75th Anniversary of the Civilian Conservation Corps

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), designed by Franklin D. Roosevelt as part of the New Deal to provide relief from the Great Depression. The CCC employed over two million young men to work in America’s parks and forests, creating and renovating roads, trails, campsites, social halls, amphitheaters and visitor centers.

The CCC offered work to Americans in a time of great instability, but more importantly, it offered disheartened citizens the chance to improve the nation’s future, while strengthening their own dignity and hope. They were making history by providing easier access to the treasures of the national park system.

Nicknamed "Roosevelt's Tree Army," the CCC was operated through the cooperative efforts of four departments. The Department of Labor oversaw the selection of enrollees, the Army ran the camps, and the Interior and Agriculture departments provided work projects.

Initially, unmarried men, between the ages of 18 and 25 and from families on relief, could apply. They enlisted for six months, with an option to reenlist for up to two years. The "CCC boys" worked for $30 a month, $25 of which was sent to their families. Eventually, "Local Experienced Men" (LEMs) and World War I veterans could enroll. Although a few work camps were established for women, most CCC enrollees were men.

Nationwide, the CCC operated 4,500 camps! The CCC advanced natural resource conservation by decades, and provided education, training and experience for a generation of young men and women. Since then, millions of visitors to the national park system have enjoyed the work of the CCCs!

Parks nationwide are commemorating the inspiring government leaders and hardworking young men that made up the Civilian Conservation Corps, and its contributions to parks across the country! Happy Birthday Civilian Conservation Corps!