To overturn the exploitation of our natural resources, the Legislature created the first fledgling agencies to manage and protect our resources, and, in 1921, combined them all into one unit called the Michigan Department of Conservation. In the same year, the Conservation Commission, a citizen body appointed by the governor, was established to provide policy direction for Department activities. For nearly half a century conservation was the watchword term for the work carried out by the Department. The public was becoming increasingly more interested in our resources and what was being done about them. Conservation was becoming more alive, more vibrant.