Article

Guide to the NPS Youth Programs Collection

This finding aid describes the National Park Service (NPS) Youth Programs Collection, part of the NPS History Collection. To search this guide for names, places, key words, or phrases enter Ctrl + F on your keyboard (command key + F key on a Mac). Request an in-person research appointment or get more information by contacting the archivist.

Three young people painting a wooden building — Three teenagers in the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) paint a building at Gettysburg National Military Park, 1975. (NPS History Collection, HFCA 1609)

Collection Overview

Collection Number: HFCA 1645 (Series II.C.3)
Creator: National Park Service
Title: National Park Service Youth Programs Collection
Dates: 1957-1992
Extent of Collection: 1.0 LF
Language of Materials: English

Digital Access: The collection has not been digitized.

Conditions Governing Access: This collection is open to research use. See the NPS general copyright and restricted information here.
Provenance: Materials found in the NPS History Collection.
Processing Note: This material was processed and described by Lloyd Williams in February 2015. This finding aid was updated by Nancy Russell in March 2025.

Rights Statement for Archival Description: This guide is in the public domain.
Preferred Citation: National Park Service Youth Programs Collection (HFCA 1645), NPS History Collection
Location of Repository: NPS History Collection, Harpers Ferry Center, PO Box 50, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425

Related Materials:

National Park Service Job Corps Collection (HFCA 1645), NPS History Collection
National Park Service Oral History Collection (HFCA 1817), NPS History Collection
Assembled Historic Records of the National Park Service (HFCA 1645), NPS History Collection
National Park Service Historic Photograph Collection (HFCA 1607), NPS History Collection
Student Conservation Association Records, Denver Public Library

Administrative History Note

The NPS Youth Programs Division was established in 1964 following development of an agreement between the US Departments of Labor and Interior to develop Job Corps centers in the NPS and other Interior bureaus. Since then the division and its successors has served as the liaison between a wide range of youth programs working in the NPS and the NPS Washington Office.

The Student Conservation Association (SCA) was founded in 1957 by Liz Putnam while attending Vassar College. She modeled the SCA after the 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and enlisted student volunteers to assist with the upkeep of national parks and public spaces. The SCA incorporated in 1964 and continues to be the largest provider of hands-on environmental conservation programs for youth and young adults.

In 1970 the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) was established and the first YCC program was created one year later. It was maintained for three years as a demonstration program. In 1974 it became a permanent institution with an annual congressional appropriation. The National Park Service is mandated by Congress to spend funding each year for YCC programs. YCC programs are generally 8 to 10 weeks and members are paid at least the state or federal minimum wage (whichever is higher) for a 40-hour work week. Yellowstone National Park is the only park with a residential YCC program.

The Young Adult Conservation Corps (YACC) was created in 1977 to provide up to one year of labor-intensive employment for youth aged 16-23 in conservation projects. The program was administered jointly by the US Departments of Labor, Interior, and Agriculture. The YACC was abolished in 1982.

Other examples of youth organizations with which the NPS has worked with over time include the Youth Environmental Service (YES); the National Association of Service and Conservation Corps (NASCC); US Park Police Explorers; Rangers Against Drugs (RAD); Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU); Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU); American Indians Higher Education Consortium (AMHEC); Department of the Interior Diversity Internship Program; National Center for Preservation Education (NCPE); Americorps; American Conservation Experience (ACE); the Girl Scouts of America; and the Boy Scouts of America.

Scope and Content Note

Documents related to NPS Youth Program partners such as the Student Conservation Association, Young Adult Conservation Corps, and Youth Conservation Corps. Includes status reports, proposals for program expansion and recruitment, memoranda and correspondence, news releases, photographic material, clippings, printed material, and training handbooks and manuals. A daily log of activities and photographs of participants from the 1971 YCC program at Harpers Ferry Center and project photographs of Navajo and Hopi youth recruits from the 1971 Neighborhood Youth Corps program at the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area are present. Related program areas such as the Boy Scouts of America are also included.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by program or topic.

Container List

BOX 01
Folder 01: Boy Scouts of America—Memoranda, Correspondence, 1985-1987
Folder 02: Boy Scouts of America—NPS Courier Newsletters, 1986-1987
Folder 03: Boy Scouts of America—Take Pride in America—Annual Report, 1986
Folder 04: Conservation Career Development Corps Program, 1992
Folder 05: Guide to Youth Employment Programs in the Federal Service, undated
Folder 06: Neighborhood Youth Corps Program—Glen Canyon, 1971
Folder 07: Student Conservation Program—Administrative, 1961-1971
Folder 08: Student Conservation Program—Application Materials, undated
Folder 09: Student Conservation Program—General Information, 1957-1971
Folder 10: Student Conservation Program—Newsletters, 1982
Folder 11: Student Trainee Program, 1959
Folder 12: Summer in the Parks Program, 1969
Folder 13: Volunteers in Parks Program, 1970
Folder 14: Young Adult Conservation Corps—Enrollees Handbook—Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, undated
Folder 15: Young Adult Conservation Corps—Legislation, 1977
Folder 16: Young Adult Conservation Corps—Operations Handbook, 1978
Folder 17: Young Adult Conservation Corps—Packet Information, 1977-1979
Folder 18: Youth Conservation Corps—Administrative Manual, 1971
Folder 19: Youth Conservation Corps—Administrative Manual, 1973
Folder 20: Youth Conservation Corps—Articles, 1971-1978
Folder 21: Youth Conservation Corps—Daily Log: Harpers Ferry Center, 1971
Folder 22: Youth Conservation Corps—Environmental Education, undated

BOX 02
Folder 01: Youth Conservation Corps—General Information, 1968-1977
Folder 02: Youth Conservation Corps—Legislation, 1971
Folder 03: Youth Conservation Corps—Memoranda, 1971-1976
Folder 04: Youth Conservation Corps—News Clippings - First Pilot Program, 1972
Folder 05: Youth Conservation Corps—News Releases, 1971-1974
Folder 06: Youth Conservation Corps—Photograph—Fence Construction, Hawaii, 1972
Folder 07: Youth Conservation Corps—Project Directories, undated
Folder 08: Youth Conservation Corps—Second Pilot Program, 1972
Folder 09: Youth Conservation Corps—Source Book for Environmental Awareness, undated
Folder 10: Youth Conservation Corps—“Toward Environmental Understanding: An Evaluation of the 1972 Youth Conservation Corps,” 1972
Folder 11: Youth Hostels, 1958-1986
Folder 12: Youth Power, 1968
Folder 13: Youth Programs—General, 1966, 1978

BOX 03
Folder 01: Neighborhood Youth Corps Program—Glen Canyon—Photographs, 1971
Folder 02: Youth Conservation Corps—Daily Log: Harpers Ferry Center—Photographs, 1971