The Coconino Rural Environment Corps, a program of Coconino County Community Services, serves the conservation needs of communities throughout Coconino County, and across Arizona, through partnerships with virtually all of Arizona's land management agencies and organizations.

CREC is also proud to be an AmeriCorps program, administering an AmeriCorps State Competitive Grant from the Arizona Governor's Division for Community and Youth Development. CREC also offers AmeriCorps Education Awards through, and is a member of, The Corps Network, the nationwide association of service and conservation corps.

The Northern Arizona Conservation Corps, CREC's young adult (18-25 year old) conservation corps program, implements fuels reduction/forest restoration; trail construction and maintenance; invasive plant species monitoring and eradication; and resource monitoring and survey projects, among others.

CREC's Youth Conservation Corps program operates in several communities across Coconino County, providing 16-18 year olds the opportunity to both serve their local environment and learn about conservation and conservation careers.

CREC also has the distinct honor of being a founding member of the Mountain Alliance of Conservation Corps, a collaboration of the conservation corps in the four corners region of the southwest: Canyon Country Youth Corps, Nevada Conservation Corps, Rocky Mountain Youth Corps, Southwest Conservation Corps, and CREC.

CREC's Mission

The Coconino Rural Environment Corps promotes stewardship by implementing a variety of conservation and service initiatives;

Encourages personal development through a combination of training, work experience and educational opportunities;

And carries on the tradition of the Civilian Conservation Corps with hard work, dedication, and pride.

What CREC does

The Coconino Rural Environment Corps is based on the corps model used successfully throughout the United States for more than 70 years to address critical environment and infrastructure needs. Since 1997, CREC has been providing service and conservation work in collaboration with a variety of land management partners. We partner on short- and long-term projects and help develop large-scale, ongoing projects. Crews can also be trained for special projects to meet the needs of our partners.

CREC offers youth, 16-18, and young adults, 18-25, the opportunity to serve not only their community, but their country and their environment through hands-on conservation project work. CREC also provides qualified Corpsmembers with AmeriCorps Education Awards to help them continue their education.

Types of CREC Projects

• Trail construction and maintenance
• Forest restoration for wildfire fuels reduction and forest health
• Construction and maintenance of fences and other outdoor facilities
• Restoring wildlife habitat and monitoring populations
• Surveying and eradicating exotic plant species
• Maintaining public parks, campgrounds, and recreation areas
• Conducting ecological testing and monitoring
• Surveying and monitoring using GPS technology
• Leading volunteers and youth corps
• Archeo/paleontological surveys, excavations, and historical preservation
• Community service

Excellence in Corps Operations

In 2006, CREC completed the Excellence in Corps Operations evaluation process and was proclaimed an "ECO Corps" by the National Association of Service and Conservation Corps (now The Corps Network). According to NASCC:
"ECO is a peer assessment process which recognizes corps that make a commitment to high-quality standards and continuous improvement. Its purpose is to promote and recognize excellence in the corps movement and provide evidence of a corps' continued self and outside evaluation. Corps use the process as a tool to identify strengths and challenges and bolster program quality."
CREC is ecstatic at this recognition and pledges to continuously improve its program, its project work, and the corpsmember experience.

How to pronounce "CREC"

People have come up with some creative pronounciations for our acronym over the years: "creek", "kreck", etc. However, the variation we prefer, and use ourselves, is "c-rec," or "sea wreck," like a maritime catastrophe but without the salt water or the catastrophe.