Collection Guide
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Graff (Thomas J.) papers
BANC MSS 2009/134
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
The Bancroft Library
Title: Thomas J. Graff papers
Creator:
Graff, Thomas J. (Thomas Jacob), 1944-2009
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 2009/134
Physical Description:
27 Linear Feet
21 cartons, 1 box
Date (inclusive): 1971-2009
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.
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.
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
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.
[Identification of item], Thomas J. Graff papers, BANC MSS 2009/134, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
There are no alternate forms of this collection.
The Bancroft Library holds the records of several environmental organizations in California and the United States. These include
the records of the Sierra Club, the Rainforest Action Network, Friends of the Earth, Friends of the River Foundation, Earth
Island Istitute, and other organizations. The Bancroft also holds the papers of David R. Brower.
The Special Collections Library at Stony Brook University (Stony Brook, New York) holds the Environmental Defense Fund Archive
(Collection 232).
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.
No additions are expected.
Arranged to the container level.
Processed by Lori Dedeyan in 2017, with the generous support of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
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.
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.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Water rights--California
Water resources development -- California
Water-supply--California
Water--Law and legislation--California
Water conservation--Law and legislation--California
Environmentalists--California--San Francisco Bay Area
Environmental law--California
Graff, Thomas J. (Thomas Jacob), 1944-2009