It is an often overlooked episode of American history. After the start of World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the forced relocation and incarceration of Japanese Americans to internment camps. In 1942, a total of 120,000 Japanese were interned in 10 different camps located in isolated areas of the west and mountain west—the single largest forced relocation in U.S. history.

Families were forced to leave their homes, businesses and belongings to live in camps surrounded by barbed wire and guard towers. The living quarters were quickly built and substandard and had no cooking facilities or bathrooms. About half of those interned were children.

Our Efforts To Save The History Of Japanese Internment Camps

In 2005 the Fund established its Japanese-American Internment Camp Preservation Initiative to acquire the lands once used as campsites. Many of the camps have little left as evidence of their existence. Protecting these sites leaves a lasting historical legacy that ensures future generations have a better understanding of the impact of World War II on American society. These historic sites provide a chance to understand, appreciate and learn that the denial of civil rights is not to be repeated or forgotten.

The Fund is focusing its initial efforts on three camp sites: Tule Lake, California; Topaz, Utah; and Minidoka, Idaho. We are pursuing opportunities to purchase unprotected land at the sites and to increase their level of protection through either federal legislation or national historic landmark designation.

Successes To Date

Minidoka in Idaho

Between August 1942 and October 1945, nearly 9,500 Japanese Americans from Portland, Oregon, Seattle and the surrounding areas were interned at Minidoka. Yet little evidence remained that a camp was ever there. The Conservation Fund has assisted in supporting the expansion of Minidoka's boundaries and in acquiring lands to add to the historic site. Read our story >>

Topaz Relocation Center Site, Utah

The Fund assisted the Topaz Museum in acquiring land at the Topaz Relocation Center, including the largest remaining unprotected tract within the property. The tract includes blocks 33 and 34, two of the camps remaining unprotected barracks block sites.

Operated as one of ten internment camps during World War II, the Topaz Relocation Center housed over 8,100 Japanese Americans. Topaz became a National Historic Landmark in 2007.