Environmental Defense Collection
Manuscript Collection 232

Scope and Content Note

The archive of the Environmental Defense Fund documents work of the organization from its inception in 1967 to the last year of President Brown’s tenure in 1983. The bulk of the material is litigation papers and supporting research. Also included are: testimony and statements before governmental committees; media and public relations records; and memoranda and minutes of the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees.

The administrative communications and litigation files concentrate on 1972-79. During this period, EDF opened new offices, changed Executive Directors, finalized the structure of the programs, and increased in membership. The organizational years 1967-69 are represented by the certificate of incorporation, the EDF prospectus, and the minutes of the Board of Trustees beginning in 1970.

The records of the Executive Directors consist of copies of memoranda about programming, activities of the various regional offices, and clippings related to research topics.

The communication files derive from the media, fundraising and office level communication of EDF.
There are gaps in the annual reports of the 1970s. The annual reports released in the 1980s are not yet archived. The EDF Letter is the newsletter to members and began publication in 1970. The EDF public information department kept members informed about the activities of EDF and explained the government’s role in projects that affected the environment The newsletters are complete through the 1979, there are sporadic issues from the 1980s and 1990s. The files also contain early EDF brochures, ads and press releases from 1970 and 1972. Including within the communications files are bulletins from each of the offices that detailed the activities of said office.

There is also a sample of EDF grant proposals for the Ford Foundation, the George Gund foundation, the Dodge Foundation and others.

The program files are divided into two sections: scientific/policy papers and legal papers. The scientific papers are collection of government documents, environmental impact statements, reprints and manuscripts compiled by staff scientists. This research was the basis for testimony in hearing and cases, research papers and publications, monographs, and position papers. Also included are EDF publications on various topic such as: acid rain, the ozone hole and dams and reservoirs.

The legal papers are the crux of the archive as it stands now. Although EDF has shifted tactics in recent decades, the original focus of combining scientific and legal expertise is represented in the legal files. Below is a sample of the major holdings in the archive:

Channelization:
Atchafalaya River Basin (Louisiana)
Cache River Channelization (Arkansas)
Obion/Forked Deer River Basin (Tennessee)
Tennessee Tombigbee Rivers Waterway (Mississippi/Alabama)

Pesticides:
Aldrin Dieldrin cancellation
DDT cancellation

Dams and Reservoirs:
Columbia Dam, Duck River (Tennessee)

Land/Water Use:
Marco Island development (FL)
Pinelands NJ Management Plan
Wastewater Disposal (Southwest sewer district no. 2 on Long Island)

Energy:
Coal Conversion of NY plants Arthur Kill and Lovett
Electric rate design (MI, NY)
Mining and reclamation of the west
Trans Atlantic Pipeline System

The records are divided into record groups according to the office of origin. The structures of the programs are inter-disciplinary with members scattered among the geographic offices.

The archive is divided into the following record groups:

Record Group 1: Founding Members’ Manuscript Collections
The record group contains collections of clippings and reprints on DDT and minutes of the Nassau Suffolk Regional Planning Board pertaining to environmental issues on Long Island. Additionally, the subject files reflect the activities of EDF.

Record Group 2: New York Office
The New York office contains documentation of the origin of EDF, as well as litigation records focused on land and water control cases and a collection of environmental impact statements representing nationwide projects.

Record Group 3: Washington DC Office
The Washington DC office contains documentation of the DDT, aldrin dieldrin, heptachlor/chordane and 2,4,5-T cancellation hearings that took place in 1971-72. Also present are records pertaining to strip mining in Montana, the Trans Alaska Pipeline System and the protection of Antarctica.

Record Group 4: California Office
Established in 1971, the California office contains records on the integrated pest management program in California, Allen Warner Valley power system, energy conservation and nuclear power plants, Pacific Gas and Electric rate design cases, and the Auburn Folsom Dam.

Record Group 5: Colorado Office
Established in 1974, the Colorado office focused on mining and reclamation, oil shale leasing in the west with an emphasis on air and water quality, the Colorado River storage project, Tennessee Valley Authority Duck River project, and Industrial Water marketing.

Currently, the NY office is the only fully processed record group. Currently, the NY office is the only fully processed record group.