MCHENRY — Jake Bonner, a member of the Maryland Conservation Corps, partially funded by the federal AmeriCorps program, is proud of the work of his crew, based at Deep Creek Lake State Park.
“We did a lot of trail work, chain-sawing, replacing signs, assisting with park events, and helping wherever we could,” said Bonner. The work was an “amazing way” to build a strong resume to pursue his goal of being a full-time park ranger.
His crew’s accomplishments included assisting Habitat for Humanity and the Deep Creek Dunk, clearing invasive plants at New Germany State Park, helping Maryland Special Olympics events at Wisp Resort, and treating hemlocks at Swallow Falls for insect infestation. The MCC’s work also took members to other state parks, including Rocky Gap and Assateague Island.
On April 26, Bonner and his co-workers and tens of thousands of other young workers across the nation — working in a multitude of sectors — were blindsided when the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency cut Americorps funding.
AmeriCorps, first authorized in 1993, is a public-private partnership. Volunteers receive stipends during their one-year service requirement and can receive scholarships at the end of their service. Before the cuts, the program had 700 staff members and supported 200,000 members.
In Maryland, AmeriCorps employed 4,949 members and funded 25 service programs.
In response to the cuts, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown helped lead a coalition of 24 states and the District of Columbia suing the Trump administration to save AmeriCorps.
“In Maryland alone, programs that educate children, care for the elderly and rebuild homes are being wiped out overnight,” said Brown.
Calling the White House’s actions “unlawful, arbitrary and capricious” and in “defiance” of the Constitutional separation of powers, the suit said the program’s participants and beneficiaries were not given sufficient public notice of its termination.
Bonner would certainly agree. He was working at Fort Frederick State Park’s Market Fair when he and other Conservation Corps crew members, preparing for a lunch break, were told that funding had been cut, and they needed to go home.
“Both crews and the staff around us were extremely emotional, not knowing what was going to happen and when/if we’d see each other again,” said Bonner, who shared a house provided by the state near Deep Creek. “We went from being complete strangers to an inseparable group of friends and colleagues.”
Bonner credits members of the Maryland Park Service staff for being “incredibly supportive” and said he’s hopeful “we will find a way to keep going.”
Answering critics who say AmeriCorps dollars are “wasteful spending,” Bonner says: “All across the state now, we have MCC members who are left jobless, still volunteering with parks while we still can, because we love what we do, and we still want to get things done. It was never just a job to us. It was our chance to pursue our careers and do what we love in a way that helps people. Unfortunately, our absence will definitely be felt.”
Founded in 1984, prior to AmeriCorps, the Maryland Conservation Corps joined AmeriCorps in 1994. AmeriCorps’ administrators have consistently weighed costs and benefits, publishing reports in 2024 detailing the significant short, medium and long-term return on investments in areas like school dropout prevention, weatherization of homes and serving families at risk of homelessness.
DOGE cuts will also severely hamper the work of ASTAR (Appalachian Service Through Action and Resources), a statewide program based at Frostburg University. The program includes 26 site partnerships, many between Frederick and Garrett counties.
Nineteen of the 26 programs will be completely shut down, said Patrick O’Brien, director of civic engagement at Frostburg.
“Nonprofits in rural areas are usually pretty small,” said O’Brien. ASTAR, he added, is an “intermediary program that builds capacity,” placing members at non-profits like food pantries, Special Olympics Maryland, the Children’s Literature Center and Evergreen Heritage Center, a historical farm that hosts middle schoolers on field trips. ASTAR also places students in Frostburg’s Education Department as interns in schools, helping with lesson plans and technology.
“I am a product of AmeriCorps,” said O’Brien, formerly a business major. “The program changed my views and my life, shifting my focus to civic engagement and service.”