Yesterday I was in the Harrison County Courthouse at the GIS office when I noticed a copy of the Harrison County Conservation Boards most recent newsletter. The newsletter's leading story was about AmeriCorps Coming to the Loess Hills by way of a partnership formed between Pottawattamie, Plymouth and Harrison County Conservation Boards. It appears their main focus will be removal of invasive species at select locations in the Loess Hills. Invasive species control is difficult and takes a great deal of work. Its kind of like keeping the dandelions out of your yard, only its a huge yard of hundreds of thousands of acres. Controlling the invasive species in the Loess Hills is even more difficult due to some of the remote locations and the steep slopes of the western and southern hills.

I thought the article was worth sharing so I'll post it below.

by: Tim Sproul, Director

Harrison County Conservation Board

AmeriCorps *NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) is a full-time team-based residential program for men and women ages 18-24, connecting more than 70,000 Americans each year in intensive service to meet our country's critical needs in education, public safety, health, and the environment. The mission of AmeriCorps is to strengthen communities and develop leaders. They partner with non-profit organizations, state and local governments, faith-based groups, and other community organizations to complete service projects throughout the region they are assigned.

Harrison County Conservation Board has joined with Pottawattamie and Plymouth County Conservation Boards and with the private non-profit Nature Conservancy, to host an AmeriCorps project for eight weeks during the fall of 2007. Each site will host the crew for two weeks and will focus on natural resource restoration activities in the Loess Hills and adjacent Missouri River corridor.

AmeriCorps draws upon the successful models of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) of the 1930's and the U.S. Military. It is built on the belief that civic responsibility is an inherent duty of all citizens and that national service programs work effectively with local communities to address pressing needs.

AmeriCorps requires an intensive ten month commitment. Members serve in 10-12 person teams. They are trained in CPR, first aid, public safety, and other skills before beginning their first service project. Full-time members who complete their service earn a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award of $4,725 to pay for college, graduate school, or to pay back qualified student loans. Some AmeriCorps members may also receive a modest living allowance during their time of service.

Harrison County Conservation will house the crew at the housekeeping cabins at Willow Lake and provide all training, equipment, and project supervision. The crew will arrive on October 20th and work until November 2nd. The list of potential projects is daunting and will be prioritized to gain the most success as soon as we know the makeup of the crew. Desired outcomes for our project includes:

1. Invasive species control on a degraded Loess Hills prairie at the Harrison County Historical Village/Welcome Center of about 10 acres,
   

2. Trail maintenance and cedar tree removal on the Gleason-Hubel Wildlife Area for two miles of trail and numerous prairie ridge tops,
   

3. Invasive species control at the Willow Lake Recreation Area,
   

4. Woody vegetation control on the Vaile Wetland Nature Area and Missouri Bottoms Wetland totaling over 100 acres,
   

5. Invasive species control at the Murray Hill Scenic Overlook,
   

Our ultimate goal is to restore ecological integrity to the lands we manage and to foster appreciation and understanding of the Loess Hills as a globally significant landform. The reality of the goal is that it takes many hands and minds to make significant progress and AmeriCorps is a great opportunity for HCCB to reach that goal. We are excited to welcome the "strong backs" and resources of enthusiastic, talented, and dedicated young adults committed to working for the future.