The collection contains more than 300 color slides, mainly of the 1969 Santa Barbara Oil Spill and its aftermath. Included are images of oil rigs, shoreline, beaches, oil soaked birds and animals, clean-up efforts, and some aerialviews. There are duplicates of some images. Most were taken January-Feb. 1969, but some are as early as 1963 (mainly nature images) and others as late as 1976 (mainly oil spill aftermath). Some slides have a Dick Smith stamp.

Richard J. [Dick] Smith was born in Minnesota on Aug. 29, 1920. He came to Santa Barbara County in 1948, got a job at the Santa Barbara News-Press as Promotion Manager and continued to work there part-time, spending the rest of his time hiking the backcountry. Over the years he came to be known as Santa Barbara County's foremost backwoodsman and a local wilderness area bears his name.

.3 linear feet (1 flat oversize box)

Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Research Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Research Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Research Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.

The collection is open for research.