YMCA Youth Conservation Crew Applications Due April 17 in Los Alamos

With just 9 to 10 paid positions available and a firm deadline of 5 p.m. on April 17, the Los Alamos Family YMCA is urging teens and young adults ages 16 to 24 to complete their applications for the Youth Conservation Crew before summer hiring closes. Lahni Zollinger, the YMCA's Sports, Youth and Families Coordinator and program administrator, oversees the application process and can be reached at lzollinger@laymca.org or by calling the YMCA at 505-662-3100.

The YCC places crew members on trail maintenance and habitat restoration projects across the Pajarito Plateau, working in partnership with Bandelier National Monument, the Volunteer Task Force, the Delle Foundation, UNM-LA, and Pajarito Trail Fest. The program launched in 2017 and has since become a fixture of the county's summer employment landscape, giving participants hands-on instruction in chainsaw and hand-tool techniques, erosion-control methods, trail tread and drainage repair, and Leave-No-Trace principles, all under staff supervision.

The skills go beyond conservation. Supervisory staff integrate workforce-readiness training into each week of the crew season, covering timekeeping, crew planning, and safe tool protocols. That combination positions YCC graduates for seasonal employment with land-management agencies at the state and federal level, including the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, and for continued environmental education opportunities that have historically included college credit through UNM-LA.

The fieldwork itself carries direct value for Los Alamos trails. Many of the routes residents hike throughout the summer have been built, repaired, or maintained by previous YCC crews. The work addresses trail tread degradation, drainage failures, and hazardous fuel accumulations along high-use corridors, contributing to wildfire mitigation in a region where fire risk is a persistent concern and where deferred trail maintenance compounds quickly.

Applications may be submitted electronically through the YMCA's program page at laymca.org, or on paper at The Family YMCA, the Espanola YMCA Teen Center, or the YMCA Los Alamos Teen Center. Applicants submitting electronically should note that a confirmation email is required to complete the process, and that email can take up to 45 minutes to arrive. The application is not considered complete until the confirmation link is clicked. Incomplete applications will disqualify candidates, so Zollinger advises leaving no blanks and reading all documents thoroughly before submitting.

Families of minors should plan to include parental permission forms and are encouraged to ask about stipends, crew start dates, and transportation logistics before the April 17 deadline.