Elkins, W.Va. – Monongahela National Forest has partnered with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, Lincoln University (the nation’s first degree-granting Historically Black College and University), HistoriCorps, and the Youth Leadership Association/Camp Horseshoe in Tucker County, to host five anthropology students in a hands-on learning experience called Cultural Heritage in the Forest. The students will be on-site June 20 to July 10.
Developed by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and the USDA Forest Service, the primary goal of the program is to bring young professionals from Historically Black Colleges and Universities into cultural resource management, historic preservation, conservation, and related careers that traditionally do not reflect the diversity of the Nation.
During the program, the students will spend six days learning hands-on historic preservation techniques from HistoriCorps; network with conservation and preservation professionals; meet with representatives of sovereign tribal nations, the State Historic Preservation Office and local organizations, and Forest Service staff; and conduct field work at a nearby archaeological site. In addition, the students will visit the Wayne National Forest in Ohio, Grey Towers National Historic Site in Pennsylvania, and meet with Forest Service leadership in the Washington Office.
In total, the students will spend four weeks doing both fieldwork and coursework to expose them to the different facets of historic preservation and the work of the Forest Service Heritage Program. They will then be able to pursue career tracks through the USDA Forest Service Pathways program for students, and other opportunities: https://www.usda.gov/our- agency/careers/usda-pathways-programs.
For more information about the program contact Lynne Richmond with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation at lrichmond@achp.gov or Gavin Hale, Heritage Program Manager with Monongahela National Forest at john.hale@usda.gov.
Learn more about our partners in the Cultural Heritage in the Forest program:
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation: https://www.achp.gov/
HistoriCorps: https://historicorps.org/
Lincoln University: https://www.lincoln.edu/
Youth Leadership Association/Camp Horseshoe: https://yla-youthleadership.org/programs/camp/
