2025 Fall Short-Term Conservation Crew Member– AmeriCorps

Overview

Position Title: 2025 Fall Short-Term Conservation Crew Member– AmeriCorps

Conservation Legacy Program: Southwest Conservation Corps

Site Location: Four Corners Office (Durango, CO): 701 Camino Del Rio, Durango, CO 81301
OR Los Valles Office (Salida, CO): 701 E Rainbow Blvd. Salida, CO 81201

Terms of Service:
Start Date: Durango 08/25/2025 Salida 08/26/2025
End Date: Salida 10/31/2025 Durango 11/07/2025
AmeriCorps Slot Classification: 300 Hours

Purpose:

Southwest Conservation Corps (SCC) is a non-profit, AmeriCorps-affiliated organization, whose mission is to Engage future leaders who protect, restore, and enhance our nation’s lands through community-based service. The SCC Adult Program engages motivated young adults, ages 18 – 30, to complete challenging and impactful conservation and service projects. SCC operates out of the Four Corners office in Durango, CO, and out of the Los Valles office in Salida, CO. SCC is located on the ancestral lands of the Puebloan and Ute people, who continue to survive and thrive on these lands today. SCC-LV serves the Arkansas River Valley and the San Luis Valley: the two valleys. SCC-FC serves southwestern Colorado and northern New Mexico.

As an AmeriCorps program participant with Southwest Conservation Corps, your office is great outdoors! Each crew consists of 6 members and 2 leaders. Crews serve and camp for 8 days at a time in either front country (access to your crew vehicle and trailer), in town (collaborating with the county or municipality), or backcountry (hiking all your supplies in with backpacks) locations.

Projects may include trail construction & maintenance, habitat improvement, hazardous fuels reduction, re-vegetation, weeding, herbicide treatment, fencing, facility maintenance, and local environmental service projects. Crews may also complete technical and/or specialized projects depending on project partner needs, including disaster relief if the opportunity arises.

Schedules consist of 10-hour days that are typically 8-days on and 6-days off. There is a possibility you could serve 4 days on and 3 days off, or a variation of schedules. SCC requires that all AmeriCorps crew members demonstrate flexibility in scheduling.

We will be hiring the following crews during the 2025 Fall season. We will speak about the service projects that each of these crews completes during the interview and will discuss your preferences at that time.

Conservation/Trail Crew (Durango + Salida) – This crew serves in both backcountry and front country settings, focusing on trails and a variety of conservation service projects.

Chainsaw Crew (Durango + Salida) – This crew serves primarily in front country settings, focusing on sustainable forestry, fuels reduction, or invasive species removal (with the potential to use herbicide). Crew members will go through USFS Chainsaw Training earning their United States Forest Service A-faller chainsaw certification upon completion.

Tagged as: Conservation

Qualifications:

Qualifications:

To qualify for this AmeriCorps position, you must
• Be a United States citizen, United States national, or a lawful permanent resident
• Be at least 17 years of age
• Have received a high school diploma or equivalency certificate; or has not dropped out of elementary or secondary school to enroll as an AmeriCorps participant, and agrees to obtain a high school diploma or its equivalent prior to using the education award

Required Skills:

In this AmeriCorps position, you will:

• Serve effectively as a member of the crew
• Perform strenuous physical tasks related to environmental conservation and restoration projects
• Serve outdoors in all types of weather and successfully adapt to various climates
• Effectively learn and apply new environmental conservation and restoration skills
• Actively participate in environmental education activities if they are provided
• Practice appropriate safety procedures in all tasks assigned, and