{"id":13788,"date":"2017-03-20T08:00:59","date_gmt":"2017-03-20T12:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/?p=13788"},"modified":"2017-06-21T15:25:16","modified_gmt":"2017-06-21T19:25:16","slug":"dedicated-to-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2017\/03\/20\/dedicated-to-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Dedicated to Service: Maryland Conservation Corps"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Crewmembers at Patpasco; by Joe Evans<\/p><\/div>\n

Each year a new team of young adults from diverse backgrounds unite to work toward the common goal of improving public lands. These 17-25 year-olds make up the heart of the Maryland Conservation Corps<\/a>, which is managed by the Maryland Park Service<\/a> and partially funded by an AmeriCorps grant through the Governor\u2019s Office on Service and Volunteerism. For more than 30 years, corps members have worked to maintain and improve state parks, restore the Chesapeake Bay and educate others about the importance of environmental stewardship.<\/p>\n

Under the supervision of crew leaders and park rangers, members work in an assigned state park in teams of five to seven. There are currently seven crews around the state. During the 10-month program, they are involved in a variety of projects, including maintaining biking and hiking trails, removing invasive species, planting trees or working on park improvement projects. Occasionally, all crewmembers gather together for training or large-scale projects.<\/p>\n

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\"\"Conservation efforts<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Maryland Conservation Corps was established in 1984 as an initiative to help restore the Chesapeake Bay. That foundation remains an integral part of the program. Throughout their service term, members may find themselves working alongside department staff from the Chesapeake and Coastal Service<\/a> to plant thousands of bay grasses or restore a stream. They may also have the opportunity to work with staff from the National Aquarium to lead volunteers in tree planting projects. By the end, they end up planting several thousand trees and native plants to improve riparian buffers, control erosion and help improve water quality.<\/p>\n

One of the major projects that members have been participating in for the past five years involves proactively trying to save a keystone forest species: the hemlock tree. These magnificent giants have been seized by the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid<\/a>, an insect that can kill the tree and devastate the ecosystem. In a cooperative agreement with the Maryland Department of Agriculture, crewmembers receive pesticide applicator training so they can inoculate hemlocks against the deadly bug. To date, they have treated more than 30,000 trees!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Qualifications<\/strong><\/p>\n