Weeds, wings and work ethic: Youth Conservation Corps starts its season busting Scotch broom
Published 1:30 am Saturday, July 11, 2026
Submitted by the San Juan Islands Conservation District.
Welcome to the first installment of Youth Conservation Corps Nature Nuggets, a recurring summer series highlighting the incredible environmental work by local youth happening right here in our island community. The YCC is an employment and environmental education program of the San Juan Islands Conservation District. Through hands-on conservation projects, local teens gain paid work experience, develop leadership and job skills, and help care for the islands’ unique natural resources. YCC is made possible in large part through the generosity of community donors.
Every June, open fields and roadsides across San Juan County turn bright yellow. The blooming of wildflowers in Western Washington is a natural phenomenon that many island residents look forward to each spring. But this particular yellow flower belongs to a highly invasive plant — Scotch broom — and the YCC works diligently alongside the San Juan County Noxious Weed Control Board each year to keep it in check.
Wren Skyriver, aged 16, of the Lopez Island YCC crew, has been battling Scotch broom for four years now. Skyriver explained that Scotch broom was originally brought to the region from Northern Europe as a decorative roadside plant. But thanks to its prolific seed production and aggressive spreading habit, it has since taken over large swaths of the region, outcompeting native prairie plants in the process.
“The seeds pop and explode, shooting off the branches in mid to late summer,” Skyriver said. “Once they land on the soil, they have the potential to remain viable for several decades.”
In late June, the Lopez Island YCC crew partnered with Andrew Munsen, from the county Noxious Weed Control Department, to tackle the encroaching broom. Each year, YCC crews work with the department at various sites, including Friday Harbor Labs on San Juan Island, Turtleback Mountain on Orcas Island, and Channel Preserve on Lopez Island. This year, Munsen organized a new partnership for the YCC: a two-day work party with the Port of Lopez, whose mission is to manage its public assets and to protect and improve the social, natural, and economic environments of Lopez Island. Those assets include the Lopez Airport, a pasture north of it used as an overrun area, and a day park along Fisherman Bay Road.
“Over the last year and a half, the port has been a great partner,” Munsen said. “They’ve been proactive about removing noxious weeds on their lands and have dedicated a large amount of resources to managing the Scotch broom.”
Over the two-day work party, YCC crew members contributed just over 100 collective hours and removed more than 1,000 cubic feet of Scotch broom from airport lands.
Beyond environmental stewardship, YCC gives local youth a chance to learn about their surrounding landscape, contribute to restoration efforts and build job-related skills that will serve them well beyond the program. For Skyriver, working at the airport checked a few extra boxes — the airport project has fed directly into his passion for aviation and aeronautical engineering.
“My favorite thing in the world, second to YCC, is everything flying — airplanes, helicopters, rockets, anything that flies,” Skyriver said. “I fly a lot from the airport with friends who are teaching me, so this airport is a valuable part of the community, and the combination of YCC and the airport [is] a huge part of my identity.”
“Being able to give back to my community and the airport is a unique and special privilege that YCC allows me to do,” Skyriver continued. “YCC has really helped my work ethic, which has allowed me to become a Saturday docent at the Heritage Flight Museum in Burlington. It’s just such an enjoyable experience! It helps with a resume, and it’s so much fun to work around amazing people, help the community, and learn about the environment. It’s really something special.”
YCC crews will be working around the San Juan Islands all summer, tackling projects ranging from wetland restoration to wildfire mitigation to old-growth tree surveys.
To support the Youth Conservation Corps, contact YCC Program Coordinator Mike Rosekrans at mike@sjicd.org or visit the San Juan Islands Conservation District website at https://www.sanjuanislandscd.org/ycc.
