by Mt. Adams Institute | Sep 6, 2018 | VetsWork
With this being my second term as an AmeriCorps member in the VetsWork Environment program I had the privilege of being my district’s Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) crew leader for a second time this summer. From my experience last year, I’m not going to lie, I was...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Sep 6, 2018 | VetsWork
As a great lover of musicals it is not hard for me to imagine during my day to day routine that I am indeed living in a musical, or at least should be. Random songs are constantly popping into my head that perfectly describe whatever situation I find myself in. It...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Sep 6, 2018 | VetsWork
Blog number two! Things have been a blast down in Crescent America. Since the April blog, I’ve done many little adventures for work here in Crescent, OR and even had the opportunity to work in the Redmond/Sisters, OR area. I’ve been a part of many projects on the...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Sep 6, 2018 | VetsWork
I’ve been working at the Eastern Divide Ranger District since early March, and I’ve seen and done a lot of really cool things. Hiking the Cascades Recreation Area, supporting a prescribed burn, and getting to shock and tag eels in a creek are some of my personal...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Aug 6, 2018 | VetsWork Fire
While making the decision to come out here for this program, one of the things I was looking forward to most, was getting out of my old routines and beginning a new job in a new location. The daily routine here starts early. We typically begin our days with physical...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Aug 6, 2018 | VetsWork
It’s now halfway through the internship and my time at the Davy Crockett National Forest (DCNF) is ending. I’ve been a part of several community outreach events, such as a forest education day for the Alabama-Coushatta tribe’s summer youth camp and multiple weekend...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Aug 6, 2018 | Land Stewards
As a Wilderness trails ranger with the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, I have the great privilege of working in the Glacier Peaks Wilderness. Now that I’m more than a third of the way through the season, I’d like to share some highlights. As its name suggests, the...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Aug 6, 2018 | VetsWork
Alright, so the last time you guys heard from me I was battling snow for the first time which was no cake walk. Now I long for the days of cold and white while I bake in the sun soaked oven that Hells Canyon turns into during summer. Temperatures have jumped to 105...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Aug 6, 2018 | Field Notes
Wet Planet Whitewater is strengthening its commitment to protecting natural resources in the White Salmon River watershed by supporting organizations that provide stewardship service. The Husum, WA whitewater rafting and kayaking company that has hosted the White...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Jul 26, 2018 | VetsWork
Hey everyone, Brandon Mersich here with my 2nd blog update on the Malheur National Forest’s recreation position. The past couple of months have been super busy and full of training, see the list of all my training below if you want an idea of what you could also get...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Jul 26, 2018 | VetsWork
Like most of us who accepted internships through the VetsWork AmeriCorps program, I was a bit nervous as to what I was getting myself into. Now that I am five months in at the King Conservation District (KCD), I can say with confidence this was one of the best...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Jul 26, 2018 | Land Stewards
It’s hard to explain to someone what a burn area looks like. In the back of my mind I knew the Entiat River Valley burned badly in the Wolverine Fire of 2015. I grew up in Wenatchee, just 20 miles south, and every summer the valley fills with smoke from one fire or...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Jul 26, 2018 | VetsWork Fire
We are several weeks into the program so far; we have all been through most of the trainings and certifications now. We are all certified on chainsaws and have been working hard on the thinning unit honing in our skills with the saw. Last week we went to Fire School,...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Jul 26, 2018 | VetsWork Fire
Before I arrived to participate with the Mt. Adams Institute’s VetsWork GreenCorps program I expected to be challenged physically and to learn about wildland firefighting. Other than that I did not know what else to expect. Within the first three weeks we have done...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Jul 26, 2018 | VetsWork Fire
“I need you to break off and handle that spot fire!” my squad leader yelled back at me from beyond the trees ahead. I had only been digging a line to contain the main fire for 15 minutes, but I was already soaked in sweat from chopping through the dense...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Jul 26, 2018 | VetsWork Fire
The time has flown by incredibly fast. What has seemed like only a few weeks has turned into a few months, and the end of the program and the beginning of our time as official Forest Service employees is rapidly approaching. We have had more hours than I can count of...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Jul 24, 2018 | VetsWork Fire
My day working with the Umatilla Vet crew starts the same everyday with some form of physical training (PT). Most days we thin heavily forested areas to reduce the potential for wildfires. We have completed over 8 acres so far. That’s pretty much our normal routine:...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Jul 24, 2018 | Land Stewards
I was motivated to apply for the Mt. Adams Institute Public Lands Stewards program after seeing that they had a position available in the Methow Valley Ranger District of the Okanogan- Wenatchee National Forest. I was specifically looking for work in this area because...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Jul 24, 2018 | Land Stewards
It is now about two months into my internship at the Conboy Lake National Wildlife Refuge and it has definitely been a drastic change from my home in Alabama. I skipped my college graduation (which I had been searching for a good reason to do) because I was riding in...
by Mt. Adams Institute | Jul 24, 2018 | Land Stewards
I’m writing this as I wait for the sun to go down so that Hannah, my AmeriCorps partner, and I can begin our nighttime bullfrog hunt. I’d really like to use a better word than hunt, say survey or monitoring, but hunting for all intensive purposes is what we do....
by Mt. Adams Institute | Jul 24, 2018 | Land Stewards
“When we enter the landscape to learn something, we are obligated, I think, to pay attention rather than constantly to pose questions. To approach the land as we would a person, by opening an intelligent conversation. And to stay in one place, to make of that one,...
