At the Stillwater NWR in Nevada, the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) program traced a memorable summer at the refuge, consisting of a hard-working young crew of four, who alongside refuge staff helped maintain trails, planted native seeds and collected them for processing, and banded waterfowl in the Ruby Mountains.
This year, Stillwater onboarded the four teens under the instruction of our crew leader, Keith Sluyter, who returned for his 17th season to teach the group about maintenance of the local refuges, biology of a variety of plants, animals, and bugs, and countless other refuge details throughout the summer.
One thing everyone knows about the summer Nevada desert is that it gets incredibly hot, so not least of all was the 2026 Stillwater YCC crew accomplishing demanding work in an unforgiving environment, while prioritizing safety around the harsh weather conditions. They did obtain a brief respite at the Ruby Lake NWR, which offers more tolerable conditions temperature-wise, and added to their experiences a chance to band waterfowl with the refuge biologist, Daniel Dewey. The crew also repaired the Cave Creek Trail and visited Fort Ruby to perform some cleanup to the historic site.
This employment opportunity is incredible because it is quite different from local options for teens, and it demands much from everybody involved. At the end of each summer, looking back at all the work and shared knowledge reflects the worth of the YCC program, and it is priceless.
The Youth Conservation Corps program employs teenagers between the ages of 15 to 18 as summer employees who get to work on National Wildlife Refuges (NWR), National Parks, or National Forests, learning about public lands stewardship and conservation during their employment.
