Field Team Program
Come build great trails with great people! The Maine Conservation Corps’ Field Team is composed of trail crews (3-6 people) serving to construct and improve recreational trails in the mountains, along the beautiful coastline, and in communities all over the state of Maine.
Projects include remote backcountry hiking trails, local nature and walking paths, multi-use trails, as well as accessible pathways for wheelchair use. Some of the trail structures the MCC builds are stone staircases, timber bridges, boardwalks, bog bridging, and rock water bars, with a focus on the traditional trail skills that the MCC is famous for. The summer season runs May through mid-August. The fall season runs mid-August through early-November.
Have you ever wondered about the hard work that goes into your favorite trails? Ever wanted to explore Maine? How about learn how to move a 500 lb boulder, or build a bridge? If you like spending time outside, learning new things, and aren’t afraid to get a little dirty, spending a season as a Team Member with the Maine Conservation Corps is the way to go! You will learn valuable skills (both physical and interpersonal), get in great shape, and make a difference, as well as have some fantastic stories to tell by the end of your service. Team Members serve 3-6 months on both front- and backcountry crews all across the state of Maine. Application deadline for summer season (late May-mid-August) is in early April. Application deadline for fall season (mid-August-early-November) is early July.
Team Member Qualifications:
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Must be at least 18 years old
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Must be a US Citizen
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Must pass criminal and sex offender background checks
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Have the ability to live and perform strenuous work under challenging conditions
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Have the desire to learn, serve others, and make a difference
Trail Training Academy
If you want to learn how to build trails, work as a team, and become a great trail crew leader, the Maine Conservation Corps’ Trail Training Academy is for you. Each year, the Maine Conservation Corps conducts an intensive 11-week training academy for potential Team Leaders from February through early May. Participants receive extensive training in trails skills including timber work, chainsaw safety & operation, rigging & Griphoist operation, rock work, and crew management, among others. In addition, all participants receive Wilderness First Aid certification. Application deadline is usually in late December/early January.
Trail Training Qualifications:
Team Leaders
Want to spend a season honing your trail-building skills in the great state of Maine? Serving as a Team Leader with the Maine Conservation Corps is an amazing and challenging experience that many of our leaders return to year after year. As a Team Leader, you will be a teacher, mentor, leader and friend to a group of 2-5 Team Members for 3-6 months. Most Team Leaders will work on an average of 4-6 projects (often both front- and backcountry) throughout each season, enabling them to learn and improve on both new and acquired skills. Responsibilities of the Team Leader include crew management, acting as a liaison with project sponsors, and working with volunteers and local media. Highly successful Team Leaders may also have the opportunity to advance and become Senior Team Leaders in future seasons. Application deadline is in February.
Team Leader Qualifications:
See Current Field Team Opportunities
Field Team FAQ's - PDF (20KB)
MCC Application - PDF (209KB)
Download Reference Form - PDF (24KB)
Field Team Handbook (pdf) - PDF (321KB)
List of Activities Prohibited During Service Hours - PDF (29KB)
Contact the Program Coordinator:
Sara Knowles (sara.knowles@maine.gov)
or 207-624-6086
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Some recent projects:
•Appalachian Trail
•Baxter State Park
•Wright Trail
•Kennebunk Land Trust
•Quoddy Head State Park
•Monhegan Island
•Portland Trails
•Deboullie Public Land
•Blue Hill Heritage Trust
•Tumbledown Mountain
•Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge
•Wolfe's Neck Woods State Park
“I met some really good people and we accomplished some unbelievable things. Getting thanked by a southbound hiker on the AT in 20 different languages, that won’t happen twice!”
-Erika Brown, Team Member
“My team took on one of the most arduous endeavors. We built the largest bridge that the MCC had ever built. The project took place on the beautiful shore of the Duck Trap River in Lincolnville, Maine.
We learned how to use unique tools safely, work together under extremes (it was black fly season), endure really, REALLY, REALLY hard work (most of the wood used for the bridge we carried over a mile to the location). It was certainly an accomplishment to build a 55 foot bridge, but it was truly special what we learned during that process.
During that summer we built so much together: bridges, friendships, and futures.”
-Nicole Chismar, Team Member/Assistant Team Leader
“It is difficult to single out any one specific moment or event because quite honestly, every single moment I spent in the woods with my crew(s) was special! Memories were made during the 2007 summer/fall sessions that I will cherish for a lifetime!
Whether building stone steps on Deboullie Mountain trail, laying bog bridge on Katahdin Lake trail, waking up to seagulls and surf on Marshall Island or cooking a great meal at the end of a long hard day of trail work at Western Head in Cutler, Me., I enjoyed every minute of every day I spent with the MCC and the outstanding people in my crew(s) and that is no joke!
At the age of 46, and after a 21 year career in the Coast Guard, I can honestly say that the summer I spent doing trail work with the MCC was the best summer of my life and I would do it all again in a heartbeat! Thanks for the memories!”
-Jeff Kimball, Team Leader
“As a Trail Training Academy alum, you have at least been exposed to all aspects of trail work. So far the chainsaw training has resulted in job offers, and I believe that participation in the academy as a whole was the reason I was offered my current Field Coordinator position.
The MCC allows its team leaders to actually manage the team. The MCC empowered team leaders to make decisions and then stood behind the team leader. That level of support, and the ability to develop management skills without being micromanaged was a great professional experience.
It was also fun. Professional experience and fun. Am I dreaming?”
-Philip Kolling, Trail Training Academy Alum & Team Leader
“My crew was a great group and I learned a lot from the MCC staff. I enjoyed rehabbing the summit trail on South Bubble Mountain at Acadia N.P. and loved the scenery.
People using the trail were genuinely thankful for the hard work we did. My time, while a short 3 month stint, was a life experience that I will never forget.”
-Paul Curtis, Team Leader
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