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EMERGENCY CONSERVATION WORK 



This program was announced by President Franklin D. Roose- 

 velt within a few days after his inauguration, and was approved on 

 March 31, 1933. Within three weeks the first camp was established 

 in Virginia. By July 1, 1933, about 310,000 young men were en- 

 listed the largest peace-time enrolment in the history of the country 

 more than served in the Spanish-American War. The rate of re- 

 cruitment exceeded the busiest days of the World War. Over 1,200,000 

 men have been benefited by service in the work. In April, 1935, it was 

 decided to expand the program to 1937 so that there would be about 

 600,000 men in about 2900 camps. 



FIG. 118. Civilian Conservation Corps camp located in the Rocky Mountain 



National Park near Estes Park, Colorado. At the left are the army officers' and 



foresters' quarters, cooking and mess tent, and on the right are the pyramidal 



tents, each holding 6 men, with recreation tent on the extreme right. 



Four federal departments participated in the program, as follows: 

 the Labor Department selected the men as to age and need for work 

 from the unemployment relief rolls of each locality; the War De- 

 partment enrolled the men, conditioned them in the various posts, 

 transported them, and erected and operated the forestry camps; the 

 Agriculture and Interior Departments were charged with the respon- 

 sibility for the work done in the woods, chiefly through the Forest 

 Service of the former department and the National Park Service and 

 the Indian Forest Service of the latter. Approximately 80% of the 

 camps were located on federal properties, and these two departments 

 were charged with the responsibility for approximately 98% of the 

 projects. Most of the camps were located in National Forests. A 



