The name Cusino was taken from a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp that was located four miles east of Melstrand, Michigan.
The inmates were trustee status and many worked for the neighboring Cusino Wildlife Research Station.
Other inmates were transported daily to do timber stand improvement and maintain area state parks.
In 1997 the prison camp was placed under the jurisdiction of the Alger Maximum Correctional Facility located in Wetmore, Michigan.
The Corrections Conservation Prison Camp Program, which had its headquarters in Grass Lake, Michigan, was officially disbanded.