Collection Summary
Information for Researchers
Administrative Information
Biographical Information
Scope and Content of Collection
Collection Summary
Collection Title: Dwight C. Steele papers
Date (inclusive): 1942-2002
Date (bulk): 1970-2001
Collection Number: BANC MSS 2005/195
c
Creator:
Steele, Dwight C.
Extent:
7 cartons, 2 oversize folders;
8.75 linear feet
Repository: The Bancroft Library.
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
Abstract: The Dwight C. Steele Papers, 1942-2002 (bulk 1970-2001), contain
correspondence, subject and organizational files on various environmental conservation
issues, with particular focus on the San Francisco Bay Area and Lake Tahoe Regions.
Languages Represented: Collection materials are in English
Physical Location: Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite
and advance notice may be required for use. For current information on the location of these
materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Information for Researchers
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17,
U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of
University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and
publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials
protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of
the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited
without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively
with the user.
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials
must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library,
University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000. See:
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html .
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Dwight C. Steele Papers, BANC MSS 2005/195 c, The Bancroft
Library, University of California, Berkeley
Alternate Forms Available
There are no alternate forms of this collection.
Related Material
The Sierra Club and the urban environment II : labor and the environment in the San
Francisco Bay area, 1960s-1970s : oral history transcript. BANC MSS 88/190 c
Sierra Club nationwide III : oral history transcript. BANC MSS 90/35 c
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library's online public access catalog
Davis, Gray, 1942- --
Correspondence.
Feinstein, Dianne, 1933- --
Correspondence.
Reagan, Ronald --
Correspondence.
Steele, Dwight C., 1914-2002 --
Archives.
Steele, Dwight C., 1914-2002 --
Correspondence.
Citizens for the Eastshore
State Park.
League to Save Lake Tahoe.
Planning &
Conservation League (Calif.)
San Francisco Bay Conservation
and Development Commission.
Save San Francisco Bay
Association.
Sierra Club.
Sierra Nevada Alliance
(Organization)
Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.
Tahoe-Baikal Institute.
Conservation of natural resources--California --
San Francisco Bay Area.
Conservation of natural resources--Tahoe, Lake
(Calif. and Nev.)
Conservationists -- California.
Environmental lawyers--California
Environmentalism--California.
Environmentalists--California
Lawyers--California.
Waterfronts--California -- Albany -- Planning.
San Francisco Bay Area
(Calif.)--Environmental conditions
Tahoe, Lake (Calif. and
Nev.)--Environmental conditions.
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
The Dwight C. Steele Papers, 1942-2002 (bulk 1970-2001), were given to the Bancroft
Library by Alberta Steele on July 5, 2004. Additions were made on November 8, 2004.
Accruals
No additions are expected.
Processing Information
Processed by Stephanie M. Roach in 2010.
Biographical Information
Dwight C. Steele was born on January 23, 1914 in Alameda, California. A lawyer practicing
in California and Hawaii with an early interest in labor law, he began working pro bono in
1969 for conservation causes, and accepted no paying clients after 1980. From 1942 to 1945
he served on the Regional War Labor Board and the Regional War Manpower Commission, and from
1951 to 1952 he was appointed to the National Wage Stabilization Board. Labor work includes
that with the Distiributors Association of San Francisco, the Hawaii Employers Council, the
Lumber and Mill Employers Association, and the Bermuda Employers Council. From 1968 to 1972
he was elected to the office of Director of the Alpine Springs Water District. From 1971 to
1978 he was a trustee and treasurer for the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, and served as
General Counsel for the League to Save Lake Tahoe beginning in 1989. From 1978 to 1983 he
was appointed as a Governing Body Member of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.
An environmental lobbyist and activist, Steele had a particular affinity for water and
transportation issues. Active in the Sierra Club beginning in 1966, his environmental
activism rapidly expanded to include many conservation groups, campaigns and causes. He
served on the Board of Directors and as the Vice President of the Save San Francisco Bay
Association (now known as Save the Bay) and served on the Board of Directors and as
President for the League to Save Lake Tahoe. He was on the Board of Directors for the
Tahoe-Baikal Institute and was deeply involved with many other conservation organizations in
the San Francisco Bay area and the Lake Tahoe region. He also worked on legislation to
establish the Eastshore State Park and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development
Commission, the first coastal protection agency in the United States.
Two oral histories with Steele are included in
Sierra Club Nationwide
III
(1989) and
The Sierra Club and the Urban Environment II:
Labor and the Environment in the San Francisco Bay Area, 1960s-1970s
(1983). He was
the recipient of many awards throughout his career including the Peter E. Haas Public
Service Award (1999) for his volunteer efforts and grassroots environmentalism and the
ChevronTexaco Conservation Award (2002) for his conservation efforts in the San Francisco
Bay area. Steele died on July 11, 2002 in Alpine Meadows, California.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Dwight C. Steele Papers, 1942-2002 (bulk 1970-2001), contain correspondence, subject
and organizational files on various environmental conservation issues, with particular focus
on the San Francisco Bay Area and Lake Tahoe Regions.
Professional activities with environmental organizations comprise the bulk of the
collection and include correspondence, organizational memos, meeting minutes, planning and
policy communications, etc. Primarily spanning from 1970-2001, collection series include:
Correspondence; Professional Activities (Environmental Organizations; Legal Practice);
Subject Files; and Personal. Following the original order of the collection, correspondence
is found throughout according to organizational affiliation, topic, and year as appropriate
for each series. Correspondence is primarily related to organizational planning and policy,
as well as environmental and conservation advocacy and lobbying efforts, and includes
exchanges with regional and national figures such as Ronald Reagan, Gray Davis, Dianne
Feinstein, and other legislators. Environmental organizations of note include Save San
Francisco Bay Association, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission,
Citizens for the Eastshore State Park, Planning and Conservation League, Tahoe Regional
Planning Agency, League to Save Lake Tahoe, Tahoe-Baikal Institute, Sierra Club, Sierra
Nevada Alliance, and others. Subject files relate to environmental conservation topics.