20th Century Blog

In 1943 newly elected president Franklin D. Roosevelt first new deal initiatives was the Establishment of the emergency conservation work act or the (ECW) better known as the (CCC) civilian conservation corps. This relief and conservation program was made to provide jobs for the unemployed young men and veterans to provide income to support their family’s. At the same time this program also focused on improving the nations open spaces and recreational resources. Were it not for the CCC many of the natural and cultural resources in America probably would have been lost. Seventy five years later the work of the CCC still forms the cornerstone of the system that includes roads, trails, ponds, forest plantations and recreational facility’s built by the CCC. these can be found in every region of the united states.

The Massachusetts (CCC) branch was sometimes called “Roosevelt’s tree army”. They planted over 12,000,000 trees and improved existing forest stands by selective thinning and pruning. The men also cut trails and built bridges and dug up ponds. They also laid out picnic and camp grounds. From 1933-1942 was concerned with improvement and development with state park resources. During this period about 68 camps enrolled nearly 1000,000 men. The men that took a part in the CCC left a lasting legacy of forest improvements and recreational resources all around the state.