Central Conservation, Inc.

Central Conservation, Inc., operating as WisCorps, is a Wisconsin-based 501(c)(3) non-profit conservation organization that delivers youth crew-based habitat restoration, trail maintenance, invasive species management, and natural resource stewardship services to federal agencies as a prime grant recipient and sub-recipient. Established in 2009 and headquartered in La Crosse, Wisconsin, the organization recruits, trains, and deploys young adults (ages 18–30) and AmeriCorps field crews across the Upper Midwest to execute conservation and restoration projects on Department of the Interior lands and Department of Defense installations.

Central Conservation operates almost exclusively under federal cooperative agreements with the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, competing in full-and-open (non-set-aside) federal grant channels rather than federal contracts. The organization holds 78% of its recent awards as prime recipient grants and 22% as sub-recipient agreements routed through the State of Wisconsin Department of Administration. Recent prime work spans multiple National Park Service cooperative agreements: a February 2026 award to conduct invasive species management and soil restoration at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore using a five-person crew under NPS technical oversight; a February 2026 agreement to support trail construction and maintenance internships (six-week positions) in the Pictured Rocks backcountry; and an August 2025 award engaging youth crews at Isle Royale National Park for trail rehabilitation, corridor brushing, erosion control, and boardwalk repairs. In September 2024, Central Conservation received a cooperative agreement from the Department of Interior Fish and Wildlife Service to deploy certified AmeriCorps crews for invasive species removal and habitat restoration at Fort McCoy (Army installation), with crews trained in herbicide application and chainsaw use. The organization also manages ongoing multi-year awards including a September 2023 cooperative agreement through December 2026 for zebra mussel prevention and invasive species management at Voyageurs National Park, and a September 2022 agreement running through April 2027 for invasive plant management and habitat restoration across twelve National Park Service units in Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

The organization's customer base concentrates heavily within Department of Interior sub-components. The National Park Service Midwest Region leads with eight awards and $25 thousand in combined potential value, followed by the National Park Service (seven awards) and the Corporation for National and Community Service Office of Grants Management (five awards), accounting for 89% of recent awards. Activity has remained steady at two to four awards annually over the past five years, with four awards reaching completion inside the next twenty-four months. Central Conservation acts as a sub-recipient on six awards, primarily through pass-through funding from the State of Wisconsin Department of Administration, with project extensions and modifications typical across the cooperative agreement portfolio. The organization's capability platform centers on youth employment, career development in natural resource management, and hands-on conservation labor—trail work, invasive species control, habitat restoration, and wildfire fuel reduction—delivered through structured crew-based models on federal and state lands.