Graff (Thomas J.) papers, 1971-2009

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Summary

Title:
Thomas J. Graff papers
Dates:
1971-2009
Creators:
Graff, Thomas J. (Thomas Jacob), 1944-2009
Abstract:
This collection contains the papers of Thomas J. Graff, environmental lawyer and founder of the first California office of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), which he led for 37 years. These papers document the activity of the EDF California office, in particular its involvement in water rights, water marketing, emissions, and other ecological projects in California. These include the Central Valley Project Improvement Act, CALFED Bay- Delta Program, and Hetch Hetchy Valley restoration initiative. Included are correspondence, financial records, legal documents and case files, reports and project proposals, administrative records and meeting minutes, and program and publicity documents. These materials reflect Graff’s directorship of the California office and its legal advocacy and projects.
Extent:
27 Linear Feet 21 cartons, 1 box
Language:
English and Collection materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Thomas J. Graff papers, BANC MSS 2009/134, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains the papers of Thomas J. Graff, environmental lawyer and founder of the first California office of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), which he led for 37 years. These papers document the activity of the EDF California office, in particular its involvement in water rights, water marketing, emissions, and other ecological projects in California. These include the Central Valley Project Improvement Act, CALFED Bay- Delta Program, and Hetch Hetchy Valley restoration initiative. Included are correspondence, financial records, legal documents and case files, reports and project proposals, administrative records and meeting minutes, and program and publicity documents. These materials reflect Graff’s directorship of the California office and its legal advocacy and projects.

The collection is arranged into three series.

Series 1 (Project files) contains four subseries: California water projects; Transportation and emission projects; Hetch Hetchy Valley restoration project; and Case files.

Series 2 (Conferences, publicity, and publications) contains documents relating to various conferences, EDF publications and reports, publicity materials, and research materials.

Series 3 (Administrative files) contains documents relating to EDF budgets, staffing, committee works, and so on.

The collection also contains digital material: video materials for the Discover Hetch Hetchy campaign, resource materials for the Dividing the Waters conference (2006), and reports and other text documents relating to the CSCAPE project and Monterey Agreement. This material is unavailable until processed.

Biographical / historical:

Thomas J. Graff was born in Honduras on January 20, 1944, and grew up in Syracuse, New York. He graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School, later clerking for a federal court judge and working as a legislative assistant to New York Mayor John Lindsay. He relocated to San Francisco in 1970 and a year later founded the California office of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

Under his direction, the California EDF undertook several successful projects. He was instrumental in the passage Central Valley Project Improvement Act of 1991, which established a “water market” through which farmers were allowed to sell unused water as an incentive to conserve, and which placed restrictions on the amount of water that could be diverted to farms and communities upstream of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Graff largely established the idea of using market incentives to encourage environmentally responsible behavior. Under his leadership, the EDF partnered with major foundations and corporations in their advocacy efforts. In 1993, EDF was one of seven foundation-funded environmental groups to endorse the NAFTA Treaty.

This collection documents EDF’s campaign against a plan by the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) to tap into the American River, as well as Graff’s fight against the Peripheral Canal. Graff was also instrumental in the effort to pass AB32, legislation that requires California to cap its total greenhouse gas emissions at 1990 levels by 2020. Starting in 2000, EDF participated in the effort to remove O'Shaughnessy Dam in Yosemite and restore the Hetch Hetchy Valley.

Graff died of thyroid cancer on November 12, 2009.

Acquisition information:
The Thomas J. Graff papers were given to The Bancroft Library by Thomas Graff on October 15, 2009. Additions were made by his wife, Sharona Barzilay, on December 19, 2010.
Processing information:

Processed by Lori Dedeyan in 2017, with the generous support of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Arrangement:

Arranged to the container level.

Accruals:

No 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

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Lori Dedeyan
Sponsor:
National Historical Publications and Records Commission
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2017-12-15 14:35:40 -0800 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research, Collection is open for research, with exception of unprocessed digital material.

Inquiries regarding digital materials should be submitted to The Bancroft Library via the Notice of Interest in Unprocessed Collections form: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/libraries/bancroft-library/unprocessed-collections-form

Terms of access:

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], Thomas J. Graff papers, BANC MSS 2009/134, 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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