The Civilian Conservation Corps and Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge

The Civilian Conservation Corps and Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. The Civilian Conservation Corps was organized by President Franklin Roosevelt during the Great Depression. The program provided useful employment for nearly three million young men ages 17 to 26 and served to enhance and preserve our nation’s natural resources. The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge was fortunate to have hosted three CCC companies. Camp 812 - Buffalo Springs; Camp 859 - Panther Creek; and Camp 870 - Elm Island. , , Under management of U.S. Army personnel, work projects on the refuge credited to these camps include dams, roads, buildings, fences, trails, and many of the recreational facilities still in use today. For their work, corpsmen were paid $30 per month of which $25 was sent home to their families in an effort to relieve the burdens arising from the Depression. They were provided housing, food, medical and dental care as well as educational training. , , The CCC program improved the lives the those who worked on the many conservation and recreational projects on the refuge. Their unparalleled accomplishments in preserving this irreplaceable natural resource stand as permanent symbols to the dedication and productivity of the men of the Civilian Conservation Corps. , , In grateful recognition of their service, this memorial has been presented to CCC companies 812, 859, and 870, April 14, 1990 , by , Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge , United States Department of Interior , Fish and Wildlife Service.