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Americorps-NCCC Crew hard at work on the NCT in Minnesota

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The Americorps-NCCC Crew posing in front of their handiwork
The Americorps-NCCC Crew posing in front of their handiwork

An Americorps-NCCC crew made up of twelve individuals from all over the U.S. are currently working on the NCT in Becker County, MN.  This crew, led by Marlin Lane, is completing trail tread, boardwalks, and signage for a 10-mile stretch south of Elbow Lake Rd.   This section down to the boundary of Greenwater Lake SNA crosses Becker County tax forfeit lands and was previously scouted and cleared by the Laurentian Lakes Chapter.

Here are a couple of news articles written about the Crew by local media outlets.

Crew members hard at work
Crew members hard at work

AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) members are assisting the North Country Trail Association, Laurentian Lakes Chapter, through the construction and clearing of a new segment of the North Country National Scenic Trail in Becker County.

A team of 12 AmeriCorps NCCC members are constructing approximately 10 miles of new trail near Ponsford for six weeks. The group began working June 7 and will work until July 16.

“We really hope to get 10 miles completed,” said Allison Hoensheid, AmeriCorps NCCC member. “It’s slow work, cutting roots, clearing brush.”

Tasks for the team include removing brush, constructing new treadway, building boardwalks and bridges over wet areas and placing signs. The work completed during this time is assisting Becker County in meeting its goal of increasing natural resource based tourism in the region.

The NCCC team is continuing the work of their sponsoring organization, the Laurentian Lakes Chapter of the North Country Trail Association. This organization is made up of 50 members from the Becker County area. They are continuing the building of the trail under the National Trails System Act, which calls for the construction of the North Country Trail (NCT).

Karen Stenberg, of Detroit Lakes, is a member of the Laurentian Lakes Chapter. She helped work on the trail this week with the AmeriCorps group.

“This is the first time we’ve had an AmeriCorps group come help,” she said. “It’s going to be a real help in getting this completed.”

The group has received numerous grants including some from Becker County and the Federal Recreational Trails Program. Through the work they are completing, the Laurentian Lakes Chapter hopes to continue developing a natural feature for non-motorized recreation as well as create a positive economic impact on the local community. More information on the NCT is available at www.northcountrytrail.org/ llc.

“Our team is excited to work in Ponsford and hopes to accomplish our goal of clearing ten miles of trail before the conclusion of our project,” said NCCC member Greg Amsler, of San Anselmo, Calif.

A public hike will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 10. The public can come to hike a portion of the trail completed by the AmeriCorps group. People interested in hiking can meet at the corner of Highway 37 and Elbow Lake Road in Becker County. A potluck lunch will be after the hike.

AmeriCorps NCCC, administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, provides opportunities to members, who work to improve the environment, enhance education, increase public safety, help with disaster relief and assist in other unmet human needs.

NCCC members must be 18-24 and complete at least 1,700 hours of service during the 10-month program.

Crew Member Tom Binkley hard at work on the NCT
Crew Member Tom Binkley hard at work on the NCT

For a dozen fearless volunteers working on the Becker County portion of the North Country Trail, selflessness has taken on a whole new level of meaning.

The volunteers — who work through the Americorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) — work on the walking trail for nine hours a day, travel in a single 15-passenger van, and sleep wherever they can find shelter. They’re currently staying in an area farmhouse.

The compensation for the program is slim, with volunteers earning the equivalent of about $10.50 a day, before taxes. Volunteers’ living and food expenses are also covered.

In addition, there is an educational stipend of around $5,500, which can go towards college.

Even so, it’s clearly not about the pay.

What drives these young men and women to voluntarily brave treacherous conditions for such relatively low pay? What motive could there be to spend long weeks digging a trail in a bug-infested forest?

For many, NCCC means an opportunity to spend time in beautiful northern Minnesota.

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere but here,” said Mary Demasters, a volunteer whose job it is to hang behind and dig out any roots the others may have missed. “This is amazing.”

For others, signing on to NCCC meant a once-in-a-lifetime chance to throw caution to the wind and seek adventure in a foreign place — namely, Minnesota.

“We have people from Idaho, Maine, Michigan, California, New York, all over,” said Allison Hoensheid — an Americorps NCCC member, adding that most of the crew has never been to the state before.

Hoensheid pointed out that most of the volunteers had no idea where in America they would be working until about two weeks before they left.

“That’s kind of the whole idea of the program — being flexible and going where the wind takes you.

“We travel around the north central region of the United States,” Hoensheid said, completing a total of six projects in the span of 10 months.

The North Country Trail will eventually extend from New York to the center of North Dakota.

In Becker County, about 10 miles of trail are already built, and the NCCC hopes to add 10 more in the six weeks they’ll be working on the project — from June 7 to July 16.

The concept of 12 young volunteers working long hours on a trans-continental walking trail, so people can experience nature without watching their feet, has a certain sense of heroism, a poetic beauty about it.

Willis Mattison, who is a member of the Laurentian Lakes Chapter of the North Country Trail Association, described the trail as a “long, narrow ribbon of national park, running through our own backyard.”

Mattison added: “Becker County is lucky to have the honor of hosting the North Country Trail.”

Although the construction of the trail inevitably means that some damage to the forest will occur, the goal is to minimize that, to make the trail as accommodating to nature as possible without being uncomfortable to walk on.

“We try to leave as many trees as possible,” said Demasters, adding how concerned the team was to find that their root removal had caused one or two trees to tilt dangerously in the wind. Building the trail is a challenge, Hoensheid said, with “endless amounts of tree roots, rocks, and all that fun stuff” getting in the way.

And the untamed north woods presents its fair share of obstacles, such as rivers and nasty terrain that the trail must pass over.

“When we’re not building actual trails, we’re working on boardwalks,” said Hoensheid with a laugh.

But, everything considered, the NCCC volunteers feel like their efforts will be long worth the hard work, discomfort, and modest recompense.

“One person can change the world if they start out in their little section and work from there,” said Demasters with a smile.

A public hike will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 10.

The public can come to hike a portion of the trail completed by the AmeriCorps group.

People interested in hiking can meet at the corner of Highway 37 and Elbow Lake Road in Becker County. A potluck lunch will be after the hike.

For more information about applying to Americorps NCCC, or for general information on the program, call 1-800-942-2677, or www.americorps.gov/nccc.

Applicants must be between 18 to 24 years of age and complete 1,700 hours of community service during the 10-month program.