Podcasts about civilian conservation corps ccc

This Day in Legal History: Civilian Conservation Corps Created by FDROn this day in legal history, March 31, 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Senate Bill S. 598, creating the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) as part of his sweeping New Deal agenda. The CCC was a rapid-response effort to the economic devastation of the Great Depression, designed to provide immediate employment to young, unemployed men. Within weeks of its creation, the program began enrolling thousands, ultimately putting over 3 million men to work during its nine-year run.The CCC operated under the Department of Labor, War Department, and Department of Agriculture, reflecting its blend of social welfare, environmental stewardship, and federal coordination. Workers were paid $30 per month, $25 of which was sent home to support their families—a vital lifeline during a time of widespread poverty. Projects included reforestation, flood control, soil erosion prevention, and the construction of trails and facilities in national and state parks.Legally, the CCC represented an expansion of federal authority into economic and environmental realms, and it raised constitutional questions about the scope of executive power during peacetime. While the Supreme Court would later strike down some New Deal programs, the CCC escaped judicial invalidation, in part due to its voluntary nature and its framing as a public works program rather than a federal jobs guarantee.The CCC's legal structure helped shape future federal employment and environmental programs, and it laid the groundwork for later conservation efforts like the Soil Conservation Service and aspects of the Environmental Protection Agency. March 31, 1933, thus marks not just the birth of a New Deal agency, but a foundational moment in the legal history of federal labor and environmental law.The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case brought by the Catholic Charities Bureau, a nonprofit linked to the Catholic Diocese of Superior, Wisconsin, seeking a religious exemption from the state's unemployment insurance tax. The group, along with four of its subsidiaries, argues that the state's denial of the exemption violates the First Amendment's protections for religious freedom and church autonomy. Wisconsin law allows such exemptions only for organizations "operated primarily for religious purposes," a standard the state Supreme Court ruled the charities failed to meet due to their primarily secular social service work.The Catholic Charities Bureau, founded in 1917, provides services like job placement and home visits for people with disabilities but does not require employees or service recipients to be Catholic. After one of its affiliates was granted an exemption in a separate case, the Bureau and other affiliates sought similar treatment in 2016. The Wisconsin Supreme Court's 2024 decision upheld the tax requirement, stating the group's activities were charitable rather than religious.The case has broader implications for how courts distinguish between religious and secular work, with critics warning that a ruling in favor of the charities could allow large religiously affiliated organizations to bypass many government regulations, jeopardizing benefits for hundreds of thousands of workers. The decision is expected by the end of June. The Court is also set to hear a related case on April 30 concerning a proposed taxpayer-funded religious charter school in Oklahoma.US Supreme Court to hear Catholic group's bid for Wisconsin unemployment tax exemption | ReutersCatholic Charities Case Poised to Shape Religious Tax ExemptionsTwo federal judges have temporarily blocked major parts of executive orders issued by President Donald Trump targeting law firms Jenner & Block and WilmerHale, which had been involved in legal efforts against his administration. The firms sued the Trump administration, arguing that the orders violated constitutional protections of free expression and due process. U.S. District Judge John Bates criticized Trump's order against Jenner & Block as “reprehensible,” especially for targeting the firm's pro bono work on behalf of immigrants and transgender individuals. He warned the order threatened the firm's existence by aiming to cancel its clients' federal contracts and restrict access to federal facilities and courts.In a separate ruling, Judge Richard Leon blocked similar provisions in the order against WilmerHale, calling it retaliatory and a threat to the public interest and justice system. However, he allowed a clause suspending the firm's security clearances to stand. Trump has signed orders targeting five law firms to date, and several—including Perkins Coie—have already challenged them in court with partial success.Meanwhile, law firms Skadden Arps and Paul Weiss reached deals with the White House to avoid being targeted. Skadden agreed to provide $100 million in pro bono legal work and implement merit-based hiring, while Paul Weiss pledged $40 million toward mutually agreed causes. The executive orders mainly cited the firms' past involvement in investigations into Trump, especially the Mueller probe. Critics argue the orders are politically motivated attempts to punish opposition and intimidate legal advocates.Judges block Trump orders targeting two law firms as Skadden cuts deal | ReutersTwo labor agency officials fired by President Donald Trump—Gwynne Wilcox of the National Labor Relations Board and Cathy Harris of the Merit Systems Protection Board—will not be immediately reinstated, following a decision by a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The court declined to pause its earlier order that temporarily blocked lower court rulings which had reinstated the officials. Judges Karen Henderson and Justin Walker sided with the administration, while Judge Patricia Millett dissented.This legal battle tests the limits of presidential authority to remove officials from independent agencies, despite statutory protections meant to insulate them from political pressure. While trial courts previously ruled the firings were unlawful, the appeals court has halted those decisions from taking effect for now. The panel's latest order did not include an explanation of its reasoning.Wilcox and Harris may still ask the full D.C. Circuit to reconsider the panel's ruling, but Sunday's denial of an administrative stay could influence their next steps. Meanwhile, a broader decision on whether Congress can limit the president's power to fire certain agency officials is expected to be taken up in oral arguments scheduled for May 16. The issue could eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court, given its potential to reshape the balance of power between the executive branch and independent federal agencies.Fired Agency Officials Lose Attempt at Immediate ReinstatementFrench antitrust regulators fined Apple €150 million (about $162.4 million) for abusing its dominant market position through its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) tool, marking the first time any regulator has penalized the company over this feature. The ATT tool, introduced by Apple on iPhones and iPads, allows users to control which apps can track their activity. While Apple framed it as a privacy measure, digital advertisers and mobile gaming companies argued it made advertising more difficult and disproportionately impacted smaller publishers reliant on third-party data.The French Competition Authority found that while privacy protection is a legitimate goal, Apple's implementation of ATT was neither necessary nor proportionate and unfairly favored its own services. The decision followed complaints from several advertising and media associations, who hailed the ruling as a major win for their industries.Despite the fine, Apple is not currently required to change the tool's design. However, regulators emphasized that it is Apple's responsibility to ensure compliance going forward. Apple, expressing disappointment with the decision, noted that investigations into ATT are ongoing in other European countries including Germany, Italy, Poland, and Romania.Apple hit with $162 million French antitrust fine over privacy tool | Reuters This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was one of the most popular and successful relief programs during the Great Depression. Between 1933-1942, it put 3 million men to work throughout the United States. These young men worked on conservation and transportation projects on Federal, State, and local government lands. The CCC was the brainchild of President Franklin Roosevelt and his liberal New Deal advisors. In large part, it was successful because of the U.S. Army, a bastion of conservatism at the time, and more specifically, because of the efforts of the anti-New Deal Army Chief of Staff, General Douglas MacArthur. It was an interesting match made out of necessity. Join MacArthur Memorial historians Jim Zobel and Amanda Williams for a discussion of MacArthur and the CCC.Have a comment about this episode? Send us a text message! (Note: we can only read the texts, we can't reply) Follow us on:Twitter: @MacArthur1880; @AEWilliamsClarkFacebook: @MacArthurMemorialwww.macarthurmemorial.org

Joy Gilfilen interviews Ryan Bowman about creating the Sanitary Assistance Corps (SAC) program to combat homelessness, poverty and mental health challenges. As an empowerment program for life skills training through community involvement, it could be followed by the Gleaning Assistance Corps, and the Environmental Assistance Corps. Ryan's strategies are inspired by historical projects like the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) which was a Depression-era program that put young men to work in rural areas and parks throughout the country to help conservation efforts. Today it could work similarly for all ages and sexes, people who have been marginalized and displaced by civic challenges to help them stabilize and rebuild their lives. Ryan is also the host of "Ryes Up" on Spotify, tune in for stimulating innovative thinking.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit chadcrouch.substack.comTimberline Lodge is a historic alpine lodge constructed in the late 1930s as a project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), high on Mount Hood where the trees thin out and glaciers loom large. Its lobby is dominated by a massive, soaring stone chimney which forms the central pillar of the octagonal post and beam structure, rising some 35 feet overhead. Throughout the building are artworks and handcrafted details of a bygone era. It's a really special place to while away an hour or two. I went up there for lunch on March 19th after completing a hike lower on the mountain (soon to follow in another soundwalk). I captured a few minutes of audio by the fire and walking around inside the building with the thought that it might make an interesting addition to this Mount Hood series. The mezzanine hosts casual dining, so the ambience is similar to a cafe. Just a couple days ago news broke that a fire broke out at Timberline Lodge. The lodge posted this bulletin:On Thursday night, April 18th, at approximately 9:30pm a fire was reported at Timberline Lodge in the headhouse attic and its exterior roof area. First responders were on scene shortly thereafter, extinguishing the fire by approximately 11:00pm. There is an ongoing investigation as to the cause, but it is suspected fireplace embers ignited the roof.Smoke and fire damage remains confined to the roof, but the extent of water damage isn't clear. It is perhaps a good sign the Cascade Dining Hall, adjacent the main lobby, opened yesterday for brunch, April 21, 2024.For this vignette-length soundwalk, I worked with an instrument palette I've been favoring for recent work with an overall intent to make the score less dominant, and more spacious. I also automated some sound design EQ sweeps to focus on the sound of the smoldering fire in two passages.Thank you for being here. I hope you enjoy Timberline Lodge Soundwalk. I think it's a charming little piece.

This podcast hit paid subscribers' inboxes on Dec. 11. It dropped for free subscribers on Dec. 18. To receive future pods as soon as they're live, and to support independent ski journalism, please consider an upgrade to a paid subscription. You can also subscribe to the free tier below:WhoShaun Sutner, snowsports columnist for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette and Telegram.comRecorded onNovember 20, 2023About Shaun SutnerShaun is a skier, a writer, and a journalist based in Worcester, Massachusetts. For the past 19 years, he's written a snowsports column from Thanksgiving to April. For the past three years, he's joined me on The Storm Skiing Podcast to discuss that column, but also to talk all things New England skiing (and beyond). You should follow Shaun on social media to stay locked into his work:Why I interviewed himLast month, I clicked open a SNOWBOARDER email newsletter and found this headline slotted under “trending news”:Yikes, I thought. Not again. I clicked through to the story. In full:Tensions simmered as disgruntled Stevens Pass skiers, clutching their "Epic Passes," rallied against Vail Resorts' alleged mismanagement. The discontent echoed through an impassioned petition, articulating a litany of grievances: excessive lift lines, scant open terrain, inadequate staffing, and woeful parking, painting a dismal portrait of a beloved winter haven.Fueled by a sense of betrayal, the signatories lamented a dearth of ski-ready slopes despite ample snowfall, bemoaning Vail Resorts' purported disregard for both patrons and employees. Their frustration soared at the stark contrast to neighboring ski areas, thriving under similar conditions.The petition's fervor escalated, challenging the ethics of selling passes without delivering promised services, highlighting derisory wages juxtaposed against corporate profiteering. The collective call-to-action demanded reparation, invoking consumer protection laws and even prodding the involvement of the Attorney General and the U.S. Forest Service.Yet, amidst their resolve, a poignant melancholy pervaded—the desire to relish the slopes overshadowed by a battle for justice. The signatories yearned for equitable winter joys, dreaming of swift resolutions and an end to the clash with corporate giants, vowing to safeguard the legacy of snow sports for generations to come.As the petition gathered momentum, a snowstorm of change loomed on the horizon, promising either reconciliation or a paradigm shift in the realm of winter recreation.The “impassioned petition” in question is dated Dec. 28, 2021. In the nearly two intervening years, Vail Resorts has fired Stevens Pass' GM, brought in a highly respected local (Tom Fortune) who had spent decades at the ski area to stabilize things (Fortune and I discussed this at length on the podcast), and installed a new, young GM (Ellen Galbraith), with deep roots in the area (I also hosted Galbraith on the podcast). Last ski season (2022-23), was a smooth one at Stevens Pass. And while Skier Mob is never truly happy with anything, the petition in question flared, faded, and went into hibernation approximately 18 months before Snowboarder got around to this story. Yes, there were issues at Stevens Pass. Vail fixed them. The end.The above-cited story is also overwritten, under-contextualized, and borderline slanderous. “Derisory wages?” Vail has since raised its minimum wage to $20 an hour. To stand there and aim a scanny-beepy thing at skiers as they approach the lift queue. Sounds like hell on earth.Perhaps I missed the joke here, and this is some sort of snowy Onion. I do hate to call out other writers. But this is a particularly lazy exhibit of the core problem with modern snowsports writing: most of it is not very good. The non-ski media will humor us with the occasional piece, but these tend to be dumbed down for a general audience. The legacy ski media as a functioning editorial entity no longer exists. There are just a few holdouts, at newspapers across the country, telling the local story of skiing as best they can.And in New England, one of the best doing his best to produce respectable snowsports writing is Shaun Sutner.What we talked aboutNew England resort-hopping; how to set and meet a season ski-days goal; Brobots hate safety bars; the demise and resurgence of Black Mountain, New Hampshire; why Magic Mountain works; what it means that Ski Ward was the first ski area in America to open for the 2023-24 ski season; the Uphill New England pass; why Vail and Alterra still offer free uphill access at all their New England ski areas; how to not be an uphill A-hole; the No Boundaries Pass; which passes New England's remaining big independent ski areas could join; the proposed Stowe-Smuggs gondola connection; when development benefits the environment; could Vail buy Smuggs?; the Little Cottonwood Canyon gondola; finally replacing the Attitash triple; Vail's New England lift-building surge; Boyne goes bonkers in New England; the new Barker lift at Sunday River; the West Mountain expansion at Sugarloaf; the South Peak expansion at Loon; New England's chairlift renaissance; Black Quad at Magic; a Cannon tram upgrade; Berkshire East's first high-speed lift; Wachusett lift upgrades; and Quebec's secret snow pocket.Why I thought that now was a good time for this interviewSutner and I have this conversation every Thanksgiving week, which is when his column launches. I think I need to start scheduling it earlier, because I haven't been able to turn this around so fast the past two seasons. Here are excerpts and links to his first few columns of the 2023-24 ski season:Nov. 23Snow sports: Ski resort lift upgrades should boost industry in New EnglandThe most despised lift in New England ski country is no more.The ponderously slow, sometimes treacherous summit triple chair at Attitash that has long been a staple of hardcore Massachusetts skiers and snowboarders, is gone."No one ever thought this was ever going to really happen," Brandon Swartz, general manager of the Mount Washington Valley classic ski area in Bartlett, New Hampshire, told me. "I just couldn't be more excited to help build the lift that no one ever thought was going to get built."Whether the old summit lift's swift new replacement, the high-speed detachable Mountaineer quad, will be ready for Christmas week as Colorado-based owner Vail Resorts expects, is yet to be seen as Attitash is still furiously working on it in the eighth month of the project. But it's the most welcome ski-lift replacement in our region in decades, I think, finally providing convenient access to the passel of glorious snaking steep and challenging intermediate runs from the top in half the 16-18-minute ride time of the old 1986 triple. Read more…Nov. 29'It was shocking and beautiful': Trip to Argentina, Antarctica memorable for Lunenburg's RiddleThis wasn't Riddle's first time tackling demanding backcountry terrain in forbidding terrain, nor is this the first time I've written about him, having chronicled his previous trips to Chamonix in the French Alps and Norway. Riddle is the guy who got me into alpine touring – the Alpine-Nordic hybrid that involves hiking up mountains on skis with climbing skins affixed to the bases and then removing the skins and locking down the boot heels for the descent – seven or eight years ago. He's also won the Wachusett Mountain pond skim contest three times, leading to word on the street that he's been banned from taking that coveted title ever again.But this adventure was of a bigger order of magnitude than his previous ventures into big mountains. Read more…Dec. 6New BOA ski boot hopes its unique fit will provide a leg up on competitionNo, it's not named after a boa constrictor, though it does wrap around your foot kind of like a snake.BOA stands for "boot opening adjustment" and it's the trademarked brand name of the company that has made the lace and wire and dial adjust-based closure systems since 2001 and adapted them to snowboard and race bike boots, Nordic gear, ice and in-line skates and other applications,Now BOA has brought the system to Alpine ski boots. Oversized protruding knobs and an intricate wire system go over the forefoot instead of buckles and wrap the instep and can make micro-adjustments in either direction – tighter or looser. Proponents say they just fit better, while skeptics point out they're a bit heavier and their durability still hasn't been proven on a wide scale yet for the Alpine version. Read more…His column lands every Wednesday through spring.What I got wrongAbout Magic Mountain, VermontI said that Magic was out of business for “five years.” The best info I can find (on New England Ski History), suggests that the ski area closed following the 1990-91 season, and didn't re-open until December 1997, which would put the closure at closer to six-and-a-half years.About the Indy PassI referred to Erik Mogensen as the “Indy Pass founder.” He is the pass' current owner, but Doug Fish, who has joined me on the podcast many times, founded the product.About SaddlebackI didn't hear Sutner correctly when he asked if Saddleback was “a B corporation,” which is a business that “is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency on factors from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply chain practices and input materials.” I thought he'd asked if they were owned by a larger corporation, and my answer reflects that understanding (but does not answer his question), as I go into the history of Arctaris Impact Fund's purchase of Saddleback. The only ski area that has achieved B Corporation certification, as far as I know, is Taos.About words being hardI described Vail and Alterra as “big, corporate conglomerations.” Which, I'm sorry.About there being too many things in this world to keep track ofI forgot the name of Spruce Peak at Stowe when describing the ski area's connection point with Smugglers' Notch. Which is funny because I've written about it extensively over the past several months, skied there many times, and in general try to remember the important components of prominent ski areas.About my personal calendarI said that I skied at Big Sky “last year.” I meant “last season,” as I actually was there in April 2023.On time being fungibleI said that Magic's Black Quad has been sitting in the ski area's parking lot for “about four years.” This is inaccurate for a couple different reasons. First, the lift – Stratton's old Snow Bowl lift – came out in 2018 (so more than five years ago). I don't know when Magic took delivery of the lift. At any rate, installation began several years ago, so it's not accurate to say that the lift has been “sitting in the parking lot.” What I meant was that it's taken Magic a hell of a long time to get this machine live, which no one can dispute.Podcast NotesOn motorcycle helmet lawsWe briefly discuss the almost universal shift to wearing helmets while skiing in the context of motorcycle helmet laws, which are not as ubiquitous as you'd suppose. Only 18 states require all riders to wear helmets at all times. The remainder set an age limit – typically 18 or 21. Three states – Iowa, Illinois, and New Hampshire – have no helmet law at all.On non-profit ski areasErik Mogensen, owner of Entabeni Systems and Indy Pass, is leading the coalition to find a new owner for Black Mountain, New Hampshire. He's said many times that around a quarter of America's ski areas need “another ownership solution.” He expanded on this in SAM a few weeks back:I think about 25 percent of the non-corporate ski areas in North America need another ownership solution. That doesn't necessarily mean that it needs to be nonprofit. There are a lot of liabilities in having a group of volunteers or board of directors try to run a ski area from a nonprofit status. I'm definitely a capitalist, and there can be issues with nonprofits that I don't think we've solved yet in skiing.If we look at the nonprofits that have run very well, Bridger Bowl and Bogus Basin particularly, they focused around running the ski area as a for-profit business with a nonprofit backend, if you will.I've also seen a lot of ski areas struggle with trying to run the nonprofit model. So I don't necessarily believe that a nonprofit model is something that we should copy and paste. But I do believe it's a front runner that needs to be adjusted and adopted. And we do need a solution for the 25 percent. It's very hard to make some of areas commercially viable on their own.On the “unfriendly” lift attendants at Ski WardI recently gave Ski Ward some positive run, highlighting the fact that they were the first ski area to open in America in 2023. It was a cool story and they deserved the attention.However, I have a conflicted history with this place, as Sutner and I joked on the podcast. I had one of my worst ski experiences ever there, mostly because the lift attendants – at least on the day of my visit – were complete a******s. As I wrote after a visit on Feb. 1, 2022:Ski Ward, 25 miles southwest, makes Nashoba Valley look like Aspen. A single triple-chair rising 220 vertical feet. A T-bar beside that. Some beginner surface lifts lower down. Off the top three narrow trails that are steep for approximately six feet before leveling off for the run-out back to the base. It was no mystery why I was the only person over the age of 14 skiing that evening.Normally my posture at such community- and kid-oriented bumps is to trip all over myself to say every possible nice thing about its atmosphere and mission and miraculous existence in the maw of the EpKonasonics. But this place was awful. Like truly unpleasant. My first indication that I had entered a place of ingrained dysfunction was when I lifted the safety bar on the triple chair somewhere between the final tower and the exit ramp and the liftie came bursting out of his shack like he'd just caught me trying to steal his chickens. “The sign is there,” he screamed, pointing frantically at the “raise bar here” sign jutting up below the top station just shy of unload. At first I didn't realize he was talking to me and so I ignored him and this offended him to the point where he – and this actually happened – stopped the chairlift and told me to come back up the ramp so he could show me the sign. I declined the opportunity and skied off and away and for the rest of the evening I waited until I was exactly above his precious sign before raising the safety bar.All night, though, I saw this b******t. Large, aggressive, angry men screaming – screaming – at children for this or that safety-bar violation. The top liftie laid off me once he realized I was a grown man, but it was too late. Ski Ward has a profoundly broken customer-service culture, built on bullying little kids on the pretext of lift safety. Someone needs to fix this. Now.Look, I am not anti-lift bar. I put it down every time, unless I am out West and riding with some version of Studly Bro who is simply too f*****g cool for such nonsense. But that was literally my 403rd chairlift ride of the season and my 2,418th since I began tracking ski stats on my Slopes app in 2018. Never have I been lectured over the timing of my safety-bar raise. So I was surprised. But if Ski Ward really wants to run their chairlifts with the rulebook specificity of a Major League Baseball game, all they have to do is say, “Excuse me, Sir, can you please wait to get to the sign before raising your bar next time?” That would have worked just as well, and would have saved them this flame job. For a place that caters to children, they need to do much, much better.On Uphill New EnglandWe go pretty deep on the purpose and utility of the Uphill New England pass, which allows you to skin up and ski down these 13 ski areas:On the Granite Backcountry AllianceSutner also mentions the Granite Backcountry Alliance, which is a group that promotes backcountry skiing in New Hampshire and Western Maine. Here's the group's self-described mission:New Hampshire and Western Maine are blessed with a rich ski history that includes a deep heritage of backcountry skiing from Mt. Washington's Tuckerman Ravine to the many ski trails developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) of the 1930's (some of which still remain today). The celebration of the sport of skiing is embedded in the culture of the area.While backcountry skiing's resurgence has captivated a new user base, it is also now a measurable, undeniable force in the industry and is the fastest growing segment of the sport. The demand is strong but the terrain in New Hampshire and Western Maine is limited by the tree density, glade supply, and legal access to the forests and mountains.GBA resolves to improve the playing field for backcountry skiers. Creating and developing ski glades, however, is not the only objective of the group. Improving the foundation of the sport is critical to future success, such as creating partnerships and collaboration with public and private landowners, education regarding safety and ecological awareness, and creating a unified culture – one that respects the land and its owners and does not permit unauthorized cutting.We are part of a movement of human-powered activities that is the basis for an emerging outdoor economy. We believe this movement has broad implications on areas like NH's North Country and it can develop with committed folks like yourself .  It's the last frontier!  So join us by stepping up to support the cause; the ability to organize is a powerful tool to steward our own future.On the proposed Stowe-Smuggs gondola connectionI wrote a bit about the proposed gondola connection between Stowe and Smugglers' Notch earlier this year:Seated just a half mile from the top of Smuggs' mainly intermediate Sterling Mountain is the top of Stowe's Spruce Peak. Skiers had been skating between the two resorts for decades. Why not connect the two mountains – both widely considered among the best ski areas in New England – with a fast, modern lift? A sort of Alta-Snowbird – or at least a Solitude-Brighton – of the East? Two owners, one interconnected ski experience.“We have the possibility of creating what we think will be a very unique ski and riding experience by connecting these two resorts,” said Stritzler. “I don't believe in marketing this way, but all you have to do is do trail counts and acreage and elevations, and pretty soon you get to the conclusion that if you can offer Smugglers' guests the opportunity to also take advantage of what Stowe has to offer, and you can offer the two in some kind of combination through a connecting lift, well, now suddenly you're not quite so nervous about all the consolidation taking place, because you've got something to respond with.”Here's the proposed line:Smuggs later withdrew their plans amid a cool reception from state officials. Resort officials are recalibrating their strategy in backrooms, they've told me, re-analyzing the project from an economic-impact point of view. More to come on that.On the Little Cottonwood Canyon gondolaWithout question, the most contentious ski-related development in North America right now is the proposed Little Cottonwood Canyon gondola, which would essentially remove most cars from a cluttered, avalanche-prone road and move the resort base area down below the major snowline. Various protest groups, however, are acting as though this is a proposal to bulldoze the mountains and replace them private mud baths for billionaires. Personally, I think the gondola makes a hell of a lot of sense:But every time I write about it on Twitter, a not-immaterial number of perfectly sane individuals advises me to f**k off and die, so I'd say there's some emotion invested in this one.On the Attitash triple replacementSutner and I go pretty deep on Attitash swapping out its Summit Triple chair for a brand-new high-speed quad. I also discussed this extensively with Attitash GM Brandon Swartz on a recent podcast episode (starting at 6:12):On Ski Inc.We touch briefly on Ski Inc., a fantastic history of the modern ski industry by the late Chris Diamond. If you like this newsletter, Ski Inc. and its sequel, Ski Inc. 2020, are must-reads.On Wachusett's liftsWe discuss Wachusett's proposed upgrade of the Polar Express from a high-speed quad to, perhaps, a six-pack. Here's the trailmap for context:On Wachusett's blocked expansionDespite its immense popularity, Wachusett is probably stuck in its current footprint indefinitely, as Sutner and I discuss. A bit more context from New England Ski History:As the 1993-94 season progressed, Wachusett pushed forward with its expansion plans, requesting to cut two new trails, widen Balance Rock, install a second chairlift to the summit, expand the base lodge, and add 375 parking spots. The plans were met with environmental, archaeological, and water quality concerns. …In August 1995, environmentalists located a stand of 295-year-old oak trees where Wachusett had planned to cut a new expert trail. Though the Crowleys quickly offered to adjust plans to minimize impact, opposition mounted. Plans for the new trail were abandoned a few months later. …In the spring of 1998, Wachusett proposed a scaled back expansion that avoided the old growth forest and instead called for the construction of a snowboard park consisting of two trails and a lift. Around this time, environmentalists announced the discovery of bootleg ski trails on the mountain. The Sierra Club quickly called for the state to terminate Wachusett Mountain Associates' ski area lease, despite not knowing who did the cutting.So, yeah, 99 problems, Man.On two Le Massifs (de Charlevoix and de Sud)So apparently there are two Le Massifs in Quebec, which would have been handy context to have when I wrote about the larger of the two joining the Mountain Collective last year. That Le Massif – Le Massif de Charlevoix – is quite the banger, with 250 inches of average annual snowfall and a 2,526-foot vertical drop on 406 acres:Massif de Sud is still a nice little hill, with 236 inches of average annual snowfall and a 1,312-foot vertical drop, but on just 127 skiable acres:On The Powell MovementSutner mentions an upcoming column he'll write about The Powell Movement podcast. It really is a terrific show, and covers the parts of the ski industry that I ignore (so, like, most of it). Check it out.The Storm explores the world of lift-served skiing year-round. Join us.The Storm publishes year-round, and guarantees 100 articles per year. This is article 108/100 in 2023, and number 493 since launching on Oct. 13, 2019. Get full access to The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast at www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

By Davy Crockett This part will cover additional stories found through deeper research, adding to the history shared in Part 2 of this Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim History. These stories can also be found in the new book, Grand Canyon Rim to Rim History. By 1927, Phantom Ranch was well-established at the bottom of the Canyon. The new South Kaibab trail was complete, and the Black Bridge was nearing completion. On the North side, the North Kaibab trail up Roaring Springs Canyon was also nearing completion, which would make the rim-to-rim hiking experience much easier instead of using the "Old Bright Angel Trail" that went steeply up to the North Rim. During the early 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) had a camp across from Phantom Ranch and worked on many significant projects, including the River Trail along the Colorado River. Their story can also be found in Part 2. Get Davy Crockett's new book, Grand Canyon Rim to Rim History. Read more than a century of the history of crossing the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim. 290 pages, 400+ photos. Paperback, hardcover, Kindle, and Audible. Power and Pump Stations at Roaring Springs A hydroelectric plant below Roaring Springs was completed in 1927 to pump water up to the North Rim. The plant comprised two turbines connected to generators, powered by water from a small diversion dam on Bright Angel Creek, that was brought a half mile through amazing wooden tubes/troughs. Power was then generated for the pump house, to lift water 3,870 feet to the North Rim through 12,700 feet of three-inch steel pipe which can still be seen today. Water was stored in a 50,000-gallon reservoir on the Rim. The heavy machinery to construct the plant and pump station had been lowered on a special tramway that was constructed. “It had to have angle stations in it to get around high cliffs. There were two cables to the tram, one to carry the load, and the other moved by a big steam engine which furnished the power to haul the loads along on the big cable. The tramway worked exceptionally well and added its own new chapter to engineering history. It was two miles in length, but its lower end was 4,000 feet below its head-house where was located the big engine that operated it.” Grand Canyon Lodge at the North Rim In 1927, construction began on a large hotel, camp, and related facilities on the North Rim. “This will contain large lounging rooms, recreation hall, storeroom, dining room that will seat 200 persons, kitchen with cold storage plant, shower, baths, and accessories. Sixty-two two-room guest lodges of log construction will be provided.” The Utah Parks Company agreed to develop a water supply and establish electric lighting and sewer systems, and telephone lines. They hoped to have everything complete in fifteen months. The Grand Canyon Lodge, finished in 1928, became a special place to escape the summer heat in the days before air conditioning. It was designed by architect, Gilbert Stanley Underwood (1890-1960) with a Spanish-style exterior and an observation tower. On the top floor, employees stayed in a dorm. Underwood also designed the original lodges at Bryce Canyon and Cedar Breaks. In 1930, the new National Park Service Director Horace Marden Albright (1890-1987) said, “The Grand Canyon lodge, including the housekeeping units, employees' quarters, and other facilities is the finest tourist development in the national park system. The availability of water through the hydroelectric power and pumping plant constructed at Roaring Springs is an outstanding factor in the general development.” The help at the Lodge were young men and women from colleges, recommended by their faculty. “The students did all the work, acting as clerks, porters, chambermaids, waiters and waitresses, chauffeurs, and guides. They acted also as entertainers, capable of putting on a musical or literary program of good quality. Moreover, they had to be young people of good moral char...

 The Florida Madcaps talk about the venerable Gold Head Branch State Park (GHBSP), one of the original Florida State Parks.  Opened in the 1930's GHBSP was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).  It has trails, lakes, and wildlife.  The Mapcaps discuss their recent trip there going over the natural features, history, and things to see. Activities include swimming, hiking, camping, birdwatching, stargazing and fishing.Please subscribe! Shares and reviews are much appreciated!Get your FREE sticker from the Florida Springs Council at https://www.floridaspringscouncil.org/madcapsQuestions and comments can be emailed at thefloridamadcaps@gmail.comRyan can be found on Instagram at: the_fl_excursionistChris and Chelsey can be found at https://www.instagram.com/sunshinestateseekers/?hl=en

(Bonus) The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs and agencies included the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the Civil Works Administration (CWA), the Farm Security Administration (FSA), the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (NIRA) and the Social Security Administration (SSA). They provided support for farmers, the unemployed, youth, and the elderly. The New Deal included new constraints and safeguards on the banking industry and efforts to re-inflate the economy after prices had fallen sharply. New Deal programs included laws passed by Congress and presidential executive orders during the first term of the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Join us as we explore the history of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and a living historian's experience passing on his knowledge to parkgoers. On this week's PreserveCast, we are talking with Erik Ledbetter from Maryland Park Service about his time at Seneca Creek State Park working as a Park Ranger, Assistant Manager of the Park about his experience as a steward of Maryland's Cultural History.   Erik Ledbetter is a Park Ranger at Seneca Creek State Park for the Maryland Park Service. He also works as the CCC Historian and Living History Interpreter. He has served as a Maryland Park Ranger and Assistant Manager of Seneca Creek State Park. Ledbetter earned a Master of Philosophy in History from Yale (1992) and a B.A. and M.A. in History from Johns Hopkins University (1988).  

The Civilian Conservation Corps was a voluntary public work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. Robert Fechner was the first director of this agency, succeeded by James McEntee following Fechner's death. Considered by many to be one of the most successful of Roosevelt's New Deal programs, the CCC planted more than three billion trees and constructed trails and shelters in more than 800 parks nationwide during its nine years of existence. The CCC helped to shape the modern national and state park systems we enjoy today. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was one of the most popular of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal programs. The CCC's mission was to conserve the natural resources of the United States while providing relief to the poor and encouraging the recovery of the economy. "The slogan of the Civilian Conservation Corps is 'We can take it!' Building strong bodies is a major CCC objective. More than half the enrollees who entered CCC the last year were seventeen years of age. Work, calisthenics, marching drill, good food, and medical care feature the CCC health program." The Emergency Conservation Work Act of 1933 mandated that the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) recruit unemployed young men from urban areas to perform conservation work throughout the nation's forests, parks, and fields. ... In the 1930s, America was a segregated society, and the CCC reflected that unfortunate state. Founder: Franklin D. Roosevelt Founded: April 5, 1933 President: President Franklin D. Roosevelt --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/loren-alberts/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/loren-alberts/support

How “Botanical Sexism” Affects Your Allergies. That story and more on H2O Radio's weekly news report about water. Headlines: Utah's governor wants to cut the grass in the state, as the drought worsens in the West. Democrats plan to emulate the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) of the 1930s to combat climate change. City planners might be to blame for aggravating your seasonal allergies. Guerrillas in cities could help fight global warming.

Hello Interactors,After enduring a few days of record heat that burnt my drought tolerant plants to a crisp and likely claimed the lives of two of our favorite wild birds that would frequent my daughter’s window feeder, my new pair of shoes arrived I had ordered from Canada. As did a new monitor and other odd consumer goods. And soon I will be boarding a plane that will spew another chunk of the estimated 22 tons of CO2 our family will contribute to the atmosphere this year. That’s four and a half hot air balloons full. I know I’m heating up the planet with my shoes and trips. You probably do to. It seems we not only need to protect the environment, we need protection from ourselves.As interactors, you’re special individuals self-selected to be a part of an evolutionary journey. You’re also members of an attentive community so I welcome your participation.Please leave your comments below or email me directly.Now let’s go…THE RIVER’S ON FIREAs an early teenager in the 1970s, just entering middle school, I remember getting a pair of “Earth Shoes” as part of my back-to-school get up. They featured a tread that read, “GASS”, which stood for Great American Shoe Store. Most, if not all, of our shoes back then came from the Great American Shoe Store – Kinneys.  I felt pretty cool in my new kicks; especially when that first snow fell and I could see the GASS imprint in my foot tracks. Gas was on the minds of many in the 70s, as it was becoming increasingly hard to come by. It was also increasing pollution.Kinneys was capitalizing on a burgeoning environmentalist trend that had been growing since the publishing of Rachel Carlson’s, Silent Spring in 1962. By 1970, water and air pollution was prevalent, the federal government was forced to intervene. On January 1st, 1970 the Council on Environmental Quality was created with the signing of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This requires Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) of all federal agencies who are planning projects with major environmental ramifications. Either recognizing they may be a target of the government or perhaps seeing consumers being drawn to environmentalism, the American auto makers also got in on the environmental action. A January 15th New York Times article read, “Detroit has discovered a word: “Environment.”” The General Motors (GM) CEO, Edward Cole, promised an “essentially pollution free car could be built by 1980.” Engineers from GM, Ford, and Chrysler attending the 1970 convention of the Society of Automotive Engineers were all pitching anti-pollution technologies. GM’s CEO was probably influenced by his son, David Cole, who was an assistant professor at the University of Michigan. He co-authored a paper for that convention entitled, “Reduction of emissions from the Curtiss Wright rotating combustion engine with an exhaust reactor.” There was growing concern entrusting those very institutions responsible for the destruction of the environment with devising schemes to save it. The country’s air, water, and land was being smothered in waste. Something needed to be done. So on July 9th, 1970, 51 years ago today, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was proposed by Republican President Richard Nixon. This agency was intended to focus on short-term fixes targeting violators of the law, so Nixon appointed Assistant Attorney General, Bill Ruckelshaus, to the post. Ruckelshaus promptly ordered a steel company to stop dumping cyanide into Cleveland, Ohio’s Cuyahoga River. It was so polluted that it had caught fire at least thirteen times. Ruckelshaus also banned the use of DDT. After being jostled around in various appointments and governmental positions, including the head of the FBI, he was reappointed to head the EPA in 1983 by Republican President Ronald Reagan. The Reagan administration grew concerned over the faltering reputation of the EPA after Ruckelshaus’ replacement, Anne Gorsuch Burford, (Neil Gorsuch’s mom) cut the EPA’s budget, eliminated jobs, and neutered enforcement policies. The EPA and the environment was slipping backwards, so once again it was Ruckelshaus to the rescue. He promptly fired most of her leadership team and got back to work protecting the environment running the EPA until 1985.Upon leaving government, Ruckelshaus moved to Seattle and was a practicing attorney and continued to prosecute environmental crimes. In 1993, Democrat President Bill Clinton appointed him to the Council for Sustainable Development and throughout the 90s he worked as a special envoy in the Pacific Salmon Treaty between the United States and Canada and was chair of the Salmon Recovery Funding Board. Republican President George W. Bush then appointed him to the United States Commission on Ocean Policy in 2004. The commission was terminated that same year but in 2010 became part of the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative which Ruckelshaus co-chaired. Ruckelshaus endorsed Barack Obama in 2008 and Hillary Clinton in 2016 and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Obama in 2015. Nearly fifty years after being appointed by a Republican president to become the country’s first EPA administrator in 1970, fighting for environmental justice at the international, federal, state, local levels – and in the private sector – Ruckelshaus passed away at his home in my neighboring town, Medina, Washington in 2019.FROM DUST TO THE SEA WITH WALLY AND ERMALEEWhen the Nixon administration created the EPA, they decided to put it under the Department of the Interior. This executive department’s mission is to, “protect and manage the Nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage; provide scientific and other information about those resources; and honor its trust responsibilities or special commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and affiliated Island Communities.” For the first time in our nation’s history, it is headed by a person indigenous to these natural resources and cultural heritage; native American, Deb Haaland.  The department dictates how the United States “stewards its public lands, increases environmental protections, pursues environmental justice, and honors our nation-to-nation relationship with Tribes.”When the EPA was created in 1970, the Secretary of the Interior was Alaskan land developer and politician, Wally Hickel. Instead of creating a separate administration for the EPA, Hickel urged Nixon to fold the designated 15 offices under the Department of Interior and rename it the Department of the Environment. It’s hard to know if Hickel’s suggestion was genuinely thoughtful or an egoist attempt to gain power. After all, Hickel was a controversial pick for the post of Secretary of the Interior in the first place. Many activists, journalists, and even the Sierra Club, mounted campaigns to thwart his appointment.Walter Joseph “Wally” Hickel was born in Kansas in 1919 where he and his family endured both the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Given the heat waves this summer, we’d be wise to reflect more on the Dust Bowl. It’s was the era’s most devastating man-made environmental disaster. Stripped of their native grasses by cattle and sheep or farmers making room for wheat, White settler farmers ignored Indigenous dryland farming methods that used the grasses to anchor, moisten, and nurture the fervent soil – even during droughts. When a record drought swept across the country and the wheat dried up, farmers tilled it under. Void of organic matter the land became susceptible to the winds sweeping across the plains. The term “Dust Bowl” came from Denver based Associated Press writer, Robert Geiger, reporting on his own personal account of a particularly pernicious dust storm. On April 15th, 1935 he wrote, "Three little words achingly familiar on a Western farmer's tongue, rule life in the dust bowl of the continent—'if it rains.'"He was reporting on a severe dust storm that occurred the day prior – “Black Sunday”. “Black blizzards” of dirt and dust hurled themselves across Oklahoma south to Texas lifting and mislaying an estimated 300 million tons of topsoil. Dust storms such as this went on from 1935 to 1941 sucking soil particulates from the ground darkening the skies in clouds of dust that blew as far east as Maine. It also scattered people in all directions across the country in a climate migration crisis of their its own making. Wally Hickel was one of the displaced.Wally was an athlete in High School and taught himself how to box by watching newsreels of Joe Louis. He became the Class B Golden Gloves champion in 1938 at age 29. Two years later he found himself in California fighting the welter weight champion, Jackie Brandon. Brandon broke his nose in the first round, but Hickel knocked him out three rounds later. Evidently struck by wanderlust, Hickel wanted to then hop a ship headed for Australia but lacked a passport, so instead he boarded the S. S. Yukon headed for Alaska.He returned to Kansas and married, but lost his first wife to illness. He worked as an airplane inspector that included occasional trips to Alaska to inspect privately owned planes – including Russian planes. It was in an airplane hangar that he met his second wife, Ermalee Strutz, and moved to Alaska. Hickel described her as “beautiful as a butterfly, but as tough as boots.” Her father was a United States Army Sergeant stationed in Anchorage and her family had ties to Alaska’s largest financial institution – National Bank of Alaska. She pushed Wally to enter the race to become Alaska’s second Governor. Hickel struggled with dyslexia, so Ermalee was tasked with doing most of his writing, including his campaign speeches. She remained a powerful influence on his career, including pushing Hickel to support the Alaska Permanent Fund. This is a state-owned corporation that invests at least 25% of the money flowing through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline in a fund that sends dividend checks to each resident of Alaska. In 2019, this yielded an annual check in the sum of $1600. This government run basic income guarantee was devised, implemented, and executed by a string of conservative Republican Governors starting with Wally in 1966 and continues today with the Republican far-right Christian conservative, Mike Dunleavy. Maybe this is where liberal socialist-leaning politicians like Bernie Sanders got the idea for a nationwide Universal Basic Income.In 1968, Hickel was told by Nixon that he would have to leave his post as Governor of Alaska to become the Secretary of the Interior. Wally cried. He probably cried again two years later when Nixon fired him for his “increasingly militant defense of the environment.” Hickel led a string of pro-environment policies in his short two years as Secretary: Preserved some of the Florida Everglades: He established the Biscayne National Monument preserving the ecological development of 4,000 acres of keys and more than 90,000 acres of water in the bay and the Atlantic Ocean.Delayed the Alaska oil pipeline to study its effects on permafrost: Heat generated from the pipeline would melt the permafrost leading to unknown damage to the ecosystem and the piping system.Halted the drilling of oil in the Santa Barbara channel: After a 1969 oil spill, Hickel removed 53 square miles of federal tracts from oil and gas leasing. (Later Reagan hoped for more platforms to be built in the channel because he liked how they reminded him of Christmas trees flickering in the dark. Locals call the oil rigs Reagan’s Christmas Trees)Cracked down on oil companies in the Gulf of Mexico: After this oil spill in the gulf, also in 1969, Hickel asked the Attorney General John Mitchell (the man who recommended Ruckelshaus for the EPA position) to convene a grand jury to investigate violations by Chevron and 49 other companies in nearly 7,000 oil and gas wells in the Gulf of Mexico.Stopped imports of commercial whaling products: After placing eight species of whales on the Department's Endangered Species List, Hickel halted imports of oil, meat and any other products from these species. In 1969, roughly 30% of the nation’s soap, margarine, beauty cream, machine oil, and pet food came from whale oil.The final straw for Nixon was Hickel’s public opposition of the administration’s policies on the Viet Nam war and their fatal handling of the Kent State student protests. Hickel wrote, “I believe this administration finds itself today embracing a philosophy which appears to lack appropriate concern for the attitude of a great mass of Americans – our young people." Hickel was promptly let go. With him went the Assistant Secretary of the Interior, Dr. Leslie Glasgow, who was in charge of Fish, Wildlife, Parks, and Marine Resources. Glasgow took a leave of absence from Louisiana State University, where he taught marsh wildlife, to assume his post under Hickel in Washington, D.C. He exceled at educating, convincing, and cajoling corporations, companies, and governmental agencies into environmental conservation practices. He was loved by both hippies and hunters and represented widespread hope that the nation could finally begin to heal the land it had wrongly wounded. But those hopes were dashed when it became clear Nixon would rather appease corporations than heal the environment. In a December 12th, 1970 New York Times article Glasgow said he was “pushed out of the Department of the Interior by political and business interests in a shake up that represented a “definite step backwards for environment.”” In anticipation of running for a second term in 1972, Glasgow supposed Nixon thought “the changes and dismissals had been made early in hopes that the people would forget them before the Presidential campaign.” What everyone remembers, is not what Hickel and Glasgow did for the environment but what Nixon did to himself and the country as the first evidence of the Watergate Scandal started the summer after their firing.AMERIGNIGMAGlasgow went back to teaching and Hickel went back to real estate. He was not about to make the same mistake his dad made in not owning property, so he bought as much as he could. He started Hickel Investment Company that is now run by this son, Wally Jr. They own and operate hotel rooms, food and beverage outlets, office and retail spaces, and residential lots around Alaska. They, like all residents of Alaska – including poverty stricken Indigenous tribal members – benefit from increasing profits from extractions of natural resources like oil and fish. It makes me question Hickel’s sterling environmental track record as Secretary of Interior – a post that demands a lot of reading and writing.  Perhaps he relied heavily on, and was influenced by, his environmentalist and academic assistant secretary, Dr. Glasgow. Maybe he diddled a dyslexic Hickel into an environmental clinician the same way his wife shaped him into a politician. Especially if Glasgow was known for his ability to convince corporations that doing good for the environment was also good for business. After all, conservation and conservative are just two letters apart.The United States is an enigma when it comes to mixing environmental stewardship with commercial profits. The EPA and the National Park Service sit under the Department of Interior which “manages public lands and minerals, national parks, and wildlife refuges and upholds Federal trust responsibilities to Indian tribes and Native Alaskans. Additionally, Interior is responsible for endangered species conservation and other environmental conservation efforts.” But the Forest Service sits under the Department of Agriculture which “provides leadership on food, agriculture, natural resources, and related issues.” Meanwhile, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) sits under the Department of Commerce which “works with businesses, universities, communities, and the Nation’s workers to promote job creation, economic growth, sustainable development, and improved standards of living for Americans.”Like all slaves to fashion, I likely ditched my eco-kicks in favor of the next cool shoe. Probably a new pair of 1978 Nike Tailwinds, the first to feature an air pocket. They too had a cool tread first made from a waffle iron. I don’t recall what kind of imprint they left in the first fallen snow, but I know now the imprint my habitual consumerism has on the environment. And I need help.Environmental protection, conservation, and restoration are necessary to limit the greed that seems to overcome both producers and consumers of limitless goods made from limited resources. Over zealous consumerism will not be quelled by collective action on the part of consumers. Leaders need to lead and act on behalf of future generations of both humans and non-humans. That’s what it means to lead. The dirt from “Black Sunday” filled ponds and potholes across the plains decimating duck and other wildlife populations. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a fervent Democrat, hired a Republican to remedy the calamity. He appointed the famous, well loved Iowa cartoonist and conservationist “Ding” Darling to head the U. S. Biological Survey – what then became the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Department of the Interior. He created the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) putting 2.5 million young people to work restoring natural wetlands and habitats along the nation’s four major flyways. More than 63 national wildlife refuges were established during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. That’s what leadership looks like, America, in the face of a man-made climate crisis. Subscribe at interplace.io

In this episode of the Edge Zone Podcast we delve deeper into the history of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and try to imagine what a revival of that kind of movement would look like today, such as a People’s Permaculture Practice (PPP). Where the CCC was a government funded initiative, how could a new effort like the PPP start from the ground up? How do we cultivate participation in such an endeavor and incentivize individual property owners to work together on large-scale initiatives?

In Proud Raven, Panting Wolf: Carving Alaska's New Deal Totem Parks, Ketchikan-native Emily Moore examines the origins of totem parks at Saxman, Totem Bight, Wrangell and Prince of Wales Island. Built between 1938 and 1942 as part of a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) program, Alaska's totem parks arose out of a controversial set of compromises between New Deal efforts to preserve "American heritage" and Tlingit and Haida efforts to assert their own heritage and claims to the Tongass National Forest. Emily Moore is currently Assistant Professor of Art History at Colorado State University. Proud Raven, Panting Wolf: Carving Alaska's New Deal Totem Parks is published by University of Washington Press.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families as part of the New Deal. Originally for young men ages 18–23, it was eventually expanded to young men ages 17–28. Be a part of our community - be a patron Alabama Pioneers comments - info@alabamapioneers.com

Karen takes you In the Field at the Texas Archaeology Society field school she attends every year! This year they partnered with Texas State Parks & Wildlife in Palo Duro Canyon State Park to look for new sites and check on previously discovered ones. Karen and her father worked on excavating a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp. The CCC was a voluntary public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men. So take a listen to what they found...

Copyright 2019, The Energy Show - Barry Cinnamon This week's Energy Show is about the Green New Deal. Candidly, I'm all for the “green” parts, and not so enthusiastic about some of the “new deal” parts. The Green New Deal, formally called House Resolution 109 — 14 pages in all — is definitely a conversation starter. I sincerely hope that it gets our country re-focused on clean energy and good paying jobs for the 21st century. Basically, the Green New Deal is a set of proposed economic stimulus programs in the United States with a goal of addressing climate change and economic inequality. The “Green" part refers to proposals to reduce the impact of climate change. It deals primarily with renewable energy, energy efficiency, and technologies that reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. I've been working in the solar and the energy efficiency industries since 1977, so I believe that an “all of the above” approach gives us the best chance to avert the most negative effects of global warming. For those of us who coasted through U.S. history in high school, the “new deal" part refers to a set of social policies, economic reforms and public works projects. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt pushed through the New Deal in response to the Great Depression. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the Civil Works Administration and the Social Security Administration are all legacies of the New Deal — and these policies created jobs for people who needed work. If you go camping in national parks, you may still see log cabins bearing the CCC logo. Fast forward to 2007 when journalist and author Thomas Friedman coined the term "The Green New Deal.” The concept bounced around and evolved for a dozen years until Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ed Markey released the Green New Deal resolution on February 7, 2019. Please Listen Up to this week's Energy Show as we discuss both the energy and socioeconomic objectives of the Green New Deal.

On October 29, 1929 the Stock Market crashed, resulting in a devastating economic depression. The Great Depression was caused by the overuse of bank loans, interest and credit. It affected people all across America, leaving them unemployed and job less. Herbert Hoover being President at the time was the inspiration for the name "Hoovervilles," where many homeless people lived. He was credited for the misfortune on the majority of Americans. Fortunately on March 4, 1933 Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected President. He initiated a New Deal Program that instilled relief, recovery and reform from this Depression. Many new programs helped rise the employment rate such as the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), and the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Some programs are still implemented today such as the Social Security Act. While America made their way out of Depression conflicts in Europe were evolving. On December 7, 1941 Japanese planes attacked the navel base Pearl Harbor. At first America claimed they were not going to be involved in foreign affairs, however the bombing of Pearl Harbor lead America to join the war. Many battles were fought during World War II, such as the D-Day invasion (June 6, 1944) and the Battle of the Bulge (December 16, 1944). Preceding these battles, two atomic bombs were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan on August 6th and 9th. They successfully forced Japan to surrender, ending World War II on August 12, 1945. This time in history was very significant and resulted in America coming out of the Great Depression into a surge of nationalism. Ellen Whitmoyer Smiley was born on February 19, 1921 in Reading, Pennsylvania. She lived on Front Street in a rural community with similar buildings and close, friendly neighbors. Being eight year old at the time, Ellen recalls the stock market crash of 1929 when her Uncle lost a lot of investments. Growing up during the Great Depression the Smiley family was very fortunate and was always able to have food. Taking interest in Biology and Chemistry, Ellen studied at Albright College, later working as a medical technician. Oliver Smiley (Ellen's Husband) graduated from college and had trouble finding employment in his field. In the 1940's he was fortunately able to find a job in Baltimore, moving Ellen from her hometown, to Maryland. Together they lived there for a few years in a home built by the government, later moving to Kimberton, PA. In 1949 Oliver and Ellen began the construction of their house, where they lived until moving to Saint John's Herr Estate in 1991. Today, being 96-years-old Ellen is able to clearly recall her life growing up during the Great Depression and World War II.

On June 7 at noon, Douglas Brinkley delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America.” In Rightful Heritage, acclaimed historian Douglas Brinkley chronicles Franklin D. Roosevelt’s essential yet under-sung legacy as the founder of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and premier protector of America’s public lands. FDR built from scratch dozens of State Park systems and scenic roadways. Pristine landscapes such as the Great Smokies, the Everglades, Joshua Tree, the Olympics, Big Bend, Channel Islands, Mammoth Cave, and the slickrock wilderness of Utah were forever saved by his leadership. Brinkley traces FDR’s love for the natural world from his youth exploring the Hudson River Valley and bird watching. As America’s president from 1933 to 1945, Roosevelt—consummate political strategist—established hundreds of federal migratory bird refuges and spearheaded the modern endangered species movement. Rightful Heritage is an epic chronicle that is both an irresistible portrait of FDR’s unrivaled passion and drive, and an indispensable analysis that skillfully illuminates the tension between business and nature—exploiting our natural resources and conserving them. Rightful Heritage is essential reading for everyone seeking to preserve our treasured landscapes as an American birthright. Douglas Brinkley is a professor of history at Rice University, bestselling and award-winning author, and presidential historian for CNN. He serves as a contributing editor for Vanity Fair and is a frequent contributor to The New York Times, Foreign Affairs, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic Monthly. He is the author of numerous books—many of which have been bestsellers and New York Times Notable Books of the Year—including The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast (2006), The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America (2009), The Quiet World: Saving Alaska’s Wilderness Kingdom, 1879–1960 (2011), Cronkite (2012), and his newest bestselling book, Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America (2016).