the valley's resources. 
Between 1933 and 1941, 
seven major dams were 
built. Reforestation and soil 
conservation were integral 
parts of the reservoir 
development program. 
Reforestation and proper 
use of marginal lands were 
identified as needs in the 
preamble of the act creating 
the Authority (Tennessee 
Valley Authority 1983). 
Creating the Tennessee 
Valley Authority at about the 
same time as the Civilian 
Conservation Corps was 
fortuitous. The Authority 
began at once the planning 
and construction of a series 
of major dams on the 
Tennessee and its tributaries, 
but at the same time it had 
to stabilize watersheds and 
stop soil erosion and siltation 
of streams and the filling of 
reservoirs behind the dams. 
The Tennessee Valley 
Authority was authorized 38 
corps camps. Though the 
number of camps fluctuated 
below this high between 
1933 and the end of the 
program in 1942, the corps 
planted 129 million trees on 
Federal, State, and private 
lands in the valley, built 
530,000 permanent and 
temporary check dams, and 
ae 
spent 54,000 man-days 
fighting fires. Two nurseries 
were built to provide planting 
stock for the corps and for 
private landowners (Headrick 
and Schaffer 1983, Seigworth 
1968). 
The Tennessee Valley 
Authority immediately 
established a forestry staff to 
begin the task of reforestation 
and the halting of erosion 
from the cutover and abused 
forest lands, and the 
reforestation of the several 
million acres of the badly 
eroding farmland that was 
producing the major silt load 
in local rivers and streams. 
The two seedling nurseries 
produced 50 million trees 
each year, and these were 
planted on both public and 
private lands. Demonstration 
projects were established to 
show farmers how to halt 
erosion through tree planting. 
By 1942, 110,000 acres 
(mostly severely eroded 
land) had been planted with 
trees. Between 1943 and 
1957, another 240,000 acres 
of similar land were planted. 
Fire control was another 
program of great importance. 
In the thirties, about 2 million 
acres of forest—10 percent 
of Authority land—were 
