Good to the Corps
At 21, veteran leads local conservation corps effort

ABOVE: Joycelyn Johnson, a supervisor on the Youth Conservation Corps work crew, lines up boards that will mark the trail the crew is working on. The Scenic Byway Trail runs from the east end of town along Historic Route 66 near the interstate to just across from Earl s Restaurant. BELOW: Johnson watches the work on the Scenic Byway Trail. Johnson, 21, has been working with the YCC for four seasons. — © 2008 Gallup Independent / Brian Leddy

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Kevin Killough
Staff writer

GALLUP — With more than four years of service in the Youth Conservation Corps, Joycelyn Johnson is a YCC veteran. The 21-year-old hydrology student had previously pursued a career in nursing. Both pursuits were inspired by her work in YCC. The program taught her CPR and first aid, which started her down the path to nursing. But a YCC trip to Valle Vidal in 2005 to do conservation work on the river changed her plans.

“We did a lot of good stuff out there. It was hard work, but it was rewarding,”Johnson says.

The Gallup YCC, which employs some 50 youths in any given season, does a lot of work toward restoration efforts on waterways in the area. This service is in addition to a wide range of activities to improve the community. They’ve built dozens of miles of trails, planted trees, given away scholarships, and removed hundreds of tons of trash.

Since the Valle Vidal trip, Johnson has changed her major to hydrology. She is a supervisor in the corps and does work on waterway restoration and other community projects around Gallup. The Valle Vidal trip, she says, provided her and the crew with a whole new set of hydrological skills, which they’ve since applied to their work on the Rio Puerco and Catalpa Wash along the golf course.

“I’m duly impressed. They’ve far exceeded my expectations,” says Director of Golf Operations Bob Weekes, who calls their work “invaluable.”

The work on the wash has been an enormous task for the past couple years. It began with removing tons of illegal dumped trash that cluttered the entire stretch of the waterway. There were also plenty of invasive species to weed out, including salt cedar and globe thistle, which had choked the wash.

After the wash was cleared, Johnson and the crew went about building check dams. These are structures designed to slow erosion and prevent the water from gouging a jagged path. The check dams are a bed of broken rocks made from discarded concrete. This bed catches the sediment over time, and when the riverbed rises over the check dam, another layer is built on top.

“You can see here where plants have began growing between the rocks, which is what we want,” Johnson says, showing satisfaction in the YCC’s efforts.

Upstream, the YCC crew built a baffle, which is a structure that directs water in such a way that will help create a meandering affect along the wash. They also transplanted willows to help prevent erosion, rebuild sediment, and provide shade for fish and birds.

“Oh look. They’re growing,” says Johnson, showing off the leafing willow stalks.

All of these efforts are providing Johnson and others in YCC with practical experience.

“I learn something new each year,” Johnson says.

The previous year, YCC crews had done work downstream on the Catalpa Wash, where the walls of the wash are so high that check dams wouldn’t be practical. The area is representative of what further erosion would create if gone unchecked. The YCC built retaining walls, which prevent the high walls from eroding away. They also protect paths on the golf course from being destroyed.

In a few places, the YCC also placed rip-wrap. These are beds of broken concrete, discarded from the city’s public works department, and they slow down the water to prevent erosion in areas where water moves rapidly like at the mouths of drains.

Johnson will graduate in 2010 and plans to continue working the waterway conservation field. She will have a lot of practical experience in addition to her education, thanks to YCC.

“I love being outside. I love working with the water,” she said.

The Gallup YCC hires through a competitive process that begins in March. Applicants must be at least 14 and younger than 21 to enter the corps group. Karl Lohmann, who heads the program in Gallup, says that the work is fun and satisfying.

“The ethic of service is universal,” he says.