The Southwest Conservation Corps (SCC), a non-profit organization, visited the Southern Ute Indian Tribe Monday, June 15 through Friday, June 16, to remove invasive weeds and plants from the Pine River Trail while also making repairs to the switchbacks on the Bear Trail. Working in collaboration with the Environmental Programs Department (EPD), the group of local Native youth from the Four Corners area worked for five days to repair the paths – SCC operates conservation service programs across Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico that engage youth, young adults, and veterans on public lands.
As mentioned in part one of the two-part article series (see issue No. 13, June 26, 2026), the Southwest Conservation Corps (SCC), a non-profit organization, visited the Southern Ute Indian Tribe Monday, June 15 through Friday, June 16, to remove invasive weeds and plants from the Pine River Trail while also making repairs to the switchbacks on the Bear Trail. Working in collaboration with the Environmental Programs Department (EPD), the group of local Native youth from the Four Corners area worked for five days to repair the paths – SCC operates conservation service programs across Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico that engage youth, young adults, and veterans on public lands.
The SCC is a program of Conservation Legacy that was founded in 1998 to continue legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930’s. The SCC provides youth, young adults, and veterans with structured, safe, challenging service, and educational opportunities through projects that promote personal growth, the development of social skills, and an ethic of natural resource stewardship.
Joaquin King works for EPD under the Water Quality and Remediation Division as the Water Quality Specialist. During the SCC Bear Trail Clean Up, King visited the site and shared he is grateful for the work the crew has done to ensure the safety of the community and longevity of the Bear Trail. “[SCC] did an incredible job with the Bear Trail; they helped to prevent any further erosion, and they configured a proper drainage system by building trail walls and rock structures to reinforce the trail,” King said. “It was awesome to collaborate with SCC; they are a great organization who employs local youth and Indigenous volunteers to come out and assist different tribes.”
King continues, “Those students got to come out here to help EPD and [the Southern Ute Indian Tribe] with environmental and conservation efforts, the collaboration was a great way for our department to do another community outreach program,” King said. “I encourage our local high school and middle school students to get in contact with the SCC and inquire about their summer programs, it makes a good addition to their resumes as well – in the future EPD would definitely work with SCC again, we would love to see our local Indigenous youth in their programs.”
Joaquin King, Water Quality Specialist, took time to share gratitude with the Southwest Conversation Corps for their hard work during their time spent on Tribal Campus; “I would like to give a shoutout to Pam and her crew from SCC, they did a tremendous job helping out the Environmental Programs Department and the Ignacio community by making the Bear Trail safer for all who enjoy using it – SCC was a great organization to work with,” King said. “Not only a great organization but specifically a great crew of youth we got to work with, they were very efficient but also fun to be around, those kids did their job with enthusiasm and lots of joy. We hope to work with SCC again in the future.”