American YouthWorks` Environmental Corps/ Texas Conservation

American YouthWorks’
Environmental Corps/ Texas Conservation Corps
At Eisenhower State Park
Erick Hetzel
Field Coordinator
Environmental Corps/ Texas
Conservation Corps
What is American Youthworks?
 American YouthWorks is a 501(c)(3) organization based in
Austin, Texas that is dedicated to transforming the lives of
at-risk youth through education, service and green jobs
training. We operate a public charter high school, a GED
program, and green jobs training and service programs:
Casa Verde Builders, Environmental Corps/ Texas
Conservation Corps, Computer Corps, and Green Energy
Corps.
 Environmental Corps (E-Corps)/ Texas Conservation Corps
supplies conservation work to city, county, state and
national partners in Texas and the surrounding region.
A Little Bit About
Conservation Corps
 Modern Conservation Corps are national service and
jobs training programs modeled after the Civilian
Conservation Corps of the 1930’s.
 Engage and train members in building/maintaining
trails and other recreational facilities, habitat
restoration, emergency response, wildland fire/ fuels
reduction, energy efficiency improvements and more.
 There are 142 regional/local corps + SCA working in all
50 states.
Trails Across Texas
 Since 2009, American YouthWorks’ Environmental
Corps has partnered with the Texas Parks And Wildlife
Department to create the “Trails Across Texas”
program.
 Trails Across Texas is a 10 person trail crew that builds
and maintains trails in Texas State Parks.
 Crew leaders and crew members are Americorps
volunteers that dedicate up to a year to national
service.
 Trails Across Texas is funded through the Federal
Recreational Trails Program.
Trails Across Texas
 The Recreational Trails Program (RTP) provides
funds to the States to develop and maintain
recreational trails and trail-related facilities for both
non-motorized and motorized recreational trail uses.
 The RTP funds come from the Federal Highway Trust
Fund, and represent a portion of the motor fuel excise
tax collected from non-highway recreational fuel use:
fuel used for off-highway recreation by snowmobiles,
all-terrain vehicles, off-highway motorcycles, and offhighway light trucks.
Why Eisenhower State Park?
 Most OHV recreation occurs on private lands. Texas is
approximately 95%/5% private/public land.
 Eisenhower State Park is currently the only Texas State
Park to offer trail- based recreational OHV opportunities.
The OHV trail facility is the last remnant of a discarded
mini-bike program from the 70’s.
 As a result the facility is suffering from too much love, and
the limited area is filled with many unsustainable user
created trails.
 US Army Corps of Engineers agreed to lease 40 acres of
adjoining land to the state park, to increase the size of the
OHV Facility.
One of the trail system’s eroded sections
Speed Bumps
 The unique ecology of the land made sustainable trail
layout a challenge. We were told to stay away from
“pocket prairies” and areas that were historically
considered prairie.
 This contributed to the much expanded time table.
Every iteration of the trail had to be ground truthed by
trail planners and biologists before moving forward.
New Partnerships
 The project allowed a three way collaboration between
American YouthWorks, Texas Parks and Wildlife, and Trails
Unlimited, an Enterprise Program of the US Forest Service.
 Trails Unlimited was able to bring to the table their
expertise in OHV specific trail planning and mechanized
construction, which allowed us to build 4 miles of trail in 2
weeks.
 Trails Unlimited focused on construction of the trail tread
which, at 5 feet wide, would have taken the hand crew a
significant amount of time.
 Trails Across Texas focused on the initial clearing, stump
and root removal, and other detail work that did not suit
the mechanized crew.
INITIAL PLANNING
THE CREW CUTS THE TRAIL CORRIDOR
TRAILS UNLIMITED CUTS THE TRAIL
TREAD
AMERICAN YOUTHWORKS’ CREW PERFORMS
THE FINISHING WORK ON THE TRAIL TREAD
TRAILS UNLIMITED DRAGS THE TREAD
WITH A HARROW
TRAILS UNLIMITED INSTRUCTS TRAILS
ACROSS TEXAS IN ARCHED CULVERT
INSTALLATION
GRIPHOIST RIGGING
WORKSHOP
THE FINAL PRODUCT