In collaboration with CA State Parks – Colorado Desert District, the Native American Conservation Corps (NACC) program was designed along the lines of a Conservation Corps with the objective to offer youth from local Tribes knowledge and on-the-job experience during their six-month training session in the Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. Ultimately the goal of the NACC program is to provide youth with the training and experience needed to access careers in forest management and wildland fire, whether they choose to work in their own community or with a local agency.

The first round of the program was made possible through collaboration of partners including: San Diego River Conservancy, Kumeyaay-Diegueno Land Conservancy, CA State Parks, RCDGSDC, San Diego Canyon Lands, and the Santa Ysabel Iipay Nation.

In collaboration with Climate Science Alliance and the Tribal Working Group, the Stewardship Pathways Program was developed to address many of the capacity issues in the region, such as Tribal economic and workforce development, interagency collaboration, shortage of trained field crews, and the inclusion of cultural and prescribed burning as potential fuel management tools.

The program is open to people from across Southern California who are interested in creating or expanding a career focused on advancing Indigenous climate stewardship. Climate Science Alliance staff oversee the administration and management of the program. They coordinate the Southern California Interagency Wildland Fire and Fuels Cadre, a group of partners, who contribute their time and expertise to plan and implement the trainings. The program is hosted by the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians, under the leadership of Chief Wesley Ruise Jr. and Joelene Tamm. This wildland fire and fuels training program is unique in that it brings technical training together with climate science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge.