from AntFarm Youth Services:

Community Wildfire Defense Program: Youth at the Frontlines of Preparedness

Wildfire is no longer a distant or seasonal threat for rural Oregon it’s a growing reality. In the wake of catastrophic fires like Riverside and Beachie Creek, AntFarm launched the Community Wildfire Defense Program (CWDP) to meet this challenge head-on. Our goal? To support local residents, reduce wildfire risk, and empower youth to take meaningful action where it’s needed most.

Through CWDP, AntFarm youth crews work side-by-side with adult mentors, gaining hands-on job training while providing essential services to the community. These teams create defensible space around homes and critical infrastructure. Trainees begin on crews that clear brush, remove low hanging tree limbs, and chip debris piles. As their skills progress they can move on to crews that learn advanced tree falling skills and tree climbing. We partner with local fire districts, Clackamas County, the U.S. Forest Service, PGE, and other organizations to bring this vital work to life.

But CWDP is about more than brush piles and burn days. It’s about protecting lives, homes, and ecosystems especially for vulnerable or isolated community members. It’s also about training the next generation of arborists, wildland firefighters, and foresters. Youth in this program are paid for their work and extensive training in forestry, fire science, safe chainsaw use, and first aid, helping them build skills and confidence that last long after the season ends.

“This outfit is golden,” says Gerald, a Timberline Rim homeowner. “It gives young adults the opportunity to connect with their communities, to take pride in their work, and to feel that pride returned from the community. If this model could be replicated, it’s an answer for many issues throughout Oregon and beyond.”

When you hire the CWDP team or make a donation, you’re not just helping to protect a property you’re investing in the future of rural Oregon. You’re supporting programs that teach responsibility, resilience, and real-world skills. You’re helping youth show up for their communities in powerful, visible ways.

What We Offer:

• Trained youth crews led by experienced adult mentors
• Tree limbing, brush clearing, and fuels reduction Hazard tree removal, pruning, brush clearing, and woody debris disposal
• Creation of defensible space around homes and properties
• Community education on wildfire preparedness and safety
• Collaboration with fire districts, utility partners, and public agencies
• Paid workforce training in tree care, forestry, fire science, and outdoor work

Want to See It for Yourself?

We invite you to watch our latest videos on YouTube, where you can see the CWDP crews in action, hear directly from the youth, and get a behind-the-scenes look at how this program is making a real difference.

Developing the Next Generation In Fire

Eastern Oregon Workforce Board (EOWB) has shared their first video documenting workforce development in wildfire throughout Eastern Oregon. EOWB was awarded a state grant, Oregon Conservation Corps (OCC), in 2023. This grant funding helped spark greater participation in EOWB programs from natural resource partners.

EOWB has brought together numerous partners to accomplish the goals of OCC: reduce wildfire risk, create fire-adapted communities, train the land managers of tomorrow. A short and incomplete list of their regional partners includes:

• All Lands Partnership
• Northwest Youth Corps
• Treasure Valley Community College
• Blue Mountain Community College
• Eastern Oregon University
• Oregon Department of Forestry
• Oregon State Fire Marshal
• Oregon Department of Human Services
• Oregon State University Fire Extension
• The Nature Conservancy
• US Department of Agriculture
• Wallowa Resources

Many of their youth participants are now working with Oregon Department of Forestry, Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, and other partners like Baker Resource Coalition and  interning alongside The Nature Conservancy’s prescribed burn crews. This program has changed the lives of many participants.

Looking Ahead

EOWB has received another round of funding for the 2025-2027 biennium. In the next two years, EOWB will continue to deepen and expand partnerships by adding another layer to the mission of creating fire-adapted communities: home hardening. Defensible space is only part of the equation to creating fire-adapted communities.

In the next biennium, EOWB will bring in additional partners to provide training, technical expertise, and supplies that empower youth participants to learn about home hardening methods. Youth will learn material and building standards that are implemented across the west to improve durability and safety of homes in the case of wildfires. Partners teach youth how to install things like 1/8″ mesh screening and deck flashing on homes where they are doing defensible space work. These experts will also teach youth participants construction fundamentals when they build fire-resistant sheds that can house community tools for property owners (or renters) to continue to do their own defensible space maintenance.

Funding Continued for 2025-2027 through the Oregon Legislature

Program partners, community members, and people employed through Oregon Conservation Corps funded programs have been anxiously watching the 2025 Oregon Legislative Session to see if Oregon Conservation Corps would receive state funding again. We are happy to announce that Oregon Conservation Corps will be receiving $5 million dollars through the Legislature’s “Christmas Tree Bill” HB 5006. While the bill is yet to be signed by Governor Kotek, we don’t expect any delay from her or her office.

Crew members from AntFarm Youth Services and LeafCutter

Grantee Program Partners for 2025-2027 include:

• Alternative Youth Services (planning grant); Coos county
• AntFarm Youth Services and LeafCutter; Wasco and Clackamas counties
• Burns Paiute Tribe; Jefferson county
• Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council and Heart of Oregon Corps; Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson counties
• Community Services Consortium; Benton, Lincoln, Linn, Marion, and Polk counties
• Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians; Douglas county
• Eastern Oregon Workforce Investment Board; Baker, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Morrow, Umatilla, Union, and Wallowa counties
• Integral Youth Services; Klamath county
• Lake County School District; Lake county
• Lomakatsi Restoration Project; Jackson, Josephine, and Klamath counties
• Northwest Youth Corps; Jackson and Josephine counties
• Phoenix School of Roseburg; Douglas county
• Wallowa Resources, Wallowa county

Counties listed were those included in each organization’s application. In many cases, Oregon Conservation Corps grant dollars only go to support a portion of the work that these outstanding partners are doing throughout the state. Their impact goes beyond Oregon Conservation Corps specific employment and treatments. Congratulations to all of those receiving another round of funding!