Five-Star Restoration Program Descriptions

West Eugene Wetlands Project
Lane-Metro Youth Corps, Lane County, Oregon
EPA Region 10

The Lane-Metro Youth Corps (LMYC) of Eugene, Oregon this fall commenced a Five Star Restoration Partners Initiative public/private partnership project to protect, restore, and enhance wetlands in West Eugene owned by the City of Eugene and the Hyundai Corporation. In addition, the Youth Corps will complete projects on wetlands located in the West Eugene Greenway, which is managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Over a nine-month period, youth corps crews will complete projects in endangered and threatened species habitat so as to lead to natural recolonization. The youth corps will work under contract for Shapiro and Associates (the largest environmental firm in the Northwest and a certified women's business enterprise/disadvantaged business enterprise), the City of Eugene, and the Army Corps of Engineers.

LMYC is a community-based employment and training program that integrates work experience with education and youth development while completing projects that conserve the natural resources of Oregon. LMYC serves a culturally-, ethnically-, and economically-diverse group of youth between the ages of 16-21. LMYC especially targets youth who are at high risk of dropping out of high school, as one of the Oregon Youth Conservation Corps' network of "Community Youth Corps" alternative high school programs. The Lane Metro Youth Corps operates in partnership with the Southern Willamette Private Industry Council and local school districts. For this project, a crew of 8-10 corpsmembers and one crew supervisor will work 15 hours per week, for a total of 15 weeks between September, 1998 and June, 1999.

Measurable outcomes of the project include:
Five acres rare species habitat enhanced and restored, including recovery efforts for Bradshaw's lomatium and Willamette Valley daisies;
Seed collection from 40 acres of native wetlands;
Reduction of exotic vegetation including one acre of Himalayan blackberry and 5,000 woody plant seedlings in prairie areas;
Construction of 11 accessory water channels for enhanced site hydrology; and
Native plantings along 5,000 feet of reconstructed levees to restore floodplain functions and diverse native plant communities.