Weatherization

Pearls of Wisdom

There is a small shabby trailer tucked away in the closed down RV park on the south east side of Marion. A Dodge truck parks permanently next to it, its engine lays under it, shaded by its flatbed and encroaching weeds. The screen door blows open and shut in the wind, and the unmistakable smell of sewage swirls upward from the underbelly of the faded yellow home. I feel abandoned here.

A man comes to the door. It bursts open. "Oh that darn screen!!! Hello, come in come in come in." He wears a worn and mismatched sweatsuit, his skin is falling from his bones, his smile is bursting across his face, and his right hand is outstretched. "Hi I'm Chris! This is my son. Well thanks for comin! Glad you could fit me in."

And so I learn that this little inhospitable corner of the world, is home to the most loving person I will ever meet. Hanging from the ceiling in little drawstring bags are his treasures. Quartz crystals, small pearls, knickknacks which he finds beautiful and enjoys. The corners of his living room hold his guitars, relics of his past, and on his coffee table are countless bottles of poisonous medication, which will determine whether he will have a future.

We quietly assess the home while he asks us about our lives; about what we love to do; about who we love. He shows us pictures of family, and sings some of his favorite tunes. He becomes faint from the excitement but even after sitting talks himself silly. Four cracked windows, no smoke detector, no CO detector, no carpeting, only two rooms (the kitchen and the living room) which are finished, broken pipes, freezing cold floor, and a lot of dishes which are for naught because of his constant nausea. He brushes aside cancer as though it isn't an elephant in the room. As though it hasn't taken up enormous space in his life, as though it hasn't left him abandoned and broke in this naked place. And you only realize the tragic truth when you look into the eyes of his son who helps change lightbulbs and laughs at his dads jokes, but who steps outside for a cigarette, hanging his head, knowing that his father will probably not be around long enough to feel the cold that will seep into the windows of this broken down home.

We chatter happily as our work progresses and suddenly the windows and doors are sealed, the lightbulbs are shining, the detectors are beeping, and our job is done. It seems brighter, perhaps warmer. "Open your hand!" He grins at me. I open it. "Close your eyes!" I close them. I feel a cold hand on mine. And then I feel a small smooth pebble. I know what it is. But I am afraid to open my eyes. Afraid that I might cry. Afraid that I am angry for him. Angry that I can give him plastic windows but that I cannot save him. Angry that in this dreary home he will see the last of his days, and that he is giving away one of the few beautiful things that he owns, away to me.

I open my eyes anyway. There is not a bone of anger in him. He admits to no frustration in the face of this great injustice. None of that. He is simply smiling with the anticipation of a 2-year-old. I thank him profusely, tell him that his treasure is beautiful, because it is the most beautiful gift anyone has ever given me, and I turn to leave. "Wait!" He says.

He takes Eli into one arm, and cradles me in the nook of the other, and pulls us toward him. We wrap our arms around his tall skeleton. When I look back up he looks sad but smiles. "Thank you. It was nice meeting you!" The screen door creaks and slams behind us and the unmistakable smell of sewage again composes itself. But I no longer feel abandoned here. I am accompanied, instead, by grief and anger, and in my pocket, a small pearl- a reminder that even if plastic cannot keep out the cold, then maybe compassion and humanity still can.

And. I. cry.

Mathematics and Distribution of Good

I ask you this question. Is poverty what ails us?

Or is it...wealth?

Say that there are 100 people, who share $100 dollars. Conventional wisdom would suggest that among 100 people each would receive 1 dollar. However the equation changes when we manipulate that $100 to be spread among Americans. Here, where we live, in our country, where justice rolls down like waters, where all are created equal, 50 of those 100 people (or 50%) each have only a nickel, or 2.5% of the total wealth. Forty of those people (or 40%) each have $.70, or 28% of the total wealth. Nine of those people (or 9%) each have $4.00 of that $100 or %36 of the total wealth. And finally ONE of those people, one single person (1 %), has $33.50.

So. Is it poverty that ails us? Or is it wealth?

I am not an economist. I am not a marxist, a socialist, or opponent of the free market. I am simply asking the question. Should 1% of the population of this country consume 33.5% of its wealth?

We all hunger for opportunity. We all thirst for equality. 100% of us.

Petty Cash

PULASKI: $50
PROTECTIVE GEAR: $30
INFAMOUS BEAR GRASS MONSTER: Priceless

Some things in life are too ridiculous to buy, for everything else there's petty cash.

Of Bridges and Ravines

Have you ever pulled a 1 ton bridge out of a 50 Foot Ravine?

Yea. We hadn't either.

Community Change Action Plan

As an exercise in citizenship, TS Crew has been asked to sit down and draw upon the tools given to us through our Place Lesson pamphlet and resulting discussions, to devise a Community Change Action Plan. A step by step guide to making a difference in your community is strikingly bureaucratic to me, and perhaps a somewhat boring and ineffectual way to motivate the more complacent person, but as an education piece it merits attention, especially in light of the upcoming presidential election. Change is a resoundingly popular word this year, being given, as we have, the opportunity to change the executive power that guides this country.

So what will you do with the power to change?
Brett and I were assigned to address the issue of Wildland Urban Interface. The expansion of the WUI in recent years has challenged wildfire management and has created an environment in which fire moves readily between structures and vegetation, threatening people who live in its path. The USFS operating budget has become strained by the costs of protecting the growing demographic in the wildland.

As an individual I am paying taxes to my local fire department to protect me, and I'm paying taxes to the federal government to protect my forests but not the structures that don't necessarily belong there. So what can be done to address this issue? Brett and I proposed an additional tax to those living in the wildland area. Homes in the WUI must pay an additional tax on their property. Additional Brett and Zoe proposals are to introduce a bill which requires WUI properties to maintain "defensible space" and to protect WUI firefighters from being sued over property damage incurred while in the act of protecting a structure. All of our proposals (we came to discover) have already been introduced and have made their way all the way to teh US senate via two California Senators. Montana, meanwhile, has its own state legislation requiring an additional annual tax of $50/home and $30/ 20 acres have made their way to the US senate.

WUI is not (to be honest) of large personal concern to me. It is something that I believe matters and needs to be addressed, but if I have learned anything through this lesson, it is that the issue that drives you to make a change must be something that you care deeply about and that you have researched heavily, from as many quality sources as you can access. This will allow you to make a quality assessment of the issues of your community, and from there will give you the tools to make a difference.

Ah, it's good to be a citizen.

Job Well Done

Team Sunshine has turned out an immaculate trail. Given 6 days to brush and grub, our trail on Hughes Ridge looks fresh and thoughtfully made.

Having grown as a crew and as individuals throughout the past 3 or so months, our goal during this hitch was to initiate a "leader of the week" program, in order to achieve, as Jack (our CL) would say, a democratization of the crew. Given the chance to step up as crew leader, and with a generous amount of time in our favor, every member of our crew thoughtfully established goals and lined out workdays. And while the job ahead of us wasn't always as clear cut as we may have liked it to be, our output was something worth being proud of. And we are. In 15 days we cleared 150 trees, brushed two miles of bushes, and grubbed some 300 yards or more.

Good Work S Crew!!!!

Spit Spat.

150 trees down, 0 to go!

TS Crew has successfully completed the clearing of 150 trees from the Hughes Wilderness Trail at a rate of 25 to 30 trees per day. We are proud of our accomplishments.

Our next goal will be to brush much of the 2 mile huckleberry-choked trail (and perhaps some of those huckleberries will end up in our tummies), and to grub some trouble spots.

Keep on keepin on.

The Salmo-Priest Wilderness

"Wilderness," according to the Wilderness Act of 1964, is
...an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain...

From September 1st to September 16th, Team Sunshine will hunker down in the northeastern most corner of Washington known as the Salmo-Priest Wilderness.

During our first experience in the a national wilderness, we will face a new set of interesting public land use rules and regulations. A wilderness is a federally protected area of public land, within either a National Forest or Park, which acts as a sanctuary for flora, fauna, and watersheds. There is a strict adherence to LNT practices in the wilderness, where anything with a motor (cars and chainsaws alike), and even bicycles, are not allowed.

So what is our first challenge? To clear 150 fallen trees from the trail on Hughes Ridge.

With cross cuts.

Wish us luuuuuuuck :)

GO TEAM SUNSHINE!

Over and Out!

TS Crew completed our final great adventure at Glacier National Park. Thank you to the nursery staff for your guidance and sponsorship!

The age old what are we doing here question

The Montana Conservation Corps mission is to equip young people with the skills and values to become engaged citizens who improve our communities and environments.

It does become tempting--nearing the middle of the season, working at a more relaxed pace than usual-- to become complacent and perhaps a little bit unaware of your job. The novelty is wearing a little thin, the spark of an unusual event fades. "The fifth trip over the Going to the Sun Road was enough," you tell yourself. So this is when I ask myself (or maybe nag at myself while sitting on my haunches procrastinating this blog for a week!), what exactly it is that the job that I am doing means to me, means to my community, and means to my environment.


I'll begin with seed collection. Seed collection to me means an opportunity to learn about something I otherwise would've never pursued. That is, the native flora of glacier national park. I feel more akin to the park, knowing its plants, their properties, their name, their characteristics.

Seed Collection to the MCC is representative of our commitment to reducing reducing impact. We practice LNT and build trails so that people can appreciate nature as indestructively as possible. Seed collecting serves a similar purpose. The seeds which we collect are redistributed in revegetation projects in order to restore the ecological integrity of parts of the park which have been disturbed by construction or related operational activities which inhibit growth of the parks natural species. By reveging these areas the park limits the danger of nonnative species (such as nap weed) from proliferating in those areas, and restore them to their former health.

So while it is true that this job is perhaps running at a more lenient pace, and although the middle of the season is creeping up on us, I'll continue to pursue it just as full heartedly as the first day when I picked my boots out of a foot of mud and stood wide eyed at the novelty of it all.

Picking pecks of non pickled pontentillas

TS Crew is spreading its rays in West GNP this week and has pleasantly eased into the pace of seed collection!

We have had the opportunity to work with park botanists and nursery workers, learning about the various native and nonnative flora growing throughout the different drainages of the park including upper st. mary, many glacier, and more.

Among the plant and grass species being collected are the: blue bunch, idaho fescue, pontentilla, stone seed, and many more (which likely have spellings I'm not feeling quite ambitious enough to ponder).

These seeds will be dried at the GNP nursery, packaged and organized, and then sent to larger nurseries where they will be multiplied and sent out for revegetation projects throughout the park.

Something to be proud of

Some incredibly cool (and anonymous) person took the time to find our address and send the Northern Rockies Region Office an email about our work in the Upper Priest. Pretty awesome, TS crew. Pretty awesome.

This past weekend, we ran into the crew working along the Upper Priest River trail in Northern Idaho.We were impressed with the good condition of the trail, and noticed the recent maintenance work.Later we hiked by their camp, and agreed it is a well-kept camp. Clean and laid out exactly as it should be in bear country.We eventually crossed paths while hiking up to the falls. We were surprised that so much work had been accomplished by such a small crew.We really appreciate their good work! Thanks!

Wielding the Saw

Our escapades in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest have been many. These include, but are not limited to eating fresh huckleberry pancakes, splashing around in the nearby waterfall, listening to deer trot around our campsite from dusk until dawn trying to poke their noses curiously into our tents, reading endlessly, playing home run derby with a duct-tape ball and pick handle (sorry tool swamper), and swapping stories by the campfire. And these escapades are all AFTER 5:30pm!!!!

Yes, we work too! With our departure date approaching, a quick reflection of our latest accomplishments is in order.




Over the course of 16 days the sunshine crew has removed rocks, and roots on four miles of trail, from the Little Snowy Top Junction to Junction 28. We have rebuilt a Puncheon (which is like a bridge with one rail on the side), have built two water bars, have built and/or maintained 9 draindips and turnpikes, and have removed one HUGE tree from the middle of the trail, making the multi-use trail hopefully more user friendly. Satisfied with our accomplishments we will return from our 16 day exploits under the great cedar canopy and will return eastward to Montana!!!




Thank you to our sponsors and to Lu for your support and delicious brownies!

Team sunshine would also like to welcome Brian to our Crew!!!!!!!

Sincerely,
Team

How to Be a Member

We had a visitor to the backcountry this evening. Lowell, an appreciated supporter and enthusiast of the MCC and an English Professor at the local college, dropped in with fresh grapes and cantaloupe, candy, and great conversation. With morale and blood sugar running high, we all settled ourselves around the fire preparing for another evening of education. Lowell's lesson, which was inspired by a Poem he shared with us entitled "How to Be a Member," led us to evaluate our relationships with each other, and to reminisce about all that we had, up until this point, accomplished.

The poem, which chronicles the path and eventual death of a man trying to fit in by following the proposed rules of a society run by arbitrary rules (like all societies), opened up discussion among us regarding our ability to relate to one another as individuals and members of a crew. Perhaps this is a more intimate view of team sunshine than most of these posts will ever be, but sitting around the circle in that moment, I (me, Zoe) found, looking at each of my fellow crew members, very proud of us for maintaining not only the integrity of our crew, but also the integrity of our individuality. Unlike the man chronicled in the poem, we have not compromised our personalities. We do get frustrated sometimes, and we don't always get along perfectly, but we recognize and celebrate what is different among us, and we do so with humor, respect, and sensitivity. We listen to each other's ideas, and appreciate each other's abilities. Doing so makes us productive, but also lets us enjoy our work.

The discussion which Lowell inspired was a refreshing and welcomed change in pace. It gave us a moment to reflect on our accomplishments. Each crew is met with unique challenges and our crew has met them and surpassed them time and time again without really reflecting. We planted 20,000 trees in 10 days in mud up to our knees, and snow soaking through our coats. We climbed nearly 10 miles a day for for 8 days, up and down mountains. And we've done all of this with the expectation that we could do it and would do it. And now that we have done it (half a season and still going strong!), it feels so rewarding to look back at all of those adventures. The good and the bad, and to just take our own temperature. To recognize in ourselves our abilities, and to give ourselves a pat on the back.

Thank you to Lowell for asking the good questions and inspiring us to recognize our own dynamic and our own contributions to the MCC and to our community. And thank you for the FRUIT!

FAQ: Where are the Facilities? A: Cathole

Always the great Adventurers, TS Crew has headed 6 hours westward to the great state of Idaho, tucked deep into the mythical 100+ ft. cedar canopy of the Priest Lake Ranger District in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest.

With every great adventure, comes a new twist in the plot!!!! TS Crew's latest and greatest challenge has been to learn how to live in the backcountry!!! While front country is equipped with such luxuries as port-a-potties, water from a spout, neighbors, and a gigantic bear box known as whitey the suburban, the backcountry is far more undeveloped far more exciting, and absolutely not conducive to whitey the suburban!! On this trip amenities have include our feet, pack mules (to carry in food, tools, and propane), self-made latrines, bear hangs, and filtered water from a nearby creek. We have learned to build an award winning bear hang with a rock, rope, pulleys, a duct-taped stick, an abandoned work glove, and a few trees, and have learned what constitutes the trappings (haha, gross) of a good latrine which include suitable and comfortable width, sufficient depth for Leave No Trace (LNT) purposes, privacy!, and something to hold onto like a nearby tree (just in case).

Each backcountry experience is probably unique depending upon the surrounding resources available. TS Crew has been lucky to have a bone chilling crystal clear creek all the way along the trail we have been retreading, as well as huckleberries for mid-morning and afternoon snacks!

TS crew would like to give a shout out to Julia for hanging out with us the first few days and showing us the ropes (literally and figuratively).

More from TS Crew to come!

If I were a press release, I'd say....

Crew Maintains Trails in Priest Lake Ranger District

From July 21 to August 5 the Montana Conservation Corps (MCC) Sunshine Crew will complete routine trail maintenance in the Priest Lake Ranger District of the Idaho Panhandle National Forest. The six person crew will repair deteriorated turnpikes, and drainage, among other trail maintenance tasks.

The Montana Conservation Corps Sunshine Crew is based in Kalispell, MT. Their work extends throughout the surrounding parks and forests of the Flathead Valley. The MCC strives to provide young people with the skills and values necessary to make beneficial, sustainable, and lasting contributions to the environment and to the community.

Yes, I AM shoveling snow in July

The Sunshine Crew has had the AMAZING (although undoubtedly tiring) opportunity to work some of the BEST trails in the Many Glacier Valley during our latest hitch, including the famous Iceburg Lake Trail, the Grinnel Glacier Trail, and part of the Mexico to Canada Continental Divide Trail (Piegan Pass). Probably the most exiting of our latest adventures has been being given the great pleasure of opening Ptarmigan Tunnel for the 2008 season!

The tunnel, built in 1933 under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) connects the Belly River Valley and the Many Glacier Valley. The alpine wildlife, incredible views, and chance to make the popular tunnel open to visitors, were well worth the 2 hour, 5.2 mile, 2,300 ft. ascent. Perhaps needless to say, much of our adventure was spent shoveling.





















TS Crew became quite famous among tourists who not only took our picture, but also our shovels so that they could capture a shot of themselves "shoveling in july," which was endlessly entertaining to them. Popular comments regarding the snow also included, "wow, it's like a refrigerator/air conditioner in there." This just in, Snow is cold.



In sum, the Sunshine Crew has had an incredible experience at East Glacier. The scenery was brilliant, the hikes were a challenge, and the work was fulfilling. Thank you to our sponsors, and on to the next great adventure!!!

People or Nature?

The sun never sets on TS crew. That being said, what we do at the end of the day is almost as important as our activities during the day!!!

These include:

• Developing professional hacky skills (see photo) while attempting not to be run over by tourists
• Having snowball fights (yes, in july)
  
• Attending popular ranger-run presentations for park visitors
  

A presentation on park birds revealed the source of all of the chirps and caws we've heard for weeks now, and also gave us some insight into the effects of habitat fragmentation on migratory birds. Neo-tropical birds, who live in equatorial latitudes and return to the north each summer to reproduce, are being threatened by development-related fragmentation of their habitats. Fragmentation of habitats corresponds with a growth in the number of edge habitats. While certain birds thrive in these edge habitats, the change in predators, competitors, and climate, endanger the neo-tropical birds whose populations are beginning to fade.

We also studied the biological and political history of the gray wolf. An eradication effort in the late 19th century left the wolves on the brink of extinction and consequently they have been protected for much of the past century by the Endangered Species Act. The first pack of gray wolves to return to the northern rockies were found in Glacier National Park in 1986 and were referred to as "The magic pack."



So what do the wolves and the birds have in common? That their habitats (and arguably their lives) have been protected by this very park!!!!!! Wolves--top predators-- require land and space to thrive. And the neo tropical birds, endangered by those who are more adapt to the edge habitats, need the safety of the park's inside habitats. While no one would openly argue for the reduction of a national park, they might argue that there is something very odd and unnatural about people being so separated from nature by having government-protected public lands such as National Parks. While our National Parks are well established institutions, many species rich habitats are being destroyed all over the world and conflict exists over whether or not to protect them. Is it fair to remove people from their land for the sake of the land? It is a difficult question. Is it fair to destroy habitats for the sake of people? Also a difficult question. Both questions are painfully simplified, of course, but perhaps the case of the wolves and the birds are indication of the necessity to protect wide expanses of land the world over for the sake of ecological balance and health.

And how do these issues pertain to us at the MCC? We, like the great Going to the Sun Rd., open up opportunities for people to explore what great parcels of nature we have left. Hiking on our trails, maybe they will come to understand what it means to have this great park, and so many others, and how much we need to defend the existance of more parks and fight the fragmentation of habitats the world over!

To read up on the people v. nature debate, check out Requiem for Nature by John Terborgh or Breakfast of Biodiversity by John Vandermeer and Ivette Perfecto and explore what you think!!!

In the meantime, TS crew is happy to be working some of the best trails in the greatest national park around!

Walkin On Sunshine

TS Crew fittingly got to cross the Going to the Sun Rd. on our latest journey back to Many Glacier on the E. side of Glacier National Park. TS Crew's latest hitch from July 6th to the 14th will be spent completing the Piegan Pass reroute, and opening up some park favorites including Ptarmigan Tunnel!!!!!!!

What are we up to?

TS Crew has been hiking the Swiftcurrent trail to Piegan Pass in Many Glacier, in order to do a reroute of a popular horse trail. The horse trail has been eroded and rutted out throughout the years and is now being revegged and a new switchback will replace part of the old trail.

Creating the new path while closing down the old one involves a number of jobs!!!! First is to return the old trail to a natural state by preventing its use in the future. In order to collect sediments in the eroded trail, logs are peeled and placed perpendicularly into the old trail to act as dams, known as checks. These checks collect sediment and fill the trail.
Areas between the checks are filled with pine needle branches, rocks, duff, and vegetation in order to prevent people from using the old trail. Some checks, called "natural checks" are left unpeeled and at an angles in the old pathway to appear as if they were a natural occurrence.

Then, of course, NEW trail is cut!!! The retread on our trail is a large switch back which criss crosses the old trail for a distance of about 100 yards. The new trail will be manicured and branches will be removed from around it so that hikers and horseback riders can enjoy it again!




So now we face the question. What does our job closing an old trail and cutting a new one mean for conservation? We found ourselves asking this question as we cut down and peeled trees, removed roots, and sawed limbs in this majestic and fairly untouched national park. By opening up new trail we are actually preserving vegetation surrounding the old trail. As trails become less usable, people take the next easiest route, which is typically to the left and right of the rutted out trail. The trail becomes larger as it becomes more and more damaged in the center. The species around the trail become damaged and diversity diminishes from 20 species at 100 meters from the trail to just 7 next to the trail. Reducing the potential for this damage is certainly a measure of conservation! Cutting a new trail will reduce this impact on surrounding species and hopefully enable the conservation of the plant species of this park!!!

TS Crew is happy to make a contribution :)

Creatures!

TS Crew have their eyes and ears open having seen, to date, three moose and two bear among other wildlife on their great Glacier adventures!!!

EAST GLACIER!!!!

TS Crew will be cutting tread in East Glacier from June 23 until July 2!!!!!!

TS Crew is PSYCHED to work in GLACIER!!!!!

Striking a Balance

As members of the MCC it is our goal to understand the multiple uses of our public lands. Our latest trip to the Forest Service's Tally Lake Ranger District has certainly been an insightful opportunity for TS Crew in this regard.

While it is commonly believed that National Forest is protected land, left unscathed by extraction, these forests are, in reality, regularly logged by private companies who are often contracted through the forest service!!!! While this may strike you as ironic, the Forest Service must strive to regulate forestry in order to protect both people, and forest, striking a delicate and seemingly contradictory balance. This balance is forced to be maintained due to the development and growth adjacent to the fire-prone forests, known as urban interface. While populations grow around the forests, controlled timber reduction and controlled logging are also established as a means of reducing the potential for the forests to be susceptible to widespread fire.

The Forest Service refers to the practice of fuel reduction, and controlled logging as The Healthy Forest Initiative.

We approach a new generation dedicated to conservation rather than extraction of our public lands. This is an encouraging trend. The value of preserving our public lands can actually be measured by the economic boom of surrounding regions. While the quality of human life can now be measured by the preservation of our lands, we should also recognize that economic boom means development and development is really an antonym, in this case, to preservation. We too, like the forest service, must recognize a balance by reducing interface therefore preserving our majestic forests.

Spreading Light On New Habitats!

In the past two days the Sunshine Crew has planted 1100 plugs including maple, serviceberry, willow, and elderberry in the Nelson Miller and Mid Logan units! The units are controlled burn sites. The purpose of these sites is to remove fuel thereby reducing the danger of wildfires, and to encourage regrowth of new plantlife. The new plugs will provide food to the local wildlife.

Some plants have been staked and recorded in order to monitor their growth throughout the coming years.

We have also begun marking wildlife snags. Wildlife snags are dead trees which are ideal wildlife habitats. Marking the snags will protect them from becoming firewood. If you would like to know more about wildlife snags, check it out here!

TALLY HO!!!!!!

If you're looking for sunshine look no further than Flathead National Forest where the TS crew is beaming!

During their five day spike the Sunshine Crew will plant shrubs in the Mid Logan and Nelson Miller units of the Tally Lake Ranger District.

The TS Crew will also be monitoring fuel reduction sites and marking wildlife snags. The decaying Ponderosa Pine, Black Cottonwood, and Western Larches will be protected from logging in order to preserve habitats for local wildlife!

TS Crew would also like to welcome a new member, Steve!!