STUDY MANUAL OF BASIC FIELD PRACTICE IN FISH-WILDLIFE AND PARK CONSER VATION, NATIONAL SCHOOL OF FORESTRY AND CONSERVATION, WOLF SPRINGS FOREST, MINONG, WIS.-Continued TABLE OF CONTENTS Lesson 9. Parks and recreational lands: Types of recreational areas Extensive recreational areas Recreation developments and improvements Planning, construction, sanitation, buildings, roads and trails, camp grounds Camp maintenance and caretaking Duties Seasonal, daily Counting visitor use Purpose and methods Access areas to public fishing waters Lesson 10. Organization and administration of conservation programs: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Soil Conservation Service U.S. Department of Interior Fish and Wildlife Service National Park Service Bureau of Land Management Other Federal resource programs State conservation programs Fish and game, parks, forestry, minerals, soil and water conservation Private conservation activities Landowners, associations, industry Appendix A. Conservation organizations employing trained men: State conservation programs Private and others Senator RANDOLPH. Thank you, Mr. Stoddard, for being with us. Mr. STODDARD. Thank you, sir. Senator RANDOLPH. It is the plan of the subcommittee to resume its hearings and perhaps have its final hearing on Friday of this week, the time being 2 p.m. There are certain Senators, including Senator Humphrey, who wish to file a statement as the hearings come to a close. (Whereupon, at 3:55 p.m., the subcommittee recessed, to reconvene at 2 p.m., Friday, May 22, 1959.) YOUTH CONSERVATION CORPS FRIDAY, MAY 22, 1959 U.S. SENATE, SPECIAL SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE YOUTH CONSERVATION CORPS OF THE COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND PUBLIC WELFARE, Washington, D. C. The subcommittee met at 2:20 p.m., pursuant to adjournment, in room 312, Old Senate Office Building, Senator Jennings Randolph (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Senator Randolph (presiding). Also present: Senator Frank E. Moss, of Utah. Committee staff members present: Stewart E. McClure, chief clerk; Samuel V. Merrick, professional staff member; and Robert E. Wolf, professional staff member, Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. Senator RANDOLPH. We shall resume our hearings on S. 812, the proposal which would establish the Youth Conservation Corps. It is a privilege to welcome the Honorable Frank E. Moss, the able Senator from Utah. He has a very real interest in the pending legislation. STATEMENT OF HON. FRANK E. MOSS, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF UTAH Senator Moss. Thank you, Senator Randolph. It is a privilege to serve in the Senate with you and the other able Senators who now constitute the Senate of the United States. I feel that my friendship with you is deep and personal. It is also a privilege to appear before you in behalf of a bill which is designed at once to salvage and conserve both human and natural resources. Surely this measure is as noncontroversial as legislation can be. As no one knows better than the able chairman of this subcommittee, the Civilian Conservation Corps, upon which S. 812 is based, was probably the most popular and generally accepted of all of the alphabet agencies established to pull us out of the depression of the thirties. Practically everybody agreed that it was a good idea and that it did a good job-it was a sound investment in both people and the land. Tough, young boys were taken off the city streets and out of the slums and placed in wholesome out-of-door camps, with hard, satisfying work to do. An amazing number of them went on to lead constructive and useful lives. At the same time the work they did con 41258 59 -29 tributed to the wise conservation of our land, water, and forests, and passed on this great inheritance not only undiminished, but enhanced. This bill will again put together land and trees and water and boys for the good of both the young men and the Nation. It is designed to fit the needs of today, not as desperate as they were in the thirties, but nonetheless demanding of attention and action. Although the economic health of the country is vastly better than it was when the CCC was established in the thirties, there are some bad pockets of unemployment and all of the problems which it breeds. Young, untrained men are among the greatest casualties when jobs are scarce. In addition, there are thousands of boys out of school seeking summer employment each year. Unchanneled ad restless, youthful energy results in day-after-day newspaper stories of juvenile delinquency. A YCC program could be a partial answer to the problem. This waste in human resources is matched by a frightening waste of our soil and water resources. Our conservation programs are working well, but they are not big enough or broad enough to do all that needs to be done. Lakes and streams are filling with valuable topsoil, and millions of acres of cutover timberland lie a ready prey to fire, wind, and insects. Lakes that are muddied and polluted, and campsites that are rundown and littered, make outdoor recreation less enjoyable than it should be. This bill would put 150,000 young men between the ages of 17 and 23 to work in YCC camps at tremendous long-range benefits to both themselves and the Nation. It is estimated that it will cost about $375 million annually, and if there is any substantial opposition to the progran it is based on the fact that, like almost anything worth while, it costs money. Yet it is obvious that if properly administered, the program would increase our productivity and gross income, and return the Federal Government a good share, if not all, of the funds appropriated for it. As an example, we are desperately short of access roads to reach into sustained yield timber that is overripe and should be cut. Sale of this timber contributes substantial revenues to the Federal Government, and to the counties in which the national forests are located. Access road construction is a readymade project for a Youth Conservation Corps. It is impossible to assess the value of the work the corps could do to assist the Forest Service and the other Federal agencies with conservation of our natural resources. Nor can we estimate the recreational value that additional or improved camp and picnic grounds would give to America's vacationists. Anyone approaching middle age can attest to how refreshing and pleasant were their picnic and camping experiences in the tidy new recreation areas built by the CCC boys in the thirties. I am happy to report that this bill has the strong support of the Salt Lake Tribune, one of the great dailies in my State of Utah. I would like to request that a March 30, 1959, editorial from the Tribune entitled, "Youth Program Should Be Expanded," be printed in the record of the hearings at this point. Senator RANDOLPH. Yes; that will be done. (The editorial follows:) [From the Salt Lake Tribune, Monday morning, Mar. 30, 1959] YOUTH PROGRAM SHOULD BE EXPANDED The advent of spring brings apprehension to hundreds of thousands of parents of teenagers and others in urban sections of America. The Within a few weeks an army of young people will besiege business and industrial houses for summer work. And although the economic health of the country has improved, unemployment continues a severe problem in some areas. surplus of the adult labor force will dim chances of youth getting seasonal work in many cases. Family breadwinners should have top priority but it is important also that young people put their energies into constructive activity. Safeguards must be maintained to prevent exploitation but proper jobs help to round out young people's lives. Gainful work provides a feeling of belonging, acceptance, and responsibility. Moreover, it provides financial assistance. Recognizing the nationwide problem of idle youth and the need for keeping national forests and parks in repair, bills have been filed in Congress again to set up a Youth Conservation Corps. Sponsors include Representative Gracie I'fost, of Idaho, and Senator Humphrey, of Minnesota. Current plans call for an initial corps of 150,000 young men, which would likely be only a start. Bills have been in Congress almost every session since the end of World War II providing for a youth corps modeled somewhat after the old Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) of the depression. The movement for a national youth corps has received a filip from the success of experimental forestry camps for youth operating in several States, including Utah. Several years ago the Wasatch National Forest and State industrial school set up a camp near Kamas for selected boys from the Ogden institution. The number of boys benefiting from working outdoors under supervision has been limited by necessity but the program has been so successful that a few similar camps have been established in other sections of the Wasatch Forest under auspices of the Salt Lake County Youth Advisory Council, cooperating with the juvenile court, the welfare department, employment security, county commisisioners. The Forest Service furnishes materials, tools, and work supervision. Most youths involved are assigned by the Salt Lake juvenile court. This summer a similar project is planned in Davis County. In addition to the physical and spiritual benefits from working in the woods, youths learn a trade, self-reliance, and the essentials of resource conservation. A drawback to the limited program now in operation under local sponsorship and the project proposed in Youth Conservation Corps bills is that only boys who are in trouble with the law or school requirements benefit from the wholesome experience. It does not detract from the great merits of the program to point out the need for expanding it to occupy the time and energies of boys who do good school work and manage to keep out of trouble. Communities should interest themselves to a greater extent in the program. If a satisfactory organizational framework were provided, it is possible that many parents who could afford it would be willing to contribute to keep their youth constructively occupied during vacation periods. If a national youth corps is set up, camps might well be organized on a local or regional basis. It is not too early to be planning and working to meet the coming needs of our youth. Some modification of the youth corps might prove vastly beneficial in many ways and, in the end, be far less costly than some alternatives, such as institutional-custodial care. Senator Moss. I want also to touch briefly on a summertime forest crew program in Salt Lake County, which is under the direction of the county youth advisory committee, and which will be of interest to this group. The work crew consists of teenage boys who report at a Forest Service warehouse in Salt Lake City at 8 a.m., and are taken into the canyons surrounding Salt Lake City for a day's work for which they are paid $4. Under the direction of a forest ranger they clean up camp and picnic areas and roadsides and streams, collect garbage, haul sand and gravel, cut logs and haul firewood, clean out firepits, and do some painting and construction and trail work. They are taught the use of handtools and given special instruction in safety. The program has proved a great success. The Youth Advisory Council has made careful study of S. 812, and has written a letter suggesting amendments which would make it of greater value in Salt Lake County. The council feels this bill as drafted does not adequately meet the needs of the local communities, and suggests amending it to allow States and political subdivisions to develop programs geared to their particular problems. The council would also prefer a 15-to-19-year age requirements for enrollees, with 21 set as the terminal age. I would like to present to the subcommittee for their consideration the letter written by Mrs. John B. Cannon, chairman of the Salt Lake Youth Advisory Council, which spells out in some detail the views of the council on this bill. Senator RANDOLPH. We shall include it. (The letter referred to follows:) SALT LAKE COUNTY YOUTH ADVISORY COUNCIL, Salt Lake City, Utah, May 5, 1959. Hon. FRANK E. Moss, DEAR SENATOR Moss: The Salt Lake Youth Advisory Council is extremely interested in the proposed Senate bill 812, 86th Congress, 1st session. We have reviewed a copy of this bill and in principle agree that legislation of this type is needed and would serve a useful purpose. However, we feel that the bill presented does not adequately meet the needs of the local community. Senate bill S. 812 appears to be patterned after the old CCC program enacted during the depression days of the 1930's. There is a great difference between what was needed then to alleviate unemployment and what is needed and desirable now. Our council has reviewed S. 812 and wishes to present the following comments and suggested revisions for your information and guidance: (1) In the section covering the statement of purpose it is our sincere conviction that the program should also so be dedicated to providing assistance in the youth's personal development as well as providing healthful training and employment. We also feel that this should be a Federal-State program which would permit States and political subdivisions thereof to develop programs that would meet the needs of the local community. The idea that what may be workable and desirable for the youth in the large cities may not be feasible for the rural or less-populated areas. A Federal-State partnership would best solve this problem, much the same way that the various State departments of public welfare or State departments of employment security operate. (2) In the section of S. 812 that sets up authority of director, we recommend that all references to Federal agencies be changed to Federal-State agencies where applicable. Conservation of our natural resources are also charged to State governments. As an example, Utah's present State park commission. The council also feels that paragraph (6), section 7, dealing with the general education and vocational and conservation education be revised to the point that State and local educational facilities would be used wherever possible. Local school districts could provide much of this training and this is in keeping with our thought that the program be decentralized to the local level. 3. Section 8: Enrollment does not meet the needs of the local community, especially with respect to the minimum and maximum age range of enrollees. It has been our experience from our own program over the last 4 years that youth from 15 through 19 need the greatest assistance. These are the formative years, years during a person's life when basic and lasting traits |