December 12, 2019 | Justin Francisco found himself at loose ends after leaving the U.S. Marine Corps. After floating around for a bit, he got into a welding training program with the Wounded Warrior Project. His life was getting back on track, he was learning a useful skill, but welding wasn’t exactly his dream job. After the excitement of serving in the military, it seemed pretty tame.

Scrolling through the Veterans Administration newsletter one day, Francisco saw something that caught his eye: an ad for a veterans’ program under the nonprofit Southwest Conservation Corps.

October 9, 2019 | There are moments on Utah’s San Juan River when conversations fall silent, the wind calms, and the only sound you can hear is the drip of water off the oars. And in mellow stretches when even rowing is unnecessary, the rafts can be left to twirl beneath towering limestone walls. Time stretches out and seems to come unwound until the piercing call of a peregrine falcon breaks through the silence.

October 8, 2019 | This year was the first year working with the Southwest Conservation Corps (SCC). Five SCC members consisting of Hopi young adults assisted the FLAG NPS Archaeologists with site condition monitoring for about three months over the summer. Archaeological site monitoring occurs to assess the condition of archaeological sites and to see how these sites change over time. Monitoring took place at all three of the FLAG Monuments.