Finding Aid to the Trustees for Conservation records BANC MSS 74/71 c
Lori Dedeyan
The Bancroft Library
2017
The Bancroft Library
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000
bancref@library.berkeley.edu
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
The Bancroft Library
Title: Trustees for Conservation records
Creator:
Trustees for Conservation
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 74/71 c
Physical Description:
5.2 Linear Feet
(4 cartons, 1 slim document box)
Date (inclusive): 1951-1975
Abstract: This collection contains the records of the Trustees for Conservation, a California environmental organization formed in 1954.
The records document the legislative and fundraising activity of the Trustees for several major projects and campaigns, including
the passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964, the California State Park System, the San Francisco Bay Shoreline and Point Reyes
National Seashore, and opposition to the Echo Park Dam on the Colorado River at the Dinosaur National Monument. Included
are correspondence, financial records, legal documents, administrative records and meeting minutes, and program documents
from the Trustees for Conservation and other environmental organizations, notably the Wilderness Society and Sierra Club.
Language of Material: 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.
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 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], Trustees for Conservation records, BANC MSS 74/71 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California,
Berkeley.
Alternate Forms Available
There are no alternate forms for this collection.
Related Materials
The Bancroft Library holds several collections related to the conservation and environmental movements in California and the
United States. These include the records of Sierra Club, its chapters and members, and environmentalists such as David Ross
Brower, Thomas J. Graff, and the correspondence of Trustees for Conservation president Ansel Adams. The Bancroft also holds
the records of the Friends of the River Foundation, Friends of the Earth, and the Save the Redwoods League.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Trustees for Conservation via William J. Losh, Executive Secretary, on September 20, 1973.
Accruals
No additions are expected.
Arrangement
Arranged to the folder level.
Processing Information
Processed by Lori Dedeyan in 2017, with the generous support of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
Organizational History
Trustees for Conservation was a California environmental organization formed in 1954, in response to a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
proposal to create a dam on the Green River tributary of the Colorado River, in the Echo Park district of the Dinosaur National
Monument. The Echo Park Dam project was opposed by The Sierra Club and other organizations, which created Trustees for Conservation
“expressly for the purpose of raising money and spending money in education and legislative activities in which existing conservation
organizations felt they could not engage,” after a Supreme Court decision in the same year affirmed the federal government’s
power to revoke the tax-exempt status of organizations that spent significant time and resources on lobbying. (1) After the
abandonment of the Echo Park project in favor of Glen Canyon Dam, the Trustees continued their involvement in federal and
state environmental policy and lobbied for the creation of a National Wilderness Preservation System, Outdoor Recreation Resource
Review Commission, and other park systems in California and the San Francisco Bay Area. The objectives of the organization,
according to its by-laws, were to “promote the wise use and conservation of the natural resources” of the U.S. and to secure
the “protection and preservation of our National Parks and Monuments” and “wildlife and wilderness areas.”
Trustees for Conservation had its offices in San Francisco. Its membership included leaders of the conservation groups by
which it had been created and prominent environmentalists of the time, such as Ansel Adams, Thomas H. Jukes, Clifford V. Heimbucher,
Lewis F. Clark, Edgar Wayburn, David Ross Brower (first Executive Director of the Sierra Club and founder of Friends of the
Earth, Earth Island Institute, and other environmental organizations), Wallace Stegner, Alfred A. Knopf, Newton B. Drury (fourth
director of the American National Park Service and the executive director of the Save-the-Redwoods League), and Howard Zahniser.
Howard Zahniser, the primary author of the Wilderness Act of 1964, was also the Washington representative of the Trustees
for Conservation during this time, as well as executive secretary and executive director of the Wilderness Society.
1. “Purposes and Objectives of the Trustees for Conservation.” Trustees for Conservation, 1958.
Scope and Contents
This collection contains the records of the Trustees for Conservation, a California environmental organization formed in 1954.
The records document the legislative and fundraising activity of the Trustees for several major projects and campaigns, including
the passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964, the California State Park System, the San Francisco Bay Shoreline and Point Reyes
National Seashore, and opposition to the Echo Park Dam on the Colorado River at the Dinosaur National Monument. Included
are correspondence, financial records, legal documents, administrative records and meeting minutes, and program documents
from the Trustees for Conservation and other environmental organizations, notably the Wilderness Society and Sierra Club.
The collection is arranged into three series:
Series 1 (Correspondence) includes incoming and outgoing correspondence within the organization, with other environmental
organizations, general correspondence, and inquiries.
Series 2 (Administrative materials) includes meeting minutes, financial documents and tax forms, legal documents and lobby
registration forms, and lists of the leadership.
Series 3 (Program records and publicity materials) includes correspondence, mailers, and documentation relating to various
projects and campaigns.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Landscape protection--United States.
Wilderness areas--United States.
Wilderness areas--California.
Unites States. Wilderness Act
National parks and reserves--United States
National parks and reserves--California
Environmental protection--United States--History.
Environmentalists--United States.
Dinosaur National Monument (Colo. and Utah)
Trustees for Conservation
Series 1.
Correspondence
1953-1973
Physical Description: Carton 1; Carton 2, folders 1-13
Arrangement
Internal and general correspondence listed first; other correspondence arranged alphabetically by correspondent.
Scope and Contents
Includes internal correspondence between trustees, general correspondence, inquiries from interested persons, correspondence
related to specific projects and campaigns, and letters from affiliated organizations and persons.
carton 1, Folders 1-9
Correspondence with trustees
1954-1973
carton 1, Folders 10-15
General correspondence
1955-1960
carton 1, Folders 16-25
General correspondence
1965-1973
carton 1, Folders 29
Audubon Society
1961-1963
carton 1, Folders 31
Crawford, Hilary H.
1971-1973
carton 1, Folders 32
Dinosaur National Monument/ Echo Park Dam project (1 of 2)
1953-1956
Carton 2, Folder 1
Dinosaur National Monument/ Echo Park Dam project (2 of 2)
1953-1956
carton 2, Folders 2
Jukes, Thomas H.
1969-1972
carton 2, Folders 3
National Parks Association (correspondence and documents)
1955-1964
carton 2, folder 5
Sierra Club snow forecast- Weldon F. Heald
1954-1961
carton 2, folder 6
The Wilderness Society
1953-1964
carton 2, folder 7
Zahniser, Howard
1957-1962
carton 2, Folders 8-13
Zimmermann, William Jr.
1958-1967
Series 2.
Administrative materials
1954-1975
Physical Description: Carton 2, folders 14-26; Carton 3, folders 1-25
Arrangement
Listed by activity.
Scope and Contents
Contains the administrative and financial documents of the Trustees for Conservation, including tax forms, financial records,
registration forms for lobbying activity, meeting minutes, and records of the organization leadership.
carton 2, Folders 14-17
Meeting minutes, bylaws, articles of incorporation
1954-1972
carton 2, Folders 18-21
Annual meeting minutes
1955-1972
carton 2, Folders 22-24
Executive Committee meeting minutes and correspondence
1955-1972
carton 2, Folders 25-26
Lists of trustees and terms
1954-1975
carton 3, Folders 1-6
Lobby registration and reports
1957-1972
carton 3, Folders 7-15
Bills and invoices
1958-1973
carton 3, folder 18
Financial reports, bank statements
1957-1973
carton 3, folder 22
Contributions (financial)
1956-1957
carton 3, folder 23
Thank you letters to contributors
1955-1962
Carton 3, Folder 24
Mailing permits
1955-1963
Carton 3, Folder 25
Printing order and stationery
1955-1960
Series 3.
Program records and publicity materials
1951-1974
Physical Description: Carton 3, folders 26-28; Carton 4; Box 1
Arrangement
Listed alphabetically by subject/program.
Scope and Contents
Includes correspondence, mailers and briefs, statements, publications, and policy documents related to various projects and
initiatives with which the Trustees for Conservation was involved. This includes the passage of the US Wilderness Act (1964),
the California State Park system, and campaigns against various development and dam-building projects.
carton 4, folder 1
Articles about William Losh
1957-1973
carton 4, folder 2
Alaska Conservation Review and other newsletters
1971-1973
carton 4, folder 3
Arizonans for Quality Environment (formerly Arizonans for Water Without Waste) newsletters and correspondence
1967-1972
carton 4, folder 4
California State Parks
1960-1964
carton 4, folder 5
California State Park system
circa 1954
carton 4, folder 6
California Wilderness Areas/ Wilderness Policy
1961-1971
carton 4, folder 7
Council of Conservationists- correspondence and documents about Colorado River
1955-1957
carton 4, folder 8
Conservation Associates/ Sempervirens Fund
1962-1973
carton 4, Folders 9-10
Dinosaur National Monument/ Echo Park Dam project
1953-1955
carton 4, folder 11
Eel River Water Basin- dam projects
1967-1968
carton 4, folder 12
Everglades National Park, Canal- III
1967
carton 4, folder 13
Federation of Western Outdoor Clubs- correpsondence and briefs
1955-1972
carton 4, folder 14
Fort Point Historical Monument
1960-1961
carton 4, folder 15
Friends of the Earth- mailers
1970-1971
carton 4, folder 16
Great Basin National Park Association
1955-1960
carton 4, folder 17
The Nature Conservancy
circa 1960-1965
carton 4, folder 18
Open Space/ People for Open Space/ San Francisco Bay Shoreline
1959-1968
carton 4, folder 19
Point Reyes National Seashore
1960-1964
carton 4, folder 20
Sierra Club- National News Report (weekly newsletters)
1973
carton 4, folder 21
Sierra Club public relations primer (prepared by William Losh)
1974
carton 4, folder 22-23
Wilderness Bill- correspondence
1957-1963
carton 4, folder 24
Wilderness Bill- Congressional Record
1956-1964
carton 4, folder 25
Wilderness Bill- clippings
1956-1964
carton 4, folder 26
Wilderness Bill- statements, plans, and publications
1953-1964
carton 4, folder 27
Wilderness hearings under Wilderness Act (Wilderness Society material)
1966-1967
carton 4, folder 28
Second and Third Biennial Wilderness Conferences
1951-1953
carton 4, folder 29
Fourth Biennial Wilderness Conference
1954-1955
carton 4, folder 30
Eight Biennial Wilderness Conference
1963
Box 1, folder 1
Ninth Biennial Wilderness Conference
1965
Box 1, folder 2
Tenth Biennial Wilderness Conference
1967
Box 1, folder 3
Various conservation projects
1955-1972
