Agencies partner to create welcome for public lands

In the coming days, motorists who travel along Highway PP west of Poplar Bluff will notice a new sign, welcoming them to the Mark Twain National Forest.

The “portal sign,” as Poplar Bluff District Ranger Jon Stansfield described it, will welcome travelers to the forest on the west side of the city.

“I want people to know that’s their public land out there and we’re the people managing it,” Stansfield said.

Students from the Mingo Civilian Conservation Corps work to build a new Forest Service welcome sign along Highway PP, just west of Poplar Bluff. DAR/Paul Davis

Since he came to the region three years ago, Stansfield said, one of his goals has been to “increase Forest Service visibility,” and the sign is one of the things he’s trying to do to be more visible.

“We’re trying to establish ourselves as a good neighbor,” he said of the Mark Twain National Forest. “We truly are Southeast Missouri’s backyard, and I want folks to look at their Forest Service land as an asset.”

The City of Poplar Bluff, Stansfield noted, “seems to be moving that way, and the Wolf Creek Trail has become quite the draw.” Because of that, he’s expecting more traffic along Highway PP, what he called a “major thoroughfare,” in the future.

Mingo Civilian Conservation Corps student Britney Gaines clears debris from the base of the new sign so the next section of rock can be hung. DAR/Paul Davis

What’s different about this construction project, Stansfield said, is who’s building it — students from the Mingo Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center.

“They’ve got a full assortment of trades and they are a great resource in our own back yards,” Stansfield said, “so with a request like this, knowing what it was going to take, it was a no-brainer as far as going to them.

“We purchased the supplies and they provided the know-how.”

Stansfield said the Forest Service and the Civilian Conservation Center “have a long history, and this isn’t our first project together.”

Routine work the Forest Service seeks from the CCC includes building gates and fire pits, trail building and maintenance, heavy equipment operations, administrative work and even wildland fire crew work.

Chris Dover, who teaches brick masonry at the Mingo center, said his students were happy to do the sign work and gain the experience of their first stone project.

“We have an in-house shop where they do most of their learning, but it gets monotonous,” he said. “They love getting out here.”

The students on this sign project, like all others, Dover said, “take pride in what they’re doing and making it really look right.”

Not a lot of people really know about the Civilian Conservation Center, Dover noted.

The all-volunteer program typically lasts one year, giving students the opportunity to learn various hands-on trades under close supervision from professionals.

“We give them real-life experience and training, and we filter them into the workforce,” Dover said.

Current trade classes at the CCC include welding, carpentry, painting, heavy equipment operations, clerical and brick masonry.

“We’ve got to get these young guys and gals in the trades,” Dover emphasized. “The workforce is dwindling all over and the older generation is retiring ... we’ve got to get these new guys in.”

The portal sign project, Dover said, should be complete by the middle of next week, after eight or nine days of work.

“I’m really looking forward to them finishing it,” said Stansfield. “It’s a significant investment of not only time and money, but also pride.”

Editor’s Note: Young adults interested in developing trade skills can visit the Mingo CCC website at https://mingo.jobcorps.gov/ to learn more about the no-cost program. To learn more about the Mark Twain National Forest, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/mtnf.