The Northern Arizona Conservation Corps is a conservation corps in the tradition of the Civilian Conservation Corps and a career development program for young adults, aged 18-25, interested in conservation and land management. We partner with local, regional, state, and federal land management agencies such as the National Park Service, US Forest Service, and Arizona Game & Fish, among many others, in order to implement critical environmental conservation initiatives throughout Arizona. Since 1997, CREC has been providing service and conservation work throughout Arizona. Based out of Flagstaff, crews travel and spike camp throughout the region to complete many different types of projects. 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.

What NACC does

• Trail construction and maintenance
• Forest restoration for wildfire fuels reduction and forest health
• Construction and maintenance of fences
• Restoring wildlife habitat and monitoring populations
• Surveying and eradicating exotic plant species
• 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 projects
• ...among several others.

We're Looking for a Few Outstanding Corpsmembers

If you love the outdoors, crave hard work, and don't mind backcountry camping for eight or more straight days in amazing places (while getting paid for it), you might want to check us out. NACC crews implement project work for virtually every natural resource and land management agency in Arizona, in some of the most beautiful places in the Southwest. Current and former Corpsmembers have contributed greatly to diverse efforts restoring Northern Arizona's forests and wildlife habitats to pre-settlement conditions, reducing wildfire risks in numerous communities, eradicating exotic plant species, maintaining some of the most prominent trails in America, and preserving significant cultural heritage sites. And that barely scratches the surface of our projects.

Life as a NACC corpsmember

The Northern Arizona Conservation Corps (NACC) is a conservation corps program for young adults, aged 18-25, who want to make a difference in their world. Corpsmembers work in teams under the guidance of a trained, professional crew supervisor. As a Corpsmember you focus your creative energies and use your knowledge and abilities to solve critical environmental problems. Projects can include trailwork, thinning for wildfire prevention and forest restoration, wildlife habitat restoration, native species revegetation, invasive species eradication, wetlands area restoration, historic preservation and primitive construction. Not for the faint hearted, this outdoor program is intense, physically demanding, and pushes you to the highest levels of achievement and performance. The Corps offers you opportunities for tremendous personal growth, extensive conservation related skill training, and strong bonds of friendship. Here you decide who you are, where you are going, and what you want out of life. It's an experience that could change your life forever! If you can't stand the thought of wasting your life away with just another job, the NACC might just be for you.

What the work is like

Corpsmember work weeks typically include four ten-hour days with three day weekends, or eight day tours-of-duty with six consecutive days off. Work projects are almost exclusively outdoors. You work with people, tools, trees and dirt! You travel around Arizona, and may have opportunities for spike camping in remote areas. There is flexibility so you can integrate your real life and your Corps life together. You also personally represent the Corps and all that it stands for. Sound good? Keep going . . .

But, what's it really like?

We have tons of pix on the site so you can, at least, see what it looks like out there. If you want to see what it looks and sounds like, check out our 2005 and/or 2006 graduation movies:
2006, Year in Pictures: (13min 30 sec)

Small[10.2MB] | Medium[29.4MB] | Grande[79.7MB]

2005, Year in Pictures: (9min 36sec)

Small[6.9MB] | Medium[21.1MB] | Grande[54.4MB]

[Video is encoded in .mov or .mp4 format. You may need Quicktime.]

How to apply

If you you have a feeling the NACC experience is in your future, check out our application page. It has all the information you need to let us know you're interested: start dates, application materials, and links to contact us!