10-week course and become eligible for an AmeriCorps education award upon completion of the program. This award was described as a one-time stipend to be used for further education, with many program graduates using the award to obtain certifications in specialties like wilderness medicine, wildland fire or drone operation.<\/p>\n

Applicants need not have prior experience.<\/p>\n

\"About
About 60 applicants have applied for seven positions in the crew set to start in August. (Courtesy of Southwest Conservation Corps)<\/span>Max&SamPhoto<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cOne of the really cool things about our program is that we really don\u2019t require a lot of experience to join our program. We\u2019re looking for people who are excited to join. They\u2019re ready for a challenge, ready to work hard, but willing to learn,\u201d DiTore said.<\/p>\n

She said the program is an entry-level opportunity for young adults to get the skills necessary to further their conservation careers or try something new.<\/p>\n

More information can be found at sccorps.org\/join<\/a>.<\/p>\n

bduran@the-journal.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Participants will gain entry-level experience in chainsaw operations, trail maintenance<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":139388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5794,5735],"tags":[156,529,28,60,29,6419],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-139387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-news","tag-adult-education","tag-conservation","tag-headlines","tag-montezuma-county","tag-newsletter","tag-tj-trueanthem"],"acf":[],"author_name":"Website Administrator","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139387"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139387\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139387"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=139387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}