Department of Conservation and Recreation
Conserve. Protect. Enjoy.
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Media inquiries: Please contact Dave Neudeck, dave.neudeck@dcr.virginia.gov, 804-786-5053.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: April 12, 2011
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Conservation Corps put men to work building parks, restoring lands
Thirty-seven days after his March 1933 inauguration, President D. Franklin Roosevelt established the Civilian Conservation Corps to help put men back to work during the Great Depression. Modeled after the military, these corps of young men went to work on countless conservation and land restoration projects across the country.
A Virginian, Will Carson, chairman of the Virginia Commission on Conservation and Development , convinced President Roosevelt that his CCC boys would have a greater legacy if they were put to work building state parks. This model not only built the first parks of the Virginia State Park but also led to the development of state parks across the country.
The CCC boys, however, never lost their conservation focus. Here CCC members at Hungry Mother State Park transplant Rhododendron.
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Editors note: Click here for a high resolution photo for this story. Other historic state park photos are also there.
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