Montana Conservation Corps regional director Clifford Kipp has to spend much of his time on office-related work, so he has come to truly appreciate the rare opportunities to get out in the field.

“I spent last week up the Middle Fork clearing the river trail,” he said. “Four days in the woods — it was heaven. That’s what’s inspired me to do this work.”

Kipp, 36, is in his 10th year in charge of the Kalispell office of the Montana Conservation Corps. Since Kipp took over, the office has grown from two work crews to its current roster of nine. 

His conservation influence in Northwest Montana extends beyond his paying job. 

He was on the board of the Bob Marshall Foundation for five years and he is the chairman of the board of the Foy’s to Blacktail trail organization, working to secure access to land that connects Herron Park with Blacktail Mountain.

Kipp said his outlook on environmental issues has become a more mature one in his time with Montana Conservation Corps. 

“I was very idealistic about what it meant to be a conservationist, but MCC has given me great perspective and tempered my idealism,” he said. “At age 18, I would have said we shouldn’t cut down any trees, but now I see the value of management and logging. I’ve had my eyes opened.”

His more-nuanced outlook hasn’t diminished his zeal for taking care of open spaces. Kipp grew up in Colorado, and he saw there how quickly the natural landscape can feel overrun by development.

“I feel very lucky here, with the land and the open spaces in the Flathead Valley,” he said. “We need to pay attention to how it is managed and used.”

The Foy’s to Blacktail organization, with which he has been involved since 2005, gives him an additional outlet for that passion. He proudly points out that trail counts reveal an average of more than 100 daily users in Herron Park, a figure that takes into account the winter months. 

“When I see that the parking lot is full, it feels like we’re doing a good thing for the community,” he said.  

And even if the parking lot is crowded, he said, hikers or bikers can easily feel like they’re away from everyone else once they hit the trails. The versatility of Herron Park is one of the aspects he most appreciates.

He said the Foy’s board has worked hard to produce maps and trail signs so that people can more effectively plan their outings in the park and he believes the group has helped create a sustainable, well-maintained trail system. He gives a great deal of credit to Flathead County for being a pivotal partner in what has been accomplished so far, including increasing the park from 120 to 270 acres since December 2010.

Pulling together organizations to accomplish a task is a big part of what Kipp’s full-time job at Montana Conservation Corps is all about. He coordinates with Back Country Horsemen and the Forest Service to come up with objectives for the crews under his office’s supervision. 

Montana Conservation Corps is a private nonprofit, but still gets some federal funding from Americorps. Kipp’s office runs two youth crews and seven adult crews. 

The youth crews are local children ages 14-16 who spend four weeks each summer on projects such as fence repair, trail work, weed mapping and more. Participants can document 200 hours of volunteer work and are given a $200 stipend. (Applications are still being accepted for this summer.)

“They learn citizenship, teamwork, leadership,” Kipp said. “What we can achieve in four weeks with these teens is so inspiring.”

Members of the adult crews (ages 18 to 30) receive a stipend plus an education award depending on the hours worked. They give about 80 percent of their time to trail maintenance and construction. They also do some revegetation work (in places such as Glacier National Park), fencing and tree planting. 

Kipp said one project that especially gives MCC workers a sense of making a direct contribution is the weatherization program for low-income rural homeowners in October. 

“It’s a great service for residents in five counties,” he said. “Last year we did 300 homes in two weeks.”

Contributing to the greater good was Kipp’s motivation to join the Great Falls unit of the Montana Conservation Corps in 2002. 

After graduating from Denison University in Granville, Ohio, with a philosophy degree, he worked for a defense contractor in Colorado for a few years, then spent six months as a bicycle tour guide in France.

“Then when Sept. 11 happened and I returned to the states, I decided I needed to do something more meaningful,” he said. “I found Americorps, then I found MCC. I found a niche doing good hard work outside and figured I was contributing to something bigger.”

The job opening in the Kalispell MCC office was fortuitous, since his wife, Cassidy, was raised in the Flathead Valley. They have two chilldren — Taylor, 8, and Finley, 15 months. 

With a family, his job and volunteer work, and occasionally taking time for his hobbies — soccer, mountain biking and family camping trips, Kipp said he has a “full plate.”

Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4439 or by email at hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com.