I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree
--Joyce Kilmer
One of the most impressive acts of environmental conservation took place at the depths of the Great Depression. Thanks to Senate passage of the Emergency Conservation Work Act in March of 1933, the Roosevelt administration was given the power and funding to create the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). In those days, government worked.
The speed with which the plan moved through proposal, authorization, implementation, and operation was certainly a miracle of cooperation among all the agencies and branches of the federal government. From FDR's inauguration on March 4, 1933, to the induction of the first CCC enrollee, only 37 days had elapsed.
Source
"I propose to create a Civilian Conservation Corps to be used in simple work, not interfering with normal employment, and confining itself to forestry, the prevention of soil erosion, flood control and similar projects. More important, however, than the material gains, will be the moral and spiritual value of such work.
-- President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
To appreciate the CCC, you need to understand two things - why it was necessary and what it accomplished.
Why the CCC was needed
In 1933, the official unemployment was over 25% although the rate of displaced, discouraged, and desperate was much greater. Particularly hard hit were the younger generation just entering the job market. Many politicians were worried about the potential for social unrest and crime among the unemployed.
The nation's mid-section had become a "dustbowl." The combination of drought, poor farming practices, and stripping of vegetation wind-breaks facilitated soil erosion and great dirt storms. Farms were failing, banks were foreclosing on properties, and people were migrating. The grapes of wrath were bitter indeed.
Starting around 1850, the growing demand for lumber was met by rapid deforestation in the east and west. Lumber companies clear cut old growth forests, processed the wood, and moved on as the human equivalent of locusts. The depletion of old growth forests in the U.S. is illustrated by the following graphic (with green shading representing old growth forest at three time periods).
One of the strongest voices for forest protection was President Teddy Roosevelt. In 1905, he gave a memorable speech to the American Forest Congress that captures the need for forest conservation. (The entire speech can be found here.) Here are a few excerpts.
An image of exploitation:
You all know, and especially those of you from the West, the individual whose idea of developing the country is to cut every stick of timber off of it, and then leave a barren desert for the home-maker who comes in after him. That man is a curse and not a blessing to the country.
One of the most effective selling points for forest management was Roosevelt's phrase 'timber famine' to describe a land without trees and an inability to regrow them in time to meet current needs.
If the present rate of forest destruction is allowed to continue, with nothing to offset it, a timber famine in the future is inevitable. Fire, wasteful and destructive forms of lumbering, and the legitimate use, taken together, are destroying our forest resources far more rapidly than they are being replaced. It is difficult to imagine what such a timber famine would mean to our resources. And the period of recovery from the injuries which a timber famine would entail would be measured by the slow growth of the trees themselves. Remember that you can prevent such a timber famine occurring, by wise action taken in time; but once the famine occurs, there is no possible way of hurrying the growth of the trees necessary to relieve it.
Presaging the Dustbowl:
Those of us who have lived on the Great Plains, who are acquainted with the conditions in parts of Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, and the Dakotas, know that wood forms an immensely portentous element in helping the farmer on those plains battle against his worst enemy—wind. The use of forests as windbreaks out on the plains, where the tree does not grow unless man helps it, is of enormous importance.
Roosevelt's Tree Army
Participation in the CCC was limited US citizens between ages of 18 to 26, unemployed, and unmarried. Applicants also had to pass a physical.
Compensation was only $30 per month, with $25 mandated to be sent to a designated family dependent. The low compensation was a sticking point as labor unions were concerned that it was setting a precedent for slave wages. FDR responded to those concerns by appointing Robert Fechner, vice president of the American Federation of Labor, as director of the CCC. The real benefits of participation were food, shelter, clothing, medical care, dental care, education, job training, and reputation. Many employers preferred to hire CCC alumni because it signified a strong work ethic.
The enlistment period was 6 months during which participants were organized and housed in companies of 200 men. CCC companies were located in close proximity to the work projects. With the Army having a hand in administering the CCC, day-to-day life in the camps was highly structured. Many participants re-enlisted at the completion of their service term.
Reforestation and more
The CCC operated in all 50 states. It planted trees, assisted with soil erosion prevention projects, built state parks, improved facilities at national parks, fought fires, and participated in local disaster response efforts. Its accomplishments include the planting of more than 3 billion trees, planting of wind barriers and construction of drainage systems on 84 million acres of agricultural land, and forest improvement in all Forestry Department properties.
This photo shows crews in California on a trail construction project in a national park.
The program was disbanded during WWII as manpower needs for the military and manufacturing sector eliminated unemployment in the targeted age bracket. It was one of the most popular public works programs created by FDR and he was frequently photographed at CCC camps for news reels.
An excellent PBS documentary on the CCC is available online here. The beautiful diary on the CCC by Land of Enchantment is a must read.
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Final thoughts
The CCC was a successful public service program that benefited the unemployed with a sense of purpose and hope and the American people with state of the art conservation projects. Visitors to many state and national parks have hiked on trails created or improved by the CCC. It was the largest systematic reforestation program in our history and helped stabilize agricultural lands devastated by the dustbowl blight.
The CCC also stands out as monument to a government that served the people. The idea that the president could propose a program like the CCC, have the Senate deliver the bill to his desk, and implementation begin within a 37-day span is testament to what is possible. Contrast that to the Senate of today with its floor crowded with belligerent mastodons and blue jackals. In our special interest dominated public arena the CCC would probably be required to provide free labor to enhance corporate profit margins. I wonder how FDR would have fared with Ben Nelson, Blanche Lincoln, Jim Bunning, and scorched earth James Inhofe. I wonder how Barack Obama would fare with a Senate run by Joseph Robinson.
The current labor market has many uncomfortable parallels to that of 1933 America, particularly the high unemployment rate in the younger population. Expanding Americorps deserves consideration which currently only enrolls 70,000 annually. There are endless possibilities in terms of service projects. Urban reforestation. Parks and wildlife refuges that have been neglected because of state budget shortfalls. Monuments to government incompetence and corporate malfeasance linger such as vestiges of Katrina and the Exxon Valdez spill. Meteor Blades also has made specific suggestions as to how to resurrect the CCC concept.
Finally, I would be remiss if I did not call your attention to that strip of old growth forest visible on the map from 1920 that runs through southern West Virginia, western Virginia, and eastern Kentucky. That is the target of mountaintop removal mining.
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