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Milton N. Nathanson papers
WRCA 214
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Title: Milton N. Nathanson papers
Date (inclusive): 1855-1995
Date (bulk): 1965-1985
Collection Number: WRCA 214
Creator:
Nathanson, Milton N.
Extent:
9.42 linear feet
(10 boxes)
Repository:
Rivera Library. Special Collections Department.
Riverside, CA 92517-5900
Abstract: The Milton N. Nathanson papers consists of files Nathanson compiled during his work as an attorney specializing in Colorado
River water issues, including his employment at the Department of Interior as Assistant Regional Solicitor and Field Solicitor
and as special consultant to the Department of Interior and the Coachella Valley Water District, as well as notes and drafts
written by Nathanson while he was authoring the book,
Updating the Hoover Dam Documents, and materials related to his involvement in the Colorado River Board of California.
Languages: The collection is in English.
The collection is open for research.
Copyright has not been assigned to the University of California, Riverside Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives.
Distribution or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission
of the copyright owners. To the extent other restrictions apply, permission for distribution or reproduction from the applicable
rights holder is also required. Responsibility for obtaining permissions, and for any use rests exclusively with the user.
[identification of item], [date if possible]. Milton N. Nathanson papers (WRCA 214). Water Resources Collections and Archives.
Special Collections & University Archives, University of California, Riverside.
Gift of the Law Offices of Redwine and Sherrill, 2001.
Processed by David Uhlich, 2008.
Collection number updated February 2019. Legacy collection number was MS 2001/2. This change was part of a project in 2018/2019
to update the collection numbers for collections in the Water Resources Collections and Archives.
Milton Norman Nathanson (1910-2000) was a prominent water rights attorney, specializing in Colorado River water issues, specifically
"The Law of the River." Born on December 19, 1910 in Philadelphia, Nathanson attended college in his home state at the University
of Pennsylvania, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts from its Wharton School of Finance and Commerce in 1932 before receiving
his Juris Doctorate from Penn Law in 1935. In 1941, Nathanson joined the Office of the Solicitor at the United States Department
of Interior in Washington, D.C. after briefly practicing law in the private sector; he served in the counterintelligence division
of the United States Army during the Second World War from 1943-1945 before returning to Washington, D.C. following the war.
Nathanson transferred to the Department of Interior's Los Angeles office in 1947, where he served as Assistant Regional Solicitor
until the early 1970s, and then Field Solicitor until his retirement in 1975. During his time at the Department of Interior's
Los Angeles office, Nathanson was involved in many important projects and cases regarding Colorado River water issues, including
the protracted Arizona versus California litigation, the authorization and construction of the Central Arizona Project, and
the passage of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act.
Nathanson continued to act as a special consultant to the Department of Interior after his retirement, and later served as
legal consultant to the Coachella Valley Water District for nearly two decades during its protracted litigation with the Imperial
Irrigation District and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California regarding their respective Colorado River water
rights and allotments. In addition to his consulting work, Nathanson was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown as a Public Member
of the Colorado River Board of California, a position he held from 1975 until 1981; he also served as a technical expert for
the United Nations, and as Water Rights Expert for the State Department of Guyana, helping to draft the country's water code.
Demonstrating his stature as one of the leading experts of "The Law of the River" of his time, Nathanson was commissioned
by the Department of the Interior to author the book
Updating the Hoover Dam Documents, which he completed in 1978 for publication in 1980. Nathanson died on October 29, 2000.
The Milton N. Nathanson Papers consists of files Nathanson compiled during his work as an attorney specializing in Colorado
River water issues. The bulk of the collection is comprised of files documenting Nathanson's employment at the Department
of Interior as Assistant Regional Solicitor and Field Solicitor, as well as his work as special consultant to the Department
of Interior and the Coachella Valley Water District after his retirement from government service; also prominent in the collection
are Nathanson's notes and drafts written while he was authoring the book,
Updating the Hoover Dam Documents, and materials related to his long involvement in the Colorado River Board of California. The collection encompasses a range
of materials--including correspondence, contracts, legal works, manuscripts, maps, periodicals, clippings and ephemera--documenting
such Colorado River projects and issues as: the construction and maintenance of the All American Canal; Colorado River Basin
Project operating and filling criteria; the Arizona versus California legal battle; the Central Arizona Project; the Bureau
of Reclamation's acreage limitation law and related litigation; the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act; and the numerous
legal battles and agreements between the Coachella Valley Water District, the Imperial Irrigation District and the Metropolitan
Water District of Southern California regarding their respective Colorado River water rights and allotments.
The Milton N. Nathanson Papers are subdivided into four series:
- Series 1. Department of Interior, 1855-1983
- Series 2. Private Consulting, 1920-1995
- Series 3. Updating the Hoover Dam Documents, 1900-1990
- Series 4. Colorado River Board of California, 1964-1993
Some maps have been transferred to the Map Collection of the Water Resources Collections and Archives.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library's online public access catalog.
All-American Canal System (U.S.)
Central Arizona Project (U.S.)
Coachella Valley Water District (Calif.)
Colorado River Board of California
Colorado River Salinity Control Program (U.S.)
Imperial Irrigation District (Calif.)
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (Calif.)
Colorado River (Colo.-Mexico) -- Water rights
Glen Canyon Dam (Ariz.)
Hoover Dam (Ariz. and Nev.)
Drafts (documents)
Notes
Project files