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Dasmann (Raymond F.) papers
MS.261
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Contributing Institution:
University of California, Santa Cruz
Title: Raymond F. Dasmann papers
Creator:
Dasmann, Raymond Fredric,
1919-2002
Identifier/Call Number: MS.261
Physical Description:
45.58 Linear Feet
72 half cartons, 2 flat boxes
Date (inclusive): 1937-2003
Date (bulk): 1947-1995
Physical Location: Collection stored
off-site at NRLF: Advance notice is required for access.
Language of Material:
English .
Collection is open for research.
Copyright for the items in this collection is owned by the creators and their heirs.
Reproduction or distribution of any work protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair
use requires permission from the copyright owner. It is the responsibility of the user to
determine whether a use is fair use, and to obtain any necessary permissions. For more
information see UCSC Special Collections and Archives policy on Reproduction and Use.
Raymond F. Dasmann papers, MS261, Special Collections and Archives, University Library,
University of California, Santa Cruz.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Marlene Dasmann, 2010.
Raymond F. Dasmann was a distinguished biologist whose innovations in the field of
conservation biology influenced the environmental movement of the 1960's and 70's. His early
research focused on California deer populations and wild game in Africa, however his work
also dealt with natural resource management and the way human populations interact with
their surrounding ecosystems. He held senior positions in international organizations such
as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and UNESCO, where he inaugurated
the Man and the Biosphere Programme in 1971. In addition to his work with environmental
organizations, Dasmann was also committed to teaching younger generations about the
importance of ecological sustainability. He held teaching positions at the University of
Minnesota and Humboldt State University, and was professor of Environmental Studies at the
University of California Santa Cruz until his retirement in 1989. Dasmann's textbook,
Environmental Conservation, first published in 1959, has become a
fundamental text in undergraduate courses and is now in its fifth edition. His other
publications include
The Last Horizon (1963),
The Destruction of
California
(1964),
Planet in Peril (1971), and
The
Conservation Alternative
(1973).
Dasmann was born in San Francisco on May 27, 1919. He attended Lowell high school in San
Francisco and then began his undergraduate career at San Francisco State College. He served
in the United States Army during World War II before finishing his undergraduate work at the
University of California Berkeley in 1948. He continued his education at UC Berkeley under
the mentorship of A. Starker Leopold in the Zoology program. With his research on deer
populations in California, Dasmann received his Master of Arts in 1951 and his Ph.D. in
Zoology in 1954.
Dasmann taught at the University of Minnesota from 1953 to 1954 before taking up a position
at Humboldt State University. While there, he served as the Chairman of the Division of
Natural Resources while also teaching a number of subjects including range ecology, fishery
management, oceanography, and more. Dasmann left Humboldt State in 1965 and worked for a
number of natural resource organizations. He was the Director of International Programs at
the Conservation Foundation in Washington, D.C. from 1966 to 1970. It was also during this
time that he served as a Senior Ecologist for the International Union for the Conservation
of Nature (IUCN). Dasmann was also a consultant for UNESCO, where in 1971 he developed the
Man and the Biosphere Programme - an important initiative, which still exists today, to
investigate the relationship between humans and ecology.
Throughout his career, Dasmann was involved in a number of organizations including Friends
of the Earth, the Earth Island Institute, and the World Conservation Union. For his
influential work, Dasmann received awards such as the Browning Medal for Conserving the
Environment from the Smithsonian Institution in 1974 and the Leopold Medal and Award from
the Wildlife Society in 1979. He continuously participated in conferences and symposia such
as the 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. He wrote numerous reports and
papers for these events, as well as hundreds of articles which were published in major
journals. His books include
The Last Horizon (1963),
The Destruction
of California
(1964),
Planet in Peril (1971), and
The
Conservation Alternative
(1973). He also published an autobiography titled
Called by the Wild in 2002.
Dasmann passed away at the age of 83 on November 5, 2002 in Santa Cruz, California. He was
married to Elizabeth Dasmann, with whom he raised three daughters.
References:
Jarrell, Randall, ed.
Raymond F. Dasmann: A Life in Conservation Biology
(Santa Cruz, CA: University of California Santa Cruz, University Library, 2000).
Woo, Elaine. "Raymond F. Dasmann, 83; A Founding Father of Environmentalism,"
Los
Angeles Times
November 9, 2002. Accessed 10 October, 2016.
http://articles.latimes.com/2002/nov/09/local/me-dasmann9
This collection contains papers which document the career of conservation biologist Raymond
F. Dasmann, covering his career as a professor of Environmental Studies at the University of
California, his field research and publications, and his professional activities for a
number of environmental organizations. The collection includes drafts and manuscripts and
reprints of his numerous books, journal articles, and reports; correspondence with editors,
publishers, and colleagues; field notes and maps from his research; teaching materials such
as lecture notes, syllabi, and course readers; materials from his participation in numerous
conferences and symposia; biographical material including resumes and obituaries;
manuscripts of his writings and research during graduate school; personal materials
including his calendars and planners; and research materials that informed his own work. The
forms of materials in this collection include journals, notebooks, newspaper clippings,
magazine and journal articles, correspondence, photographs, and manuscripts.
This collection is arranged in eight series:
- Series 1: Professional activities
- Series 2: Writings and publications
- Series 3: Correspondence
- Series 4: Teaching files
- Series 5: Education
- Series 6: Research files
- Series 7: Personal and biographical files
- Series 8: Subject files
Collection processed by Maggie Wander in the Center for Archival Research and Training
(CART) with assistance from Alix Norton, 2016. Most titles in this collection were derived
from the original folder titles as received from the donor.
To access the full-text PDF of Ray Dasmann's oral history on eScholarship, click the link
below:
Raymond F. Dasmann: A Life in Conservation Biology
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Conservation biology
Conservation of natural resources
Ecologists -- United States --
Archives
Faculty papers
Biologists -- United States --
Archives
Conservationists -- United
States
University of California, Santa Cruz. Environmental
Studies Department