Youth Conservation Corps Lead Member - Eldorado National Forest

YCC Crew Leader

Summary: American Conservation Experience, a nonprofit Conservation Corps, in partnership with the Eldorado National Forest, is seeking one Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) Crew Leader.

The Crew Leaders will work on a variety of restoration projects including wilderness trail, campsite restoration, fuels reduction, invasive species removal, recreation site maintenance, archeological surveys, leadership, and job readiness skills.

Start Date: June 1st, 2026

End Date: August 7th, 2026

Location: Placerville, CA - Eldorado Supervisor's Office

The Eldorado National Forest is located in the central Sierra Nevada region within California and encompasses a total of 798,279 acres, which includes 193,027 acres of private ownership.

The Eldorado National Forest is bordered on the north by the Tahoe National Forest, on the east by the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit and the Humboldt-Toiyabe, and to the south by the Stanislaus National Forest. The Eldorado is within 3 - 4 hours of the San Francisco Bay Area and about 1 - 1 1/2 hours from Sacramento. It ranges in elevation from 1,000 feet in the foothills to more than 10,000 feet above sea level along the Sierra crest.

The mountainous topography is broken by the steep canyons of the Mokelumne, Cosumnes, American, and Rubicon rivers. Plateaus of generally moderate relief are located between these steep canyons.

The forest is also home to 297 lakes and reservoirs (including both public and private acreage), which total 11,994 surface acres. 11 large reservoirs account for 9,000 acres. The rest are mostly small, high mountain lakes. Both the rivers and lakes provide excellent fishing opportunities. The Eldorado National Forest provides diverse recreational opportunities to the public. The Forest offers every visitor the chance to enjoy nature and be outdoors.

In addition to two popular wilderness areas (Desolation Wilderness and Mokelumne Wilderness), the forest offers more than 70-day use and overnight developed recreation facilities across the forest for the individual, families and groups.

• Leading a crew of six YCC crew members
• Work on a variety of restoration projects including wilderness trail, campsite restoration, fuels reduction, invasive species removal, recreation site maintenance, archeological surveys, leadership, and job readiness skills
• Contributing as a team member on all assigned projects
• Required to properly and effectively complete assigned projects
• Responsible for civil treatment of team members and safety of oneself and others
• Responsible to on-site projects leaders and lining out the crew on work assignments
• Responsible for understanding how to motivate individual personalities and how to work with youth
• Must perform as a role model and be able to communicate orally and in writing
• Provides advice and counsel to enrollees in work related problems
• Promotes environmental literacy and facilitates personal and professional development for enrollees.
• Resolves complaints and refers disciplinary problems to the next level supervisor
• Responsible for safely driving enrollees to a variety of daily work locations using government vehicles. Drives often include long distances, windy mountain roads, and some unpaved forest roads.

This individual placement is meant to facilitate professional development and promotes exposure to land management agencies and networking with professionals. This could include gaining experience in different conservation fields and shadowing different work groups.

Living Allowance: The ACE Member is expected to contribute ~40 hours/week and will receive a living allowance of $880/week to offset the costs of food and incidental expenses, dispersed bi-weekly.

Housing: USFS shared housing may be an option depending on room availability. If USFS housing is not available, the member will be responsible for finding their own housing. A housing reimbursement up to $100/week is available to help offset the cost of housing.

Travel Assistance: A reimbursable $500 allotment is available for costs related to relocating to the required project location

Public Land Corps Hiring Authority: Members serving under…