February 5, 2021 | Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps Celebrates Biden Administration Executive Order Establishing a Civilian Climate Corps, Ready to Engage the Next Generation of Stewards

ALBUQUERQUE, NM. Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps (ALCC) applauds President Joseph R. Biden’s establishment of a Civilian Climate Corps initiative through an executive order, signed January 27, 2021, and is standing ready to assist the Administration in providing work opportunities, engaging Americans in addressing climate change and building community resiliency.

Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps, a Program of Conservation Legacy, operates local conservation and service programming, working in close collaboration with public and private partners and funders. “Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps has a strong history of partnering with Tribes and Pueblos, federal and state agencies, and community-based organizations to create positive impacts for our environment, Indigenous communities and young people, and we are eager to meet the challenge laid out in President Biden’s Civilian Climate Corps to ‘put a new generation of Americans to work conserving and restoring public lands and waters.’” stated Chas Robles, ALCC Program Director.

From ecological monitoring to fire fuels mitigation to watershed and wetland restoration, Conservation Legacy’s many programs align with the call to address climate change. The organization has programming regularly in operation in all 50 U.S. state and territories, supporting a range of deeply impactful project work with local, state and national land management agencies and environmental organizations.

As a local example of this work, ALCC has partnered with the City of Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, US Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and La Plazita Institute to engage Indigenous young people in citizen science and to complete important habitat restoration and community resilience projects to prepare and protect our communities in the face of climate change, while providing critical skills training, job preparation, and professional development opportunities for the next generation of conservation professionals.

Collectively, corps programs across the country annually enroll roughly 25,000 young people. In December 2020, a proposal was released to scale the existing Corps community to engage 500,000 diverse young people and recent veterans over the next five years to complete conservation, clean energy, resilience, and sustainable infrastructure projects. The proposal emphasizes that investments in scaling and expanding corps should be equitable, with a focus on intentionally enrolling and supporting women, young people of color, urban and rural youth, and communities who have been underserved. Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps is part of the network of 130 corps across the country that are prepared to do this work.

Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps

Leading our Nations back to ecological and cultural wellbeing. The Ancestral Lands Model is rooted in the culture and heritage of local tribal communities. The power and impact of Ancestral Lands programming is due to the community investment and support for each program tribally and locally, combined with the network of operational support from Conservation Legacy. Presently there are many different Ancestral Lands programs operating both nationally and on the local level. The Ancestral Lands program model was established in 2008 based at Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico. Conservation Legacy has since worked with multiple Native American communities to expand and replicate this model. Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps is a program of Conservation Legacy. For more information, please visit www.ancestrallands.org.

Conservation Legacy

Continuing the legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps, Conservation Legacy engages individuals to complete important conservation service projects throughout the nation, envisioning a legacy of healthy lands, air and water; thriving people and resilient communities.

Conservation Legacy provides support for local conservation service programs under the leadership of a national organization, delivering high quality programming across the country. Local corps programs are embedded in communities to make the greatest impact by meeting on the ground needs. Working in close collaboration with partners, Conservation Legacy advances goals of increasing opportunities in conservation, stewardship, national service and workforce development. For more information, please visit www.conservationlegacy.org.