New York (State) Conservation Dept.

The State Legislature has enacted the laws that have shaped the general policies of the Conservation Department and its successor agency, the Department of Environmental Conservation. However, in most instances it has allowed the department to draft and enforce the detailed regulations needed to implement the broad policies outlined in legislation. Regulations issued by the department acquire the force of law when the Department of State publishes them in the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York (commonly known as the NYCRR). In 1962, the Legislature required (Chapter 305) that each new or revised regulation sent to the Department of State for publication be accompanied by a certificate citing the statutory authority pursuant to which the regulation was adopted or revised.

From the guide to the Conservation Department rules and regulations, 1931-1969, 1944-1969, (New York State Archives)

President Franklin Roosevelt's Emergency Conservation Work Act, designed to put unemployed men ages seventeen to twenty-eight to work developing forest lands and parks, was passed in March of 1933. Initially named Emergency Conservation Work (ECW), the program was commonly and later (1937) officially known as the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The program was administered by the U.S. Army, the National Park Service, and the Federal Security Agency. Participants were trained at army camps and then transferred to work camps, which provided shelter, food, medical, religious, and educational services as well as employment. The CCC camps nationwide worked on projects in the areas of structural improvement; transportation; erosion control; flood control; forest culture; forest protection; landscape and recreation; and range, wildlife, and other projects.

The CCC camps operated from 1933 until July 1942, by which time mobilization for war had significantly reduced unemployment. At one point New York had 102 of the camps: 39 state forest work camps; 9 private land tent camps; 8 soil conservation service camps; 28 state park camps; 13 Corps of Engineers camps; and 5 military camps. The aggregate number of New York men employed in these camps was 220,752.

In New York, the major CCC projects focused on recreation, fishery, forestry, and pest control. The recreation projects included constructing foot, horse, and ski trails; camping, picnicking and caretaking facilities; and dams and bridges. Fishery projects included developing the Randolph Hatchery, building small dams and rock pools, and planting willows and shrubs along river embankments. Forestry projects aimed at constructing truck trails and lookout towers, and fighting fires. The pest control units treated white pine blister rust, Dutch Elm disease, and infestations of gypsy and brown moths.

From the guide to the Civilian Conservation Corps camp and personnel files, 1933-1942, (New York State Archives)