“The National Park Foundation has consistently been one of our strongest funding partners over the years,” said Ron Hassel, Conservation Legacy’s Partnerships Director. “We are thrilled to once again have their support in 2022, and can’t wait to put their funding to action through our conservation corps crews and individual placement interns. We are especially excited about ALCC’s Native Conservation Crew, whose members will continue to help integrate Indigenous insight and perspective into the national park narrative—truly a crucial collaboration.”

Meet up with the Ancestral Lands Zuni crew as they maintain trails on the highest peak in Arizona and a sacred place to many indigenous people - Humphrey's Peak. Get to know the crew and their dedication to steward this sacred mountain.

In north-western New Mexico, traditional Indigenous farming methods are being passed down to protect against the effects of climate crisis

At Bears Ears National Monument, a crew of young men from the Pueblo of Zuni is caring for the cliff dwellings their ancestors built 800 years ago.

March 1, 2022 | Between Oct. 20-24, 2021 the Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps, Grand Canyon Youth and Grand Canyon Vegetation Program staff collaborated on a 2021 National Park Foundation Service Corps grant funded project titled, “Engaging Native American Youth in Habitat Restoration to Increase Recreation Access.”

February 24th, 2022 | The National Park Foundation today announced the official launch of ParkVentures within the organization's Outdoor Exploration initiative. ParkVentures supports programs and activities that help people create and strengthen life-long relationships with national parks, with a focus on communities that have been historically excluded from parks and may not feel a sense of belonging in the outdoors.

January 24, 2022 | Jessica’s time with ALCC changed her life. She shares, “I was a little lost before the program and I needed some direction. I was excited for a new beginning but not prepared for what was about to come. Reconnecting with ancestral lands gave me purpose and meaning again.” She found out about Conservation Legacy through her tribe’s Tribal Historic Preservation Office. These offices have many responsibilities and typically advise Federal agencies on the management of Tribal historic properties, supervise when there are archeological digs or prescribed burns on tribal lands, and conduct surveys and inventories of tribal historic properties.

December 20th, 2021 | Working with the Forest Service, Tribal governments and communities, Ancestral Lands conservation corps, and other partners, we are connecting small diameter timber from restoration projects led by NFF and the Forest Service with Tribal partners who split the wood and provide it to elders and other community members.

December 10th, 2021 | Sprinkled among the tall grasses, wildflowers, and Bebb’s willows (the southernmost stand of Bebbs in the world) are 20 or so 20-somethings, all Hopi and Tewa. Like Manuel, they are workers for Ancestral Lands, an Indigenous conservation corps tasked with removing waste wood from sunny Hart Prairie, a wide open meadow near Flagstaff, Arizona. Above them is the rugged skyline of the San Francisco Peaks, known as Nuva’tukya’ovi, or “The Place of Snow on the Very Top,” to Manuel’s people.

November 17th, 2021 | Located in southeastern Utah, Bears Ears National Monument has a rich cultural heritage and is sacred to many American Indian tribes who rely on these lands for traditional and ceremonial uses. The Bureau of Land Management Utah is partnering with Ancestral Lands Corps, Friends of Cedar Mesa, and Woods Canyon Archaeological Consultants to protect and manage River House in the Bears Ears National Monument.