Local Teen Selected to Attend Yosemite Camp

JOHN CARSWELL - Daily Union Staff Writer

May 09, 2008 03:55 pm

— Only 30 teens from Canada and America were chosen to attend a special adventure out West and Shelbyville High School student Rhonda Buhrmester was one of them.
The Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) gives students who are related to a Moose member the chance to spend two months in Yosemite National Park learning about environmental stewardship and also having some fun. Buhrmester was picked from 150 applicants.
Rhonda was lucky in that her grandfather, Ray Buhrmester, and father, Rick Buhrmester are both Moose members. Her grandpa was a former governor and her father was recently named as an officer. “I think it helped out a lot that they had been really active in the Moose,” she said.
One day Ray was reading one of his Moose magazines and saw where applications were being taken. He contacted Rick and together they got the ball rolling.
Rhonda related, “My grandpa gets the Moose magazine and saw this flyer you can fill out to go, so I said, ‘OK grandpa, I’ll fill it out.’ I didn’t really think I’d get to go. Then a couple of weeks ago they called me and asked me if I was still interested. I had to get it cleared with my other summer jobs so I could have them back when I return.”
Rick commented, “As a father, I am really proud that Rhonda wants to do something like this. I think it will be a great character building experience. It will be a really neat deal for her.”
During her two-month stay she will work during the week and attend environmental classes with field trips and guest speakers.
Rhonda was told there would be some hard, physical activity, with extensive hiking and exploring of the Yellowstone Ecosystem. She will be actively involved in trail construction, back country cabin restoration, area revegetation and rehabilitation, maintenance of campgrounds and buildings, rafting on the Yellowstone River and overnight excursions.
The group of 30 will be divided into separate teams. Some will go with the ranger and some with the other NPS employees.
“I am not sure exactly where I will be going,” said Rhonda. “I think it is the southern end of the park. I will fly into Bozeman , MT on June 13. People from YCC will pick me up and it is a two hour drive from there. I will be working and sometimes hiking. I signed up for a ‘Flight Camp’ where you hike a long way from the dorms and work on the trails. Since it is so far, we will just camp there and hike back to the dorms when we are done.”
While there, Rhonda will be paid a salary. Since she is being sponsored by the local Moose Lodge, they are also paying for part of her plane ticket and other items like work clothes, boots and rain gear.
“I have never been anywhere like this and I have heard it is really beautiful,” said Rhonda.
When asked about the possibility of seeing a real moose, bison or bear Rhonda said, “I am a little nervous about the wildlife out there. It will sure be a lot different from Illinois .”
Rhonda said she has been thinking about a college career in the medical or science field. “The people at YCC have been said the experience helps a lot of kids decide what they will major in at college,” said Rhonda.
Buhrmester said there is a boat ride on Lake Yellowstone she would like to take as one of her free time choices.
The relationship between the YCC, fraternity of Moose, and the National Park Service was born out of adversity.
In the drought summer of 1988, tens of thousands of the 2 million acres of America ’s premier national park were engulfed in flames, resulting in the destruction of numerous Yellowstone visitor and staff facilities.
Federal funding had been pulled within the previous few years, from an annual program called the Youth Conservation Corps at Yellowstone, a program in which teenagers were annually brought to Yellowstone and paid federal minimum wage under adult supervision, to do maintenance and erosion-control work on hiking and horse trails, footbridges, picnic grounds and other visitor facilities.
The late Paul O’Hollaren, Moose International’s Director General from 1984-94, immediately contacted National Park Service officials to ask how the Moose fraternity could help. In response, Moose International stepped up and assumed the responsibility of funding the YCC program.
Today, more than a million men and women of the Moose fraternal organization have donated more than $1.7 million to the Yellowstone Park Foundation to fund Yellowstone's Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) -- an annual eight-week summer program in which 15- to 18-year-olds learn and grow while working on projects to maintain and preserve Yellowstone's natural and cultural resources.
Locally, Moose members of Lodge 1294 have regrouped after the devastating loss of the historic Shelbyville Moose Lodge in a fire last year. After some preliminary arrangements, they have recently relocated. “We are now holding our meetings in the conference room of the old Lake Land FS building at 2007 W. 5th.” said Ray Buhrmester.
Rick added, “It is great to have a bigger place but we need to raise some more money to secure a permanent home once again. We have several fundraising events planned and we are always grateful when we get the support of the community.”
Rick also said that funding for the YCC at Yellowstone is just one of the many Moose efforts. “We also have a children’s home in Fox Valley near Chicago called Mooseheart which is funded by donations from individual Moose members.. It is like a city for children whose parents are unable to care for them. They have their own living quarters and vocational school in an environment that stresses stability, compassion and understanding. We also fund a retirement home for Moose members in Florida called Moosehaven.”
Her mother, Julie Buhrmester commented, "She has never done anything like this before. She is very excited and I am sure it will be a great experience for her."

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.