North Carolina Department of Correction

Young Offenders Forest Conservation Program( B.R.I.D.G.E.)

Young Offenders Forest Conservation Program
Helps Clemmons Educational State Forest Re-open

The week of May 19th through May 23rd, 1997, four crews from the North Carolina Division of Forest Resources Young Offenders Forest Conservation Program worked to help rangers reopen Clemmons Educational State Forest in Johnston County.

The 500-acre-plus forest has been closed since September 6, 1996 because of massive damage caused by Hurricane Fran. For the last eight months, personnel from across the eastern part of the state have worked non-stop to remove downed timber, repair the Talking Tree and Rock Trails and make the forest safe for visitors. The Young Offenders Forest Conservation Program crews helped resurface trails and walkways and remove debris. They were from Avery and Burke counties where the program is based. They will stay at the North Carolina Forest Resources Training Facility in Kinston and will be transported into Clemmons with their supervisors every morning.

The forest is scheduled to re-open to limited access on Saturday, May 31. the Talking Tree and Rock Trails and picnic areas will be available for use. Prior to the hurricane, an average of 40,000 visitors and 13,000 area school children visited Clemmons Educational State Forest annually.

The Young Offenders Forest Conservation Program was created in 1986 by the North Carolina Division of Forest Resources and the North Carolina Division of Prisons primarily to increase the state's firefighting response. The program trains selected inmates in a variety of forestry-related vocations--including chainsaw-operation and trail building--so that they can find their way into meaningful jobs rather than back into prison. Participants are minimum security, non-assaultive offenders between the ages of 18 and 22. Young Offenders Forest Conservation crews have assisted in several ice storm and hurricane clean-up efforts across the state in recent years.

--North Carolina Forest Services

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