Notice of Intent to Award Funding to Southwest Conservation Corps

The Southwest Conservation Corps (SCC) is a national non-profit organization with 15 years of experience engaging youth and veterans on projects for public benefit. SCC recruits, places and supports these individuals with training, professional development, personal skill development and assistance with post-program placement. SCC has had a strong history of engaging youth from diverse backgrounds, recent-era veterans, and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) students. By offering a weekly stipend/living allowance that is higher than typical individual placement and providing an AmeriCorps Education award, Southwest Conservation Corps (SCC) is able to attract a wide diversity of youth from a range of socio-economic backgrounds to the program. This helps to expose youth who have not traditionally worked for the BOR to potential career paths in public land management. A partnership with SCC provides not only resource and public stewardship, but also an increased awareness of environmental ethics and stewardship among young people thereby ensuring that the next generation is aware of the necessity of restoring and enhancing a healthy Public Lands. Meaningful experiences such as these provide not only an opportunity for young people to develop professional and life skills but also creates a method in which a vital resource can be utilized by land management agencies such as the BOR to provide the community and Public Lands with necessary conservation practices and outreach. Individual task agreements under the cooperative agreement will provide project and job description detail developed cooperatively between Reclamation and SCC.