BUREAU OF RECLAMATION Federal Reclamation is a Government enterprise designed to utilize the water resources of the West in the work of developing the arid and semiarid regions that lie west of the one-hundredth meridian; an area of 740,000,000 acres comprising a third of the land area of the United States. Less than 20 inches of rain falls annually in nearly all of this vast territory, which is incapable of supporting any considerable population or agriculture without an artificial water supply. Through the irrigation of desert lands and the operation of power plants, new opportunities for farms, homes and for cities, for mining and processing the country's mineral wealth and for manufacturing many of the essential tools of a modern industry, are created. It is the task of the Bureau of Reclamation to plan, design, and build the intricate engineering works that provide water for irrigation and generate power and to supervise their operation and maintenance after completion. The water and power users who benefit by these developments are required to repay their cost over a period of years. Federal irrigation in the Western States began in 1902 with the enactment of the Reclamation Act. In the early years following passage of this act many irrigation projects were built and placed in operation at a reimbursable cost approximating $220,000,000 by 1935. These projects consist usually of a dam and reservoir to store water and an extensive system of Government-owned canals and canal structures to control and deliver the stored water to individual farm units. The economic depression that began in 1930 made it difficult to maintain the irrigation systems at proper standards and the droughts in the early years of the depression further reduced the available water supply, augmenting the problems of the irrigation farmer. Thousands of control structures built 20 or 25 years previously, became deteriorated beyond repair, canals became silted and clogged with vegetation, and crop yields on the farm lands decreased alarmingly with the decrease in water supply. By 1934 it had become a matter of urgency that some means be found, not inconsistent with the unemployment problem of the country, to overcome these adverse project conditions and to protect the Government's large investment. A few CCC camps were established on reclamation projects in 1934. In 1935, 50 camps were allotted to the Bureau of Reclamation to undertake a comprehensive program for the rehabilitation of the irrigation systems and the development of a supplemental water supply on projects affected by drought conditions. Rehabilitation was programmed on a basis of permanent improvements designed to avoid difficulties in future years. Deteriorated wooden water control structures in the canals, such as checks, drops, turnouts, etc., were replaced with permanent concrete structures. Canal banks were cleaned of vegetation, reshaped to their original design, and were lined with concrete, rock, or gravel to prevent future erosion and silting. Operation roads for motor vehicles were built along canals to facilitate operation, inspection, and maintenance of the facilities. Telephone lines and fences on Government property were rebuilt to present-day standards. Impounding and diversion dams which had suffered from excessive wave action or wind erosion were rebuilt to their designed lines and grades and were heavily blanketed with rock or gravel. Supplemental water supplies were developed for several projects by the construction of small reservoirs and the building of feeder canals to bring additional water to existing reservoirs. Later in the CCC program, camps were assigned to aid in the construction of new reclamation projects undertaken as part of the Bureau's regular expansion program or as part of the Water Conservation and Utility project program, the latter specially authorized by an act of Congress for development with CCC forces. The camps on these projects began the construction of dams, the clearing of reservoir sites, the excavation of canals, and the building of water-control structures. The suspension of the Civilian Conservation Corps in July 1942 found much of this work uncompleted. A multitude of miscellaneous conservation programs were carried out on all classes of reclamation projects. An extensive campaign for the extermination of gophers and ground squirrels, whose tunneling habits are very harmful to irrigation canals, was an important activity on nearly all projects. The spread of noxious weeds had become a serious menace on several projects, forcing much otherwise good land out of cultivation. Various methods of eradication were investigated and demonstrations were given on Government land of those found to be practicable and low in cost. Experiments with new sealing agents for lining porous canals were conducted and feasible methods of application were developed. Emergencies consumed much of the time of CCC men on reclamation projects. In cooperation with the Fish and Wildlife Service, major improvements have been accomplished on a number of wildlife reserves that are also irrigation reservoirs. Forest fires, prairie-grass fires, floods, earthquakes, and grasshopper infestations were almost annual occurrences. The availability of CCC men greatly lessened the property damage and loss of natural resources. Many lives were saved through their work in preserving the stability of important structures under flood conditions. Most irrigation projects are too remote from developed recreational areas to permit the average settler or his family or the local urban residents to enjoy a weekend or occasional day of rest without considerable travel. Irrigation reservoirs on the projects or in the nearby mountain areas afford a place for development of playgrounds to make recreation an integral part of the project life. Swimming, boating and fishing facilities, picnic and camp grounds, shelters, access roads, hiking trails, parking areas, and the planting of trees and shrubbery at these reservoirs have made a number of projects a much pleasanter place to live. At Guernsey Reservoir in Wyoming a fine museum of the early days of Wyoming settlement has been built to National Park Service standards. A few figures illustrate the volume of the accomplishment of CCC forces during the past 7 years on the irrigation projects. Over 60,000,000 square yards of canals and drainage ditches were placed in good condition by clearing or cleaning; 1,800,000 square yards were lined with impervious materials, and 2,800,000 square yards were riprapped for protection against erosion; operating roads were built along 3,000 miles of canals; 39,000 acres of reservoir sites were cleared of trees and brush, and 15,800 water-control structures in canals and ditches were built. In all, 7,153,000 enrollee man-days were expended on these and other related activities. Camps were operated at 83 separate locations on 45 projects in the 15 Western States. The work of the enrollees at camps on reclamation projects trained thousands of truck drivers and tractor operators. Elementary training in concrete and masonry construction, erection of frame structures, and the use and repair of hand tools were standard on-job courses. No better training of nonmilitary character could have been given these young men to fit themselves for defending their country in the armed services or for participating in the vast civilian construction program initiated at the outbreak of the war. The fine work of the Civilian Conservation Corps by 1942 had brought the Federal irrigation projects back to a high standard of physical excellence. The irrigation systems are now in generally good condition, able to deliver required amounts of water and by the permanency of their rehabilitation they are insured against future interruptions of consequence. Under pressure of war conditions, these projects are being called on today for greater and greater quantities of high-quality food and fiber for the armed forces and lend-lease agencies. Without the aid of the Civilian Conservation Corps in pre-war years, the in-war production of these projects would not be such a satisfactory contribution to the war program. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE The Civilian Conservation Corps advanced park development by many years. It made possible the development of many protective facilities on the areas that comprise the National Park System, and also provided, for the first time, a Federal aid program for State park systems through which the National Park Service gave technical assistance and administrative guidance for immediate park developments and long-range planning. Of approximately 3,114 CCC camp years of work under the supervision of the National Park Service, 880 or 28 percent were on National Park Service areas, and 2,234 or 72 percent, on non-Federal park and recreational areas. It is believed that the work accomplished in the park conservation field in the 10 years of CCC was equal to what might have been expected in 50 years without its assistance. The National Park System benefited immeasurably by the Civilian Conservation Corps, principally through the building of many greatly needed fire trails and other forest fire-prevention facilities such as lookout towers and ranger cabins. During the life of the CCC, the areas received the best fire protection in the history of the Service. Over 414,000 man-days were spent on the work of fire prevention and over 250,000 on fire suppression. The value of the man-days spent in fire protection and suppression in the great scenic areas of the Nation. cannot be overestimated. The CCC also provided the manpower and materials to construct many administrative and public-use facilities such as utility buildings, sanitation and water systems, housing for its employees, service roads, campground improvements, and museums and exhibits; to do reforesta tion and work relating to insect and disease control; to improve the roadsides; to restore historic sites and buildings; to perform erosion control, and sand fixation research and work; to make various travel and use studies; and to do many other developmental and administrative tasks that are so important to the proper protection and use of the National Park System. The CCC made available to the superintendents of the national parks, for the first time, a certain amount of manpower that allowed them to do many important jobs when and as they arose. Many of these jobs made the difference between a well-managed park and one "just getting along." If the CCC or a similar organization is established in the future, a more flexible use of the men assigned to National Park System areas would increase its value to them. The State park program received a tremendous impetus through the CCC. Without having had any previous official relationship with State park organizations, the National Park Service was asked to supervise CCC work on non-Federal park areas. This required the setting up of a supplementary organization on a regional basis. Many States were not prepared to utilize effectively the manpower and materials that were suddenly available to them-in fact, the majority of them had practically no State park system or organization. The CCC was not just a pick-and-shovel project. It contributed tremendously to the Nation's thought on parks and recreation. It was soon realized that one of the first requirements for adequate programs, both immediate and long-range, was a comprehensive survey and study of the entire park and recreational problem on a Nation-wide basis. In 1936, Congress enacted the Park, Parkway, and Recreation Study Act (49 Stat. 1894), and pursuant to this act, 46 of the States and the Territory of Hawaii participated in the conduct of State-wide studies. Thirty-seven of the States completed reports on their studies and 21 published them. In 1941, the National Park Service published its report, "A Study of the Park and Recreation Problem of the United States." Between 1936 and 1942, the National Park Service responded to the requests of 18 States in helping to rewrite their general conservation laws, which placed parks and recreation in a stronger position. During the 10 years of CCC, the National Park Service issued the following publications relating to park work—all made possible by the CCC: A Study of the Park and Recreation Problem of the United States. Park and Recreation Structures. Park Use Studies and Demonstrations. Fees and Charges for Public Recreation. Yearbook-Park and Recreation Progress, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1941. Digest of Laws Relating to State Parks. Digest of Laws Affecting Organized Camping. Digest of Laws Relating to Local Parks and Recreation. The above-mentioned work was fundamental and essential to insure proper physical improvements on the State park and recreational areas throughout the country. Although Congress authorized this work under the CCC, an emergency organization, and again in the Park, Parkway, and Recreation Study Act of 1936, it never appropriated formed by the National Park Service was carried out by personnel employed with CCC funds. While this work was being conducted, the CCC camps were proceeding with the development of more than any funds specifically for it. Virtually all of this planning per561 non-Federal park areas throughout the country. The work included every conceivable type of project necessary to develop wellrounded park and recreational areas. To enumerate the work accomplished, State by State, would take too much space in this report. As an example, however, the State of Virginia in 1933 had only Matoaka State Park, and the Richmond Battlefield which was acquired by the State for transfer to the Federal Government for inclusion in the National Park System. By June 1942 the State had developed, principally with the aid of the CCC (782 camp years), 11 areas with a total of 19,367 acres, well distributed throughout the State from the coast to the mountains. The CCC provided each of its six principal State parks with a road system, water supply and sewage disposal systems, telephone lines, power lines, and necessary utility and administrative structures and facilities. It built three recreational dams and one swimming pool; it provided bathhouses and necessary appurtenances in each park, and beach facilities in five of them; it constructed hundreds of other buildings for public use; and it provided recreation and protection by the construction of many miles of trails. In short, with the aid of CCC, the State has given its citizens a system of parks with most of the recreation activities for their leisure-time In the 1942 fiscal year, their largest attendance year, 486,376 visitors used the State park system. With the liquidation of the CCC work forces in July 1942, aid to the States was terminated, and planning assistance authorized by the Park, Parkway, and Recreation Study Act virtually ceased. For insurance of the success of any future Federal aid program, regardless of what agency administers it, or the methods used, the provisions of the Recreation Study Act should continue to be carried out, at least to the extent of assisting the States in keeping the studies and plans alive and abreast with the developments of the time. This would permit rapid resumption of development work on a sound basis, either with or without Federal assistance. GRAZING SERVICE Grazing Service participation and cooperation in the activities and accomplishments of the Civilian Conservation Corps commenced in April 1935 when seven camps were assigned to this Service. The number of CCC camps was increased to 45 by November of the same year. This quota was maintained until 1938, when the number was increased to the full complement of 90 camps by November of that year. The number then continued at approximately this figure until the lquidation of CCC in the spring and summer of 1942. The CCC camps were distributed uniformly among the 58 Grazing Districts in the 10 Western States of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming. The services of the enrollees were used by the Grazing Service toward the accomplishment of those objectives of the Taylor Grazing Act which have to do with the construction of improvements on the public domain for the purpose of opening up new range lands, increas |