HELENA -- Homeowner Julie Morley is bracing for some painfully high heating bills this winter, but a new effort by the Montana Conservation Corps and the governor's office may provide some help.

"It's still going to be high, but any little bit helps," she said as a Conservation Corps crew from Helena insulated her windows and hot-water pipes.

Morley's home is one of 140 in Helena and more than 500 statewide that will get some free weatherization before winter sets in, thanks to the "Warm Homes Montana" program unveiled Wednesday by Gov. Brian Schweitzer.

Nearly 17,000 Montana homes are on a waiting list for full-scale weatherization through the Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP), which gets state and federal funds.

The "Warm Homes" program will use Montana Conservation Corps crews in six cities to help whittle down the list before winter sets in.

The crews will perform some lower-cost weatherization tasks at homes that otherwise might be on the list indefinitely, officials said.

With record-high natural gas prices expected this winter, the heating season is a "rapidly approaching crisis for many of our less fortunate neighbors," Schweitzer said. "By making Montanans' homes more efficient, there will be a lasting impact on these families and bring them hope that they will be warm during the cold."

LIEAP will pay for the weatherization supplies. But rather than having LIEAP arrange and pay for the labor, the Montana Conservation Corps is stepping in.

The Corps is an AmeriCorps program, staffed by members who receive an annual stipend and financial credit toward college. AmeriCorps members work 1,700 hours during a 10-month stint with the corps.

At Morley's house Wednesday, the Conservation Corps crew installed vinyl sheeting around her windows, insulated hot-water pipes, fixed up her water-heater insulation and installed some low-energy light bulbs.

Conservation Corps crews also will be working in Billings, Missoula, Kalispell, Bozeman and Great Falls.

Margaret MacDonald, executive director of the Montana Commission on Community Service, said the program expects to do 144 homes in Helena and more than 500 statewide in the coming weeks.

The governor's staff came up with the idea to use the Conservation Corps to help get some weatherization accomplished that wouldn't happen otherwise, said Sarah Elliott, the governor's communications director.

Homeowners on the LIEAP waiting list for weatherization must have an annual income of no more than 150 percent of the federal poverty level, or $14,300 for a single person.

LIEAP Director Jim Nolan said the program has the money to do about 2,000 homes a year, so some people might be on the waiting list indefinitely. The "Warm Homes" program will take care of less expensive work on homes low on the list, he said.

Morley, who's retired and relies on Social Security for income, said she's not looking forward to her heating bills this winter -- and worries that they may be as high as she's ever seen.

She said she had a $180 bill in March -- "I never thought I'd have that high of a bill" -- and fears that things will be much worse this winter.

NorthWestern Energy, which provides natural gas service in Helena the western two-thirds of Montana, raised its rates 27 percent last month, and expects further increases this winter.

The company must buy natural gas for its customers on the open market, and industry forecasters are saying prices are still on the rise.