Earth Island Institute records, 1940-2012, 1940-2012, bulk 1982-2004

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Summary

Creators:
Earth Island Institute
Abstract:
This collection contains the records of Earth Island Institute, a Berkeley, California based not for profit environmental group founded in 1982 by David R. Brower. The collection primarily documents the organizational and administrative history of Earth Island Institute and two of its major projects supported through the International Marine Mammal Project campaigns: the Dolphin and Whale Project (including the Dolphin-Safe Tuna Campaign) and the Free Willy Keiko Foundation. Limited records on other Earth Island Institute projects is included in the collection, mainly the Brower Fund, Glen Canyon Institute, Restore Hetch Hetchy and Yosemite projects. Additionally, documentation is included on the group's participation in the World Trade Organization (W.T.O.) protests in Seattle, Washington in 1999.
Extent:
30.95 linear feet (23 cartons, 1 box, 1 oversize box, 1 oversize folder)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Earth Island Institute records, BANC MSS 2009/129, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains the records of Earth Island Institute, a Berkeley, California based not for profit environmental group founded in 1982 by David R. Brower. The collection primarily documents the organizational and administrative history of Earth Island Institute and two of its major projects supported through the International Marine Mammal Project campaigns: the Dolphin and Whale Project (including the Dolphin-Safe Tuna Campaign) and the Free Willy Keiko Foundation. Limited records on other Earth Island Institute projects is included in the collection, mainly the Brower Fund, Glen Canyon Institute, Restore Hetch Hetchy and Yosemite projects. Additionally, documentation is included on the group's participation in the World Trade Organization (W.T.O.) protests in Seattle, Washington in 1999. Materials include correspondence, board of directors documents, financial, development and grant materials, legislative documentation, contracts and agreements, press releases and media kits, photographs, news articles, magazines, and clippings. Mostly in English with some materials in Spanish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Japanese languages. Researchers should note that occassionally, (likely for environmental re-use purposes), documents were printed onto the verso of reused paper and therefore verso contents may be unrelated to the front side of the documents.

Biographical / historical:

Based in Berkeley, California, Earth Island Institute is an international nonprofit conservation group established by noted environmentalist David R. Brower. The organization serves as an incubator supporting numerous ecological and social justice projects working to conserve, protect and restore the environment. Earth Island Institute was founded in 1982, opened their first office in San Francisco in 1986, and has fostered hundreds of local and internationally focused environmental projects including Baikal Watch, Bay Area Wilderness Training, Borneo Project, the Brower Fund, International Marine Mammal Project, Restore Hetch Hetchy, Sacred Land Film Project, the Sea Turtle Restoration Project and Transportation Involves Everyone (T.I.E.). The roster of Earth Island Institute projects changes from year to year as some projects are completed, added or otherwise evolve. Brower served as Chairman of the Board of Directors from its founding until his death in 2000. John Knox and David Phillips served in leadership roles as Co-Executive Directors over the time period that these records span. Phillips also serves as director of the International Marine Mammal Project, worked extensively to pass dolphin conservation legislation and helped to establish and lead the Free Willy Keiko Foundation, along with Mark Berman. Berman served as Director to International Marine Mammal Project's Dolphin-Safe Tuna Monitoring Program during much of the period these materials cover, campaigned against the practice of animal captivity in theme parks and was the force behind passing much of the early dolphin protection legislation and campaigns against dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan.

The International Marine Mammal Project is a Berkeley, California based program of the Earth Island Institute founded in 1982. The International Marine Mammal Project directs a number of campaigns to halt the practice of dolphin and whale captures and killings and to free marine mammals held in captivity in aquariums, theme parks and other facilties around the world. In the late 1980s, the International Marine Mammal Project launched an immensely successful campaign to place pressure on the commercial tuna fishing industry to cease the practice of purse seine net (drift net) tuna fishing because of the extremely high instances of dolphin mortality associated with that type of fishing. The Free Willy Keiko Foundation, founded in 1994, is one of the largest and most well-known programs of the International Marine Mammal Project. It was established for the purpose of arranging the rehabilitation and release of Keiko, the orca "killer whale" used in the making of the "Free Willy" film produced by Warner Bros.

Acquisition information:
The Earth Island Institute Records were given to the Bancroft Library by the Earth Island Institute's executive directors, John Knox and David Phillips, in 2009 and 2011.
Processing information:

Arranged to the folder level.

Processed by Lisa Marie Monhoff in 2018 as part of a two-year NHPRC-funded project to process a range of archival collections relating to environmental movements in the West.

Accruals:

Future additions are expected.

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.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Some materials in these collections 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], Earth Island Institute records, BANC MSS 2009/129, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Location of this collection:
University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft Library
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000, US
Contact:
510-642-6481
bancref-library@berkeley.edu
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