The David Ross Brower Papers consist of records accumulated in the course of Brower's lifelong work as a conservationist. Included are Brower's correspondence, writings, testimonies and speeches on virtually every topic associated with the environmental movement in the twentieth century, including energy resources and conservation, logging, nuclear power and nuclear war, population control, wilderness preservation, and wildlife conservation. Constituting the bulk of the collection are records from the conservation organizations he participated in or helped found. Papers pertaining to his association with the Sierra Club include correspondence and writings dating from his early membership in 1933; editorial files from his work as editor of the Sierra Club Bulletin; files created during his final years as the club's Executive Director; and files created from his work as a board member after his resignation from the directorship through the final years of his life. The records of Friends of the Earth (FOE), which Brower founded in 1969 after leaving the Sierra Club, document conservation campaigns, issues, FOE's extensive publishing program, and affiliated organizations, including the John Muir Institute and Friends of the Earth Foundation, and the Conference on the Fate of the Earth. Also included are records regarding the founding and projects of Earth Island Institute, including Brower's campaign for Global Conservation, Preservation, and Restoration (CPR). Throughout all of the records from conservation organizations is documentation of Brower's work to produce books in the Exhibit Format style he pioneered at the Sierra Club, combining beautiful photography and powerful writing to bring major conservation issues to the public, and his ongoing use of advertising in national papers to bring attention to major causes. Other materials of significance include: diaries and correspondence pertaining to Brower's early mountaineering, including the development of new techniques and equipment; papers from his service in the 10th Mountain Division in World War II; and files from the many organizations to which Brower belonged.

David Ross Brower was born in Berkeley, California on July 1, 1912, the son of Ross J and Mary Brower. He had three siblings, Edith, Ralph and Joseph.Brower, David R. For Earth's Sake: the Life and Times of David Brower. Layton, Utah: Peregrine Smith Books, 1990.

Number of containers: 30 boxes, 125 cartons, 4 oversize boxes, 20 oversize folders Linear feet: circa 173 linear feet

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, 94270-6000. Consent is given on behalf of The Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must obtained from the copyright owner. See: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html

Collection is open for research.