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(Bryce Canyon National Park, photo by Brent McKee.)
According to the National Park Service, "During the 1930s the Civilian Conservation Corps made many improvements to Bryce Canyon National Park. These included Campground development, under the rim fire trail, Fairyland Trail, boundary fences, parking areas, museum-overlook at Rainbow Point, erosion control and insect pest control."
(Bryce Canyon National Park, photo by Brent McKee.)
We could use a new Civilian Conservation Corps today because, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers, "The popularity of parks and outdoor recreation areas in the United States continues to grow, with over 140 million Americans making use of these facilities a part of their daily lives. These activities contribute $646 billion to the nation’s economy, supporting 6.1 million jobs. Yet states and localities struggle to provide these benefits for parks amid flat and declining budgets, reporting an estimated $18.5 billion in unmet needs in 2011. The federal government is also facing a serious challenge as well since the National Park Service estimates its maintenance backlog at approximately $11 billion."
(Bryce Canyon National Park, photo by Brent McKee.)
The Civilian Conservation Corps created or improved hundreds of parks across the country. So, while Congress is working hard cut off food assistance to low-income families and children, and while "6.5 million U.S. teens and young adults are neither in school nor in the workforce," and while we're maintaining the largest prison-industrial complex in the world, perhaps we should think of more positive alternatives to the status quo...like the Civilian Conservation Corps, whose good work we still utilize & enjoy today, and whose members still get together for reunions--three quarters of a century later--because the program had such a positive impact on their lives.
(WPA poster, image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.)
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