Not since the first decade of the twentieth century had conservation issues been debated so widely as during Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s first term in office. His election in 1932 ushered in a series of innovative New Deal programs to help Americans cope with the Great Depression—and to conserve threatened natural and cultural legacies.

Nearly 70 years later, the Service can still appreciate the handiwork of one of those innovative programs—the Civilian Conservation Corps—in helping to restore natural resources.

Within his first 100 days in office, FDR signed the Emergency Conservation Work Act authorizing the establishment of the Civilian Conservation Corps. The corps was intended to put millions of young men to work on reforestation, soil erosion prevention, flood control and related projects. Before the program’s termination in 1942 at the outbreak of World War II, conservation corps workers would contribute millions of hours of labor improving national wildlife refuges and fish hatcheries, national forests, and national parks.

Recognizing that bold action was needed as he entered office to conserve natural resources, President Roosevelt appointed the Committee on Wild-Life Restoration in 1934, directing it to prepare a plan to restore America’s dwindling wildlife populations. The committee recommended far-reaching changes to improve habitat for waterfowl, upland game, mammals, and song birds, including the acquisition of millions of acres of sub-marginal lands for habitat improvement and appropriations of $50 million, in part, to restore these lands.

Jay Norwood “Ding” Darling, a member of the committee, was appointed chief of the Bureau of Biological Survey in March 1934 and charged with overseeing this new plan. It didn’t take long for Darling to realize the potential benefits of using the Civilian Conservation Corps to help implement the new program.

By 1942, 53 national wildlife refuges had benefitted directly from corps work centered on constructing dams and dikes, planting vegetation and millions of trees, stabilizing stream banks, and erecting numerous buildings, fire towers, telephone lines and support facilities. In addition to Service areas, wildlife habitat on national forests, Indian reservations, and other public lands also benefitted.

The Civilian Conservation Corps’ surprisingly deep impact on the Fish and Wildlife Service was summed up by Director Ira Gabrielson in 1943 when he noted that “at first the event did not seem of great interest to wildlife conservationists, but it was another of those happenings which none considered epochal at the time but which later have brought about startling results.”

Kevin Kilcullen, Division of Refuges, Arlington, Virginia

Lou Ann Speulda, Refuge Operations Support, Branch of Cultural Resources, Reno, Nevada

Editor’s note: Contact Kevin Kilcullen (Kevin_Kilcullen@fws.gov) or Lou Ann Speulda (Lou_Ann_Speulda@fws.gov) or your regional historic preservation officer if your station has CCC-related documents that should be properly preserved for future use and enjoyment by the public.