A history of the USACE recreation mission from 1944 to the present

The Office of History, HQ, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is preparing a series of survey histories on selected topics on the history of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from the American Revolution to the present. The contractor will research and write a volume in that series focusing on the history of the USACE Recreation mission from 1944 to the present.

This approximately 40,000-word volume will trace the history of USACE Recreation from 1944 to the present. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the Nation's largest federal provider of outdoor recreation, hosting nearly 385 million visitors a year at 4,300 recreation areas in 46 states. Its lakes and parks include over 100,000 campsites, 2,100 miles of trails and host 33 percent of all freshwater lake fishing in the United States. This study will document the historical background of the Corps recreation mission from a national perspective. It will track emergence of the relevant legal authorities and the political backdrop to the these laws as well as the broader context in which they emerged – including mass suburbanization, economic and geographic decentralization, a deepening American dependence on automobiles and, by the 1960s, the birth of the Big Dam Era and a new widespread popular interest in the natural environment. It will also discuss how the recreation mission evolved and grew while presenting a picture of the program over time. Finally, the study will identify the major challenges facing the program – both past and present – including more contemporarily requirements for park modernization to address increasing demands and flat revenues and the need for modern equipment to facilitate larger crowds and bigger Recreational Vehicles (RVs); ranger staffing and safety; and aging infrastructure.

Please see the attached Combined Synopsis Solicitation and the Performance Work Statement for additional information.