We’re writing with difficult news that will have an immediate and profound impact on the Squam Lakes Association and our work protecting the Squam watershed. On Saturday, April 26 we learned that our AmeriCorps program — the Lakes Region Conservation Corps — has been terminated effective immediately.
The Lakes Region Conservation Corps (LRCC) encompassed eight New Hampshire conservation organizations and 27 service members who are now impacted by this decision. The LRCC was one of over 1,000 AmeriCorps programs across the nation that were illegally and immediately terminated, which affects roughly 32,000 people who were serving communities across the nation.
Since 2017, the LRCC has been the driving force behind many of the conservation efforts of New Hampshire’s Lakes Region and beyond. LRCC members have contributed to hands-on conservation in a variety of ways, including: leading water quality science, removing invasive species, maintaining trail networks, educating the public on local and regional conservation initiatives, managing volunteer crews, and more.
Our first priority is to our current members who have had their program unjustly terminated. While the federal termination of the AmeriCorps program is devastating, we are not standing still. Please keep an eye out for future correspondence, because we will need your support and advocacy in the coming weeks.
