History:
The WCCC is part of a rich history of conservation minded employment. On March 21, 1933 President Franklin D. Roosevelt started the
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) as part of the New Deal to combat the growing unemployment rate of the Great Depression. Members of the CCC lived in on-site camps and earned a very modest living stipend, but were provided with uniforms, meals, and invaluable job training. With World War II however, came a need for soldiers rather than workers and the CCC disbanded in 1942.
The spirit of the CCC lived on and became a model for a variety of conservation based state agencies that arose during the 1970’s such as the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) and the Young Adult Conservation Corps (YACC). In 1981 these groups too saw their end, but kept the idea alive for the establishment of
The Corps Network in 1985. There are now 113 conservation corps working in 42 states and Washington D.C.
The Western Colorado Conservation Corps was started under the non-profit group
Partners of Mesa County and runs under the umbrella of the
Colorado Youth Conservation Corps (CYCA), which oversees a total of 11 youth corps groups working within the state of Colorado.