Inventory of the Donald J. Zinn Papers, 1950 – 1982

Descriptive Summary

Abstract: Donald J. Zinn was an environmentalist and author. This collection documents his involvement with the President’s Advisory Panel on Timber and the Environment, Champion Paper’s Ecology Committee, and the 1974 conference “Forest Policy for the Future: Conflict, Compromise, Consensus.”

Title: Donald J. Zinn Papers, 1950 – 1982

Creator: Zinn, Donald J.

Repository: Forest History Society Library and Archives

Call Number: 2015-010

Language of Material: Material in English

Extent: 1 linear ft. (1 record carton)

Biographical Note

Donald J. Zinn received his bachelor’s degree in zoology from Harvard in 1933. He earned his master’s degree in zoology from University of Rhode Island in 1937, and his doctorate from Yale University in 1942. He was an Army Air Force veteran of World War II. He was a pioneer in the field of aviation physiology, and published several manuscripts on the subject.

During his University of Rhode Island tenure, from the 1940s until the 1980s, he was an associate of the Narragansett Marine Laboratory and was active in many scientific organizations. In the 1950s he began his long association with the National Wildlife Federation. He was elected its Northeast regional director in 1961, served as national president from 1967 to 1970 and was a member of the federation’s board since 1970.

Dr. Zinn was a leading environmentalist and the author of two textbooks, The Handbook for Beach Strollers from Maine to Cape Hatteras, and Marine Mollusks of Cape Cod. During the 1960s he hosted a weekly television program from Providence, on wild animals. In 1973, he was an adviser to the President’s Panel on Forestry and Forest Practices. He was also chosen by the U.S. Department of the Interior as a member of the North Atlantic Regional Technical Study Group investigating offshore oil and gas development.

From 1982 to 1984 he was an adviser to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers low-cost coastal erosion-control project. He helped to establish, and continued his work with the New England Natural Resources Center. He was a former director and board member of the Association for the Preservation of Cape Cod, and a former president of the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History.

Collection Overview

The collection includes reports, field notes, photos, correspondence, and other documents from Mr. Zinn’s involvement as a member of the President’s Advisory Panel on Timber and the Environment. Also included are reports, maps, and court documents from Mr. Zinn’s involvement on the Ecology Committee of Champion Papers attempt to establish a lumbering base on Admiralty Island, Alaska. Also included are resources from the 1974 Forest Policy for the Future: Conflict, Compromise, Consensus conference and a variety of articles, newspaper clippings, and forestry related newsletters.

Collection Arrangement

1. Series I: President’s Advisory Panel on Timber and the Environment, 1969-1974.
2. Series II: Admiralty Island, Alaska Project, 1950-1973.
3. Series III: Forest Policy for the Future: Conflict, Compromise, Consensus Conference, 1974.
4. Series IV: Miscellaneous Articles, News Clippings, and Newsletters, 1951-1975.

Subject Headings

• President’s Advisory Panel on Timber and the Environment
• Forests and forestry-Societies, etc.
• Admiralty Island

Detailed Description of the Collection

1. President’s Advisory Panel on Timber and the Environment, 1969-1974.

• Report of the President’s Advisory Panel on Timber and the Environment. April, 1973.
  President’s Advisory Panel on Timber and the Environment, 1972.
• Documents a visit to Weyerhaeuser Company: Mr. Zinn’s personal report containing notes and photographs (15 5×7 color photos and 19 8×11 color and black and white photos)
• Personal Correspondence and Congressional Records, 1969-1974.
  Holds Congressional Record January 29, 1974 S 667-672; Congressional Record November 8, 1973 H 9722; Congressional Record December 26, 1973 E 8272-8274; and correspondence.

2. Admiralty Island, Alaska Project.

• Maps
  • US Department of Interior Survey, 1950.
    • Sitka, Juneau, and Mansfield
  • Tongass National Forest Copper River Meridian, 1960.
  • Initial Operating Plan Map: Juneau Unit Timber Sale, Yakutat Division, 1965.
  • Juneau Unit Timber Sale Area: Map A, 1965.
    • October 1965 revision.
  • Lynn Canal Icy Strait to Point Sherman. October 16, 1967
  • Sitka Sound to Salisbury Sound. May 20, 1968
  • Admiralty Island, 1968
  • Tongass National Forest
• Court Papers
  • Summons in a Civil Action File Action No. A-16-70 Sierra Club vs. Clifford Hardin, Edward F. Cliff, and W.H. Johnson. February 10, 1970
  • Deposed affidavit by William Sheridan in case Sierra Club vs. Earl L. Butz No. A-17-70 Civil. September 12, 1973.
  • Deposed affidavit by Raymond Housley in case Sierra Club vs. Earl L. Butz No. A-17-70 Civil. September 19, 1973.
  • Response of the State of Alaska to Supplemental Memorandum of Plaintiffs in case Sierra Club vs. Earl L. Butz No. A-17-70 Civil. September 21, 1973.
  • Memorandum of Points and Authorities of Defendant Champion International, Inc. In Opposition to Motion for New Trial in case Sierra Club vs. Earl L. Butz No. A-17-70 Civil. September 21, 1973
• Reports
  • “Summary of Observations of Streams on S.E. Admiralty Island with Preliminary Evaluation of Proposed Logging.” Published by Richard Tyler, University of Washington. November 3, 1970
    • Also contains 94 black and white 3×5 photos of streams.
  • “Preliminary Survey of Log Dumps and Log Storage Areas in the First Five Year Logging Plan Admiralty Island” by Donald Weitkamp and Gregory Tutmark with the College of Fisheries at University of Washington. November 10, 1970.
    • Also contains 30 black and white 5×7 photos of locations discussed in the report.
  • “Implications for Wildlife of the 1968 Juneau Unit Timber Sale” by A. Starker Leopold and Reginald H. Barrett Published by the University of California Berkeley. November 15, 1972
• Miscellaneous
  • Newspaper clippings
    • “Focus on U.S. – The West: What’s Ahead” The Christian Science Monitor August 22, 1969
    • “Conservationists Help Pulp Mill” The New York Times September 21, 1969
    • “Sitka Site Loses Out in Contest” Anchorage Daily Times December 15, 1969
    • “U.S. forest plan favors loggers” Santa Barbara, Calif., News-Press July 30, 1973
  • Copy of letter from Mr. Zinn to C. Girard Davidson. September 14, 1970
  • Presentation to discuss Programs of the Bureau of Land Management 1970
    • Copy of presentation text with no slides
  • Alaska Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit Quarterly Progress Report Volume 21 No. 4 – April-June 1970
  • Tundra Biome U.S. International Biological Program – Summer 1970 Alaska Program
  • Memo from Mr. Zinn to Thomas Kimball dated September 29, 1970 – attached is article titled “The Long Pipe” by Ron Moxness which appeared in Environment magazine.
  • First Quarterly Report November, 1970 Wildlife-Logging Effects Study for U.S. Plywood-Champion Papers, Inc. Submitted by Reginald H. Barre
  • “Danger to Mosses and Lichens from Air Pollution,” 1971
  • Advertisement for Champion International, 1973.
  • Copy of newspaper article from Anchorage Daily Times dated May 10, 1973 titled “Sierra Club Asks For Court Review”
  • Copy of newspaper article from Anchorage Daily News dated May 14, 1973 titled “‘Most shocking’ Sierra wants timber review”
  • Wilderness Report, May 1973

3. Forest Policy for the Future: Conflict, Compromise, Consensus Conference, 1974.

May 8-9, 1974 conference in Washington, D.C.

• Itinerary for conference
• List of conference attendees
• Biographical information on presenters: Leonard Fischman, Nathaniel Rogg, Dwight Rettie, and P. Andrews Nixon.
• Conference Papers
  • “Administration and Financing of Forestry Programs,” John A. Beale, President of Society of American Foresters
  • “Forestry Investments for Multiple Uses Among Multiple Ownership Types,” John A. Zivnuska, School of Forestry and Conservation
  • “Administration and Financing of Forest Programs,” Bert L. Cole, Commissioner of Public Lands State of Washington
  • “Conflicts, Strategies, and Possibilities for Consensus in Forest Land Use and Management.” Marion Clawson, Resources for the Future
  • Comments by George R. Staebler on Marion Clawson’s paper Conflicts, Strategies, and Possibilities for Consensus in Forest Land Use and Management
  • “Future Demand for U.S. Forest Resources” by Leonard L. Fischman Resources for the Future, Inc.

4. Miscellaneous Articles, News Clippings, and Newsletters, 1951-1975.

• “The Application of Ecological Knowledge of Forestry” by Henry I. Baldwin The Scientific Monthly April 1951
• Resources newsletter published by Resources for the Future, Inc. June 1973
• Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. Newsletter Fall 1973
• Conservation News by National Wildlife Federation December 15, 1973
• Forest Users by American Forest Institute Winter, 1973
• “Ecological Forestry for the Douglas Fir Region” by Peter A. Twight National Parks and Conservation Association Washington, D.C.
• 74-S 2165 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations January Session A.D. 1974
• Report of President’s Advisory Panel on Timber and the Environment – Communication from the Deputy Director, Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President – House Document No. 94-93 April 7, 1975
• “The Changing Forest: Looking at the Future of the Maine Woods” A Special Report on Environmental Issues in Maine published by Natural Resources Council of Maine

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

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Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Donald J. Zinn Papers, Library and Archives, Forest History Society, Durham, NC, USA.

Processing Information

Processed by Amanda McMullen, May 2015.

Encoded by Lea Tiernan, May 2015.

Funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission supported the encoding of this finding aid. Support for digitization and outreach provided by the Alvin J. Huss Endowment.