summer months when college students are on vacation, with some extension of skeleton crews in the case of the unemployed adults beyond that period. Federal legislation would enable scheduling of this type of work on almost a year-round basis. The forests and parks land under this department total approximately 74,000 acres. Many of the areas are in excess of 2,000 acres and are widely scattered throughout the State. The attached tourist travel map will convey some of the scope of the State parks system although it does not delineate State forest areas. Conceivably on these areas, we could utilize up to 2,000 man-years, based on 10 days per acre per man, averaging 250 workdays per year. A Federal program of this type would also be useful to our State fish and game department which controls sizable holdings including game management areas, fish hatcheries, and dam maintenance. Perhaps a letter to our director of fish and game, Ralph G. Carpenter II, 34 Bridge Street, Concord, N.H., would result in additional recommendations. With every good wish for favorable action on your most worthwhile legislation. Very truly yours, JOHN F. ROWE, Commissioner. Senator GAYLORD NELSON, Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, DEAR SENATOR NELSON: This is in reply to your letter of May 29 addressed to me and also your letter of June 3 addressed to Mr. Siegler, in which you inquire about the potential need for manpower to carry out certain conservation projects. There are certain types of conservation projects which can be accomplished only if sufficient manpower is available. Such projects are now being neglected due to the lack of funds and labor. It would, for instance, be highly desirable to construct water bars on the many bulldozed roads left by lumber operators on our hillsides. Such water bars would, we believe, decrease siltation of our trout streams. We could foresee the need of 10 man-years of work for perhaps the next 5 years. There is also considerable need for stream improvement in our State through the construction of wing dams and establishment of gabions. For the next 5 years 5 man-years of work could readily be used for this type of management. We believe your effort to provide funds for such useful type of work for the unemployed has great merit and we surely hope you are successful in accomplishing your objective. Sincerely yours, RALEH G. CARPENTER, 2d, Director. STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, Hon. GAYLORD NELSON, Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. STATE PLANNING PROJECT, DEAR SENATOR NELSON: Your letter of May 29 proposing conservation work projects was welcomed at this office. We have long been supporters of the CCC and YCC approach to resource development and conservation. New Hampshire would not have the recreation and park system it has today if it had not been for the WPA and the CCC. In 1961, the legislature approved a $9 million bond issue for the improvement and expansion of the State's public parks and lands. This fund has been encumbered and there is much land that should be acquired and improved. We are looking forward to the passage of the land and water conservation fund (H.R. 3846) and the Economic Opportunities Act. Senator Tom McIntyre has already proposed that a closed Air Force facility be converted into a YCC training camp. This related to the tremendous need for public land improvement would make New Hampshire a logical place for the creative use of the unemployed of all ages. New Hampshire is also fortunate in being close to the educational institutions of Boston from which guidance, retraining, and professional leadership may be recruited to make the work environment productive in terms of placement and adjustment following the camp experience. During the past summer and continuing this year, the State parks division is employing students and young people in a park expansion program for the purpose of cutting, clearing, and improving the State's parks. The project is being financed with funds derived from the bond issue. However, this work will end and without subsequent support the remaining work will have to await new funding or Federal Job Corps participation. Projects suited to the program mentioned in your letter would be, as you said, park development and maintenance, roadside area development and improvement, woodland improvements, as well as numerous projects related to fish and game, water access, water pollution control, stream improvement, and numerous other resource and conservation related projects. Concerning your estimate of man-years, we could occupy any reasonable number of people both men and women for as many years at the program would run. With 85 percent of the State of New Hampshire forested, the simple improvement of forest lands could occupy a Job Corps for many years. Since the objective of a program such as you suggest would be ultimately to change an unemployed person into a participating and productive citizen, we would suggest a broad program of guidance and interest evaluation be coordinated with the usual work programs contemplated. With proper organization and support such a combination of programs could place most of the participants in satisfying occupations and professions. Frequently, we lose talents through neglect and oversight in our educational system. The work program should provide that second chance. If we can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to call on us. MARY LOUISE HANCOCK, STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, DEPARTMENT OF RESOURCES AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, Senator GAYLORD NELSON, DIVISION OF PARKS, Concord, N.H., June 24, 1964. DEAR SENATOR NELSON: This is written as supplemental to letter you have received from John Rowe of this department to provide you a little more specific information as to how your proposed legislation will enable State park divisions to utilize unemployed workers on conservation projects. There are some over 30,000 acres in our system of State parks, historical sites, wayside areas, and scientific areas and more are in the offing as we are embarking upon a program under Governor King to utilize lands held by various State agencies to their highest purpose. On some of these acres are highly developed recreational facilities. These, however, usually extend over a small portion of the park acreage. So, we have thousands of park acres where the following could be accomplished by such a plan as you envision. Building and rebuilding foot trails, foot bridges, and hand rails. Adapting old town roads for exclusive bicycle riding. Developing fire trails and impoundments for water holes. Forest cleaning and clearing (we are experienced in this by the setup of a park expansion program which, on a small scale, is employing unemployed family heads, high school dropouts, and students to do similar work). Forest planting. The State forest nursery is raising special stock of shrubs to attract birds, which will soon come to the stage for transplanting. They also raise a variety of forest cover trees, which will be utilized under professional advice to plant to improve our park stand. Some of our larger park areas and their approximate acreage follow: Just now the cost of supervision, including equipment necessary, such as hand tools, chippers, trucks, etc., would be provided in your bill, I would not know, but with these financed from Federal or State sources and on the basis of transporting men to their work by buses, our State could commence within a week to put this general plan into effect. More power to you. If I can help in any way, feel free to call upon me. RUSSELL B. TOBEY, Director of Parks. RECREATION AND PARKS DEPARTMENT, Hon. GAYLORD NELSON, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. DEAR SENATOR GAYLORD: This is to notify you that I am in receipt of your letter, dated June 15, 1964. I believe the legislation you are drafting could prove valuable to many Government agencies. However, in reply to your question about my organization, I could not utilize a substantial number of workers in this program. My agency is a local agency with only 15 permanent personnel. I feel, however, that if funds were available, we would be able to utilize them to develop new park areas for the city in the future. This would, of course, facilitate some master plan for park development in our area. We are working on a plan at present; however, there is a great deal of things that need to be accomplished before it can be adopted. Therefore, I would not be able to utilize any new workers at the present time. There is also the problem of further taxation from the community for material and upkeep of these areas, once they are develped. Although you stated in your letter, if your legislation is adopted, some Federal money to develop new areas would be available; that does not solve the problem of more taxes to be raised to keep these new areas operational. On the local level, this is a very serious problem. I am sorry that I cannot be of any further help to you. ROBERT H. AYER, E. CHARLES GOODWIN COMMUNITY CENTER AND Hon. GAYLORD NELSON, Washington, D.C. INDOOR SWIMMING POOL, Claremont, N.H., July 23, 1964. DEAR SIR: I apologize for not answering your letter requesting information for drafting legislation to provide funds to Federal, State, county, and municipal agencies to utilize unemployed workers on projects such as park development, etc. I am most interested in the legislation and feel that we could use a substantial number of workers in the development of our parks. At the present time, we have two specific areas; one of 175 acres, and another of approximately 15 acres, that could be developed into outstanding recreational facilities for the community. I cannot give you an estimate of the number of man-years of work which might be used in the development of these areas. This would depend a great deal, upon the type of development we would wish to undertake such as ski areas, picnic areas, clearing of trees, etc. I am very much in favor of this type of legislation and wish to thank you for contacting me and giving me the opportunity to express my opinion. Yours sincerely, ANTHONY N. ZOTTO, Superintendent, Parks and Recreation. NEW JERSEY RESPONSES STATE OF NEW JERSEY, DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, Hon. GAYLORD NELSON, DEAR SENATOR NELSON: Mr. B. Budd Chavooshian, director of our division of State and regional planning, has referred to me your recent communication concerning legislation to provide Federal funds to State, county, and municipal agencies for the utilization of unemployed persons on conservation projects such as park development, roadside improvement, timber stand improvement, and other conservation purposes. As you know, New Jersey is in the forefront of the efforts being made among our highly developed and heavily populated States to provide for the outdoor recreation needs of our citizens. New Jersey, through its $60 million Green Acres program, for example, is acquiring open lands for outdoor recreation and conservation purposes. The legislation authorizing the program, however, provides only for the acquisition of such lands. There is a real opportunity to assist the several States in meeting their capital development needs through the employment of persons who cannot find other work. If Federal funds were available now, this department could readily use such people for development work in State parks and other outdoor recreation areas and to improve our forestry and wildlife habitat resources. New Jersey, the most urbanized of all our States, is devoting maximum effort to the development of additional facilities to meet the recreation needs of its growing population. One of the latest additions to our system of State recreation facilities is the leasing of some additional 270 acres from the Federal Government at the Fort Hancock Military Reserve at Sandy Hook. Since the initial opening of Sandy Hook State Park in July 1962, the number of persons seeking recreational use of this new park facility now parallels park attendance at New Jersey's well-known Island Beach State Park. This department has underway, at this moment, programs to provide some additional 1,000 campsites for the use of New Jersey citizens and visitors and to further develop our forestry resources. As the department acquires natural areas under the Green Acres program, proper development will be required for the protection of natural wildlife and plant species. Our bureau of parks and recreation advises that some 200 unemployed persons could now be effectively utilized in the well-known 100,000-acre Wharton tract in southern New Jersey for an indefinite period. I trust this information will assist you in your effort to prepare legislation on this aspect of conservation and, should you desire further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact this department. Sincerely yours, ROBERT A. ROE, Commissioner. STATE OF NEW JERSEY, DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, DIVISION OF FISH AND GAME, June 26, 1964. Hon. GAYLORD NELSON, Washington, D.C. DEAR SENATOR NELSON: We acknowledge your letter of May 29 in which you advise that you are drafting legislation to provide funds to Federal, State, county, and municipal agencies to utilize unemployed workers on conservation projects such as park development, roadside improvement, timber stand improvement, etc. The division of fish and game has, under its jurisdiction, many operations of a very broad scope that would be able to use available labor, either skilled or unskilled, for several years. These projects would include the construction of parking areas and boat ramps, road and trail construction, campsite construction, peripheral border survey lines cut and established, woodland management, consisting of clearings, thinnings and wildlife plantings, hedgerow management, border plantings, hedges and windbreak plantings, building of brush piles, lim ing, fertilizing, and planting of annual and perennial food and cover shrubs. In addition, there is a considerable amount of maintenance work at our fish hatcheries and game farms. This would include stream improvement, stream clearance, construction of lakes, beaches, and other hydrologic operations. A survey of our bureaus indicates that 100 men could be properly equipped, supervised, and employed for a period of 5 years on the above projects. We trust that if this type of legislation is prepared that it will be done in such a way that it will not be necessary for the States to match the funds provided by the Federal Government. Our ability to match Federal funds at the present time is exhausted due to our participation in the Dingell-Johnson, Pittman-Robertson, and accelerated public works projects. Should the program be along the lines of the old CCC program, we would then be in a position to use 4 camps, with each camp consisting of approximately 200 men. The reason that we could use more men under the CCC type program is that that program furnished supervision from camp personnel. Any other type of utilization of unemployed workers would entail the supplying of supervision from our present working force, which would limit us to the employment of approximately 100 men. Sincerely yours, L. G. MACNAMARA, Director. THE UNION COUNTY PARK COMMISSION, Hon. GAYLORD NELSON, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. DEAR SENATOR NELSON: This is in reply to your letter of June 15. Should legislation such as you propose to introduce be passed and become law, I estimate that we could profitably utilize enough workers to provide from 750 to 1,000 man-years of work in the immediate future without extensive preparation to initiate such a program. The type of work would include: 1. Erosion control along the Rahway and Elizabeth Rivers and along Green Brook. 2. Trail clearing in the Watchung Reservation, Echo Lake-Nomahegan Connection, Rahway River Parkway, and Ash Brook Reservation. 3. Rustic construction of guard rails, picnic facilities, shelters, etc. in the Watchung and Ash Brook Reservations. 4. Stream improvement along all streams in the Union County Park System. 5. Reforestation in the Watchung Reservation. 6. Extension of Trailside Nature and Science Center facilities in the Watchung Reservation. 7. Development of large group picnic areas in the Watchung Reservation and Echo Lake-Nomahegan Connection. 8. Roadside improvement along all park land fronting on main roads and highways. It may interest you to know that during Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps days, we had more than 3,000 workers in the park system at one time, in addition to our regular permanent and seasonal workers. If you desire any information to supplement that listed above, please do not hesitate to write me again. DEAR SENATOR NELSON: Your letter pertaining to your proposed legislation to provide Federal funds for conservation projects, utilizing unemployed workers, received general approval in the Paterson area press. |