For the past 44 years, the Wyoming State Forestry Division and the Board of Charities and Reform (later incorporated into the Department of Corrections) have combined efforts and resources in the development and support of a Forestry Conservation Camp Program manned by inmates from a Wyoming Department of Corrections facility. Prior to the authorization of the Wyoming Honor Conservation Camp by the legislature, the Wyoming State Forestry Division, in conjunction with the Board of Charities and Reforms, operated fire and conservation camps in the Black Hills area as early as the 1960’s. These camps were manned by a forestry technician, one correctional officer, and six inmates from the Wyoming State Penitentiary.

The 1986 Session Laws of Wyoming reflect the addition of "camps" to the definition of penal institutions. Chapter 65 relates to penitentiary camps, "authorizing the creation and operation of penitentiary camps to provide places of confinement and employment for persons committed to the state penitentiary."

The Wyoming Honor Conservation Camp was constructed on state land north of the town of Newcastle. The WHCC received its first funding in 1988. An appropriation of $311,850 was allocated and used for the purchase of modular buildings and site preparation. Site preparation continued through the summer of 1989. At that point, approximately 24 minimum custody inmates were transferred to Newcastle to begin reconstruction of the modular buildings that would become the kitchen/dining facility, inmate barracks, and offices.

Since this modest beginning, there has been substantial growth at the Wyoming Honor Conservation and Boot Camp facility. During the 2003-2004 sessions, the legislature made an appropriation of $6,326,204 for another expansion of the facility. Through these expansions, WHCC has grown into a prison containing three dorms, which house 238 minimum inmates, and a double fenced-in secure Boot Camp building which houses 56 inmates. Total facility capacity has grown from 24 inmates in 1989 to 294 inmates in 2008. WHCC now has a warehouse, as well as programming, vocational, recreational, and educational space, to allow us to meet the goal of reducing recidivism through cognitive and behavioral intervention.

For the past 44 years, the Wyoming State Forestry Division and the Board of Charities and Reform (later incorporated into the Department of Corrections) have combined efforts and resources in the development and support of a Forestry Conservation Camp Program manned by inmates from a Wyoming Department of Corrections facility. Prior to the authorization of the Wyoming Honor Conservation Camp by the legislature, the Wyoming State Forestry Division, in conjunction with the Board of Charities and Reforms, operated fire and conservation camps in the Black Hills area as early as the 1960’s. These camps were manned by a forestry technician, one correctional officer, and six inmates from the Wyoming State Penitentiary.

The 1986 Session Laws of Wyoming reflect the addition of "camps" to the definition of penal institutions. Chapter 65 relates to penitentiary camps, "authorizing the creation and operation of penitentiary camps to provide places of confinement and employment for persons committed to the state penitentiary."

The Wyoming Honor Conservation Camp was constructed on state land north of the town of Newcastle. The WHCC received its first funding in 1988. An appropriation of $311,850 was allocated and used for the purchase of modular buildings and site preparation. Site preparation continued through the summer of 1989. At that point, approximately 24 minimum custody inmates were transferred to Newcastle to begin reconstruction of the modular buildings that would become the kitchen/dining facility, inmate barracks, and offices.

Since this modest beginning, there has been substantial growth at the Wyoming Honor Conservation and Boot Camp facility. During the 2003-2004 sessions, the legislature made an appropriation of $6,326,204 for another expansion of the facility. Through these expansions, WHCC has grown into a prison containing three dorms, which house 238 minimum inmates, and a double fenced-in secure Boot Camp building which houses 56 inmates. Total facility capacity has grown from 24 inmates in 1989 to 294 inmates in 2008. WHCC now has a warehouse, as well as programming, vocational, recreational, and educational space, to allow us to meet the goal of reducing recidivism through cognitive and behavioral intervention.