Isaac Berry, left, hands a limb to Elias Taylor as Alex Jaca picks up other limbs during a wildfire mitigation project with Baker Resources Coalition on July 1, 2025. (Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald)

Baker Resources Coalition started the internship in 2019

BAKER CITY — Isaac Berry tugs, disappearing in a cloud of silty dust, until the branch finally comes free.

He drags the tree trimmings toward a pile while his fellow interns follow, gathering more limbs for the slash pile.

And so the work goes on a hot summer day as these teenagers learn how to reduce wildfire risk on property at the base of the Elkhorn Mountains northwest of Baker City.

Six interns are working for Baker Resources Coalition this summer to complete tasks that address natural resource management in Baker Valley. The coalition grew from a public discussion facilitated by Wallowa Resources in 2018.

The talk addressed “recommendations for what is needed for management and sustainability in our natural resources,” said Steve Edwards, chair of the coalition.

With the Powder Basin Watershed Council as a fiscal sponsor, the coalition sought grants and began recruiting interns, from ages 16 to 18, as well as landowners.

“In the beginning, it was really about the work getting done,” Edwards said.

The coalition works with the Future Center at Baker High School to spread word about the program, and collect applications.

The idea about projects evolved over the years.

“The paradigm has shifted from finding kids to do jobs to a program where they will grow, and providing a framework where they begin to acquire skills that are critical to their future,” Edwards said.

Baker Resources Coalition became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2024.

Projects

The group focuses on forests, wetlands, wildfire, future generations and recreation. With grant funding, the interns are paid $16 per hour and work five days a week, for 10 weeks.

This year’s crew, for the coalition’s seventh season, has six interns who are between the ages of 16 to 18, plus one crew chief, and one assistant crew chief.

This year’s projects include working with the Spring Creek Firewise Community for wildfire mitigation, beaver habitat restoration, and recording data on U.S. Forest Service plots.

The interns are not allowed to use power tools, and instead they work with hand saws, pole saws, loppers and rakes.

In the first three weeks of the season, they cut, chopped and piled dead branches and flammable material to create defensible spaces from fire, and create better access for firefighters.

At one place, they stacked nearly 18,000 pounds of material.

“It was cool at Strommers to see how much we changed,” said Alex Jaca, one of the interns.

Earning credits

At the end of summer, each intern will submit an essay about the work experience to earn six college credits, as well as two high school credits.

As for the future, the program’s reputation is the best advertising for projects.

“Now people come to us — I have two who already came to me for next year,” Edwards said.

He said plans are underway to expand the program to 12 months by partnering with the Future Center and Anthony Lakes Outdoor Recreation Association. After the summer, interns would continue, with pay, with the coalition to create presentations for schools in Baker City, as well as design a program for younger students that addresses natural resources.

“We’re expanding it — more months, more opportunities,” Edwards said.

When Edwards checked with the crew on July 1, and watched the young men work together to gather brush, he said it didn’t take long for this year’s crew to become a team.

And although several interns named college credits and fodder for resumes as a perk of the program, all were in agreement that the best part of the summer, so far, was working with crew chief Seth Mastrude.

“Having Seth as a boss,” Jaca said, drawing nods of agreement from the other interns.

Learn more about the coalition at www.bakerresources.com.