Inventory of the Gordon Fox Papers, 1954 – 1982

Descriptive Summary

Abstract: Gordon Fox (1908-1990) was a forestry consultant and international forestry expert. These papers document his work through consultancy files (organized by country or organization), Fox’s research files, and some personal material.

Title: Gordon Fox Papers, 1954 – 1982 (bulk 1964-1980)

Creator: Fox, Gordon D.

Repository: Forest History Society Library and Archives

Call Number: 2015-015

Language of Material: Material in English and Spanish

Extent: 26 linear feet (48 archival boxes and 1 oversize box)

Biographical Note

Gordon Fox was born in Michigan in 1908. He graduated from Michigan State College in 1931 and subsequently obtained a Master’s in Forestry from Yale in 1933, and later a M.A. in public administration from American University. He began a long career with the U.S. Forest Service in 1933 and held a variety of positions until his retirement as Associate Deputy Chief in 1971. Fox was a fellow and member of the Society of American Foresters and was also instrumental in the reactivation of the International Society of Tropical Foresters.

Fox had a long and productive career in international forestry. It began in the Forest Service with an assignment as Mission Chief for a project in the upper Amazon of Peru in 1942 where he was in charge of the location and production of Chinchona bark for use in the treatment of malaria. He also served with the Board of Economic Warfare in Puerto Rico, surveying the forest lands of Central and South America. International projects were spotted throughout his Forest Service years and became particularly numerous after his retirement from the Forest Service in 1971. At least 28 projects can be identified covering experience in 14 countries. Fox’s international experience covered such activities as acting head of the United Nations Development Programme’s technical forestry unit in New York; consultant in forestry to international and technical assistance institutions (for example, the Inter-American Development Bank, FAO, and AID); a reorganization plan of a forestry agency in Newfoundland; formulation of long range forestry programs and assistance needs in a number of Latin American countries; a study of organization and management of natural resource agencies in Iran; and development of a policy guide for preparing and evaluating loan applications on forestry projects to the Inter-American Development Bank.

Collection Overview

The Gordon Fox papers document his work as a forestry consultant. Fox worked with many international groups and agencies, including the Inter-American Development Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, and the Agricultural Development Council. His work was primarily focused on tropical forestry. The collection includes consultancy files (organized by country or organization), Fox’s research files, and some personal material. Material is in English and Spanish.

Collection Arrangement

Material organized into four series.

1. Consultant Work by Country, 1954-1980
2. Consultant Work by Organization, 1965-1982
3. Research Files, 1961-1982
4. Personal Files, 1967-1972

Subject Headings

Agricultural Development Council
Agroforestry
Exotic forestry
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Forestry consultants
Forest products industry–Developing countries.
Forest products industry–Latin America.
Forestry projects–Developing countries.
Forestry projects–Latin America.
Fox, Gordon D.
Inter-American Development Bank
International Society of Tropical Foresters
Society of American Foresters
United Nations Development Programme
United States. Agency for International Development
United States. Forest Service

Detailed Description of the Collection

1. Consultant Work by Country, 1954-1980.

Gordon Fox was hired as a consultant to advise on the development of reforestation projects and forestry programs in Latin American countries. Materials pertain to his work involving forestry organizations, forest policy implementation, and forestry investment opportunities in several different countries. Items may include correspondence, financial statements, field notes, reports, manuals, feasibility studies, timber evaluations, forestry research papers and studies, pamphlets and maps.

Box 1
General – Central America, 1966-1969
Box 2
General – South America, 1976-1980
Box 3
Argentina and Brazil, 1964-1969
Files contain information on industrial and consulting firms, technical data, correspondence, notes, reports, bulletins, pamphlets pertaining to the business and development of forestry in Argentina and Brazil. Some of the material is in Spanish.
Box 4
Canada and Chile, 1954, 1965-1972
Includes a Canadian Forestry Service Information report entitled: “Reforestation and Afforestation Research in Newfoundland: 1950-1968” by D.E. Nickerson of the Forest Research Laboratory in St. John’s, Newfoundland. August 1969.
Box 4-6
Colombia, 1968-1971
Holds a forest industry feasibility study, a technical report on disease susceptibility of tree species in Colombia, a research report on tree species identification and use, proposals on the development of wood products exports, and a presidential decree by the president of Colombia regarding foreign investments.
Box 7
Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, and Ecuador, 1964-1977
Box 8-10
El Salvador, 1968-1977
Contains two reports written by Fox when he was Associate Deputy Chief of the Forest Service: “A National Forestry Program for El Salvador” (1969, 1970). And a report from the Secretary General of the Organizacion de Los Estados Americanos in 1974 concerning agricultural zoning in El Salvador. Items also include correspondence, notes, reports, and maps.
Box 11
Guatemala, 1964-1971
Box 11-15
El Salvador, 1968-1977
Contains some reports, appraisals, and correspondence regarding the beetle epidemic in Honduras in 1964. Other files include several bound technical reports (some in Spanish, some in English) concerning forestry areas and forestry projects in Honduras as well as a few maps of timber locations, photographs, correspondence, and notes. Some items pertain to a pulp and paper project and to the development of a national forestry program in Honduras.
Box 15
Indonesia, Iran, and Jamaica, 1966-1975
Box 16
Mexico, 1963-1972
Includes promotional pamphlet and promotional coloring book about “Oso Simon” and forest fire prevention, and more.

A coloring book promoting forest fire prevention with “Oso Simon” and friends.

A promotional pamphlet for the Junior Forest Rangers of Mexico.
Box 17
Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, and Peru 1956-1976
Includes “Report of Expert on Tropical Timber Grading” by Richard N. Jorgenson, Principal Wood Technologist of the USDA Forest Service. June 1969.
Box 18
Philippines, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Yugoslavia, 1965-1973
Includes “Report of Travel to Republic of the Philippines” by A.D. Freas, Assistant Director, Timber Utilization Research, Forest Products Laboratory of the USDA Forest Service. March 1973.

Politica Forestal.

2. Consultant Work by Organization, 1965-1982.

Fox collaborated on projects with many agricultural, forestry, and world aid agencies. These files are arranged alphabetically by organization, and hold correspondence, contracts, reports, and other material used by Fox on various projects. Researchers should consult Series I as well for a fuller picture of Fox’s work.

Box 19-20
Agency for International Development, 1965-1973
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is the United States Government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. The Agency for International Development files (1969-1973) hold contracts, correspondence, studies, and papers regarding forestry in developing Latin American countries (including El Salvador and Ecuador). Box 20 holds National Inventory of Physical Resources publications for Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
Box 21
Agricultural Development Council, 1972
Holds minutes, correspondence, and papers regarding government incentive programs for forestry.
Box 21
American Forest Congress
6th American Forest Congress materials, 1973-1974. Includes government Resources Planning Act drafts (1974), speech transcripts, and brochures.
Box 21
American Management Association
Publication: “Operations Research Applied: New Uses and Extensions,” 1957.
Box 21
Executive Management Service, Inc.
EMSI was a management consultant firm which assisted in solving transportation problems in developing countries. The files primarily consist of correspondence dating from 1971 to 1972 regarding timber concessions in Honduras.
Box 22-23
Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo/The Inter-American Development Bank, 1962-1974
Correspondence, loan documents, and papers depicting the policy and operative criteria for the Bank’s operation in the filed of forestry development in Latin America.
Box 23-24
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
The FAO participated in a cooperative program with the BID in 1975. Gordon Fox was a paid consultant on the project. Files include contracts, notes, and correspondence regarding the project, which involved tropical forestry utilization research, namely the problems facing utilization of the heterogeneous forests of Latin America. Holds bank publications (in Spanish), notes, data sheets, a copy of the BID Five-Year Plan for Forestry, and the 1982 report “The Forest Sector: Country Reports.” Also holds reports to the United Nations (1958-1973), small industry facts and figures, and correspondence regarding the compilation of these reports.
Box 25
Green Thumb Inc.
Green Thumb, Inc. encouraged senior worker’s employment in rural America. Fox was a consultant to the executive Vice President of the group in 1977. He conducted a review of organization, personnel, and management practices within the organization. Files include reports, correspondence, and expense logs.
Box 26
International Society of Tropical Foresters, 1979-1981
Fox was a member of the Board of Trustees of the International Society of Tropical Foresters in the 1980s, and was involved with the re-launch of the organization after several years of inactivity. These files hold correspondence, meeting minutes, reports, and notes.
Box 27
Montgomery Soil Conservation District
Fox served as a consultant for this Rockville, Maryland project in 1978-1979 regarding stream erosion on a swim club property. File holds correspondence and reference maps.
Box 27
Natural Resources Defense Council, 1981
Publications regarding the conservation of tropical moist forests.
Box 27
Organization of American States, 1969
Notes and publication- Physical Resource Investigations for Economic Development: A Casebook of OAS Field Experience in Latin America, 1969.
Box 28
Renewable Natural Resources Foundation, 1972-1981
Fox was a founder of the Renewable Natural Resources Foundation in 1972. The folder includes general correspondence concerning accreditations and forestry policy and materials from a consulting project concerning the natural resources of Iran.
Box 28-29
Society of American Foresters, 1970-1982
Fox was the chairman of the SAF Committee on World Forestry from 1978 to 1979, and an active member in the organization-at-large. These files hold correspondence, member lists, by-laws, and seminar notes. The bulk of the material documents the activity of the Committee on World Forestry. Also includes files documenting the 1978 US Strategy Conference on Tropical Deforestation, notes, and general tropical forestry data.
Box 30-31
United Nations Development Programme, 1968-1977
Fox was a consultant for this aid project focused on Honduras and its forestry/forest industries development. The project was a joint effort of the United Nations Development Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The project produced a report titled “Honduras – A Survey of Pine Forests.” The files include copies of the report, travel expense forms, correspondence, contracts, and notes. Also holds a compendium of approved projects, special fund component lists, and Fox’s notes on various countries involved in the program. There are also reports from a 1977 Ecuador forestry consultancy project.
Box 32
United States Congress, 1969-1980
Copies of a 1980 congressional hearing on the role of international organizations and multinational corporations on tropical deforestation, and a copy of the 1977 Urban Trees Act hearing. Also holds Edward P. Cliff’s 1969 statement before congress on the National Timber Supply Act and Stephen Preston’s 1980s statement to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Box 33-37
United States Department of Agriculture – Forest Service/Soil Conservation Publications, 1970-1981
Holds forest service reports, tropical forest management documents, and general publications. RPA drafts, c. 1970-1981. Some publications are accompanied by notes.
Box 38
United States Forest Service, 1974
Publications on market prospects for Vietnam timber products in Japan, and a report on the Utilization of Secondary Species from Tropical Forests. There is also correspondence regarding drafts and work on the “Century of Federal Forests” publication. Copies of the “Forest Service History Line” newsletter, 1971. This newsletter was an internal communication between the history office and other departments with the goal of building awareness about Forest Service history.
Box 39
United States State Department, 1976-1979
Holds correspondence, reports, presentations, regarding the 1978 U.S. Strategy Conference on Tropical Deforestation. The conference was a joint effort between the Department of State and the Agency for International Development. There are also drafts of a resulting report: “The World’s Tropics: A U.S. Policy, Strategy, and Program.”
Box 40
Volunteers in Technical Assistance, 1977
Joint publication by VITA and the Peace Corps: Weber, Fred R. Reforestation in Arid Lands. Action/Peace Corps Program and Training Journal, Manual Series 5, 1977.

3. Research Files, 1961-1982.

Files in this series contain information on a broad range of subjects. The items may include correspondence, publications, conference proceedings, reports, papers, project guidelines, pamphlets, and data sheets and tables.

Box 40
University Publications, 1970-1979
Contains publications from universities involving forestry conferences or research projects. Including: “Product Development for Developing Countries: A Systems Engineering and Design Problem” by Joseph A. Rauch, School of Environmental and Resource Engineering, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University Syracuse, NY, 1972; “The National Forest: Its Organization and Its Professionals” by William H. McWhinney, Graduate School of Business Administration, Division of Research, UCLA, 1970; “Higher Forestry Education Program in Brazil” – Forestry Survey Team Report, Michigan State University/MEC Brazil Project, 1976; “Biological and Sociological Basis for a Rational Use of Forest Resources for Energy and Organics” – Proceedings of an International Workshop at Michigan State University, 1979.
Box 41
General Research Files, 1967-1974
Contains files with information on bamboo, conservation, consultants, forest firefighting, forest inventory, general forestry, and biological diversity. Also includes a publication: “U.S. Timber Resources in a World Economy” by John A. Zivnuska.
Box 42
General Research Files, 1969-1976
Various files with information on wetlands, wood fuel, wood preservation, and wood production and utilization. Materials include research papers, informational pamphlets, reports, and some correspondence. Research paper: “Water Management of Wetland Forests in the Southeastern U.S.A.” by Ralph A. Klawitter, 1969; “Wood Production in the Neotropics via Plantations” from IUFRO/MAB/Forest Service Symposium in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, September 1980. “Production Prices, Employment, and Trade in Northwest Forest Industries” by John W. Austin, U.S.D.A. Forest Service Forest and Range Experiment Station, Portland, OR, 1970.
Box 43
Forestry and Management, 1964-1973
Research files pertaining to forestry in developing countries, forestry education, and management firms.
Box 44
Forest Products and Reforestation, 1961-1970
Subjects include logging, pulp and paper, and reforestation. Files consist of papers, reports, guidelines, sample agreements, growth and yield tables, and other technical data.
Box 45
International Forestry and Forest Products, 1972
Contains five folders with papers, notes, correspondence, reports, technical data, and publications pertaining to international forestry. Also includes a special report on wood products in Montana from 1972.
Box 46
Tropical and International Forestry, 1971-1982
Contains miscellaneous papers on tropical and international forestry, including some publications and correspondence involving the International Society of Tropical Foresters. Also includes country reports from 1982 for a conference sponsored by the Inter-American Development Bank.
Box 47
Tropical Forestry and Tropical Forest Products, 1961-1978
Files relating to tropical forestry and tropical forest products. Items include informational reports, papers, technical ,and other. There are also several informational leaflets on various foreign/tropical tree species (uses, characteristics, identification, etc.) published by the U.S.D.A. Forest Service.

Sixty Trees from Foreign Lands.
Box 48
Tropical Forestry Conferences, 1969-1971
International and tropical forestry files including materials relating to a tropical forestry conferences in Syracuse, NY. Proceedings of the Conference on Transportation of Tropical Wood Products”, State University of New York, Syracuse, NY, November 16-18, 1971; Proceedings of the Conference on Tropical Hardwoods, State University College of Forestry, Syracuse University, August 18-21, 1969. Also one folder of correspondence, papers, etc. relating to this conference.
Box 49
Tropical Wood Products Conference, 1971
Conference on the Transportation of Tropical Wood Products – Syracuse, NY – November 1971 (3 folders). Contains multiple papers presented at the conference, as well as participant list, correspondence, etc.

4. Personal Files, 1967-1972.

Personal files hold correspondence, trip paraphernalia, invitations, and articles and papers written by Fox.

Box 49
Personal Documents, 1967-1972
Includes notes, correspondence, papers, and maps from Fox’s trip to Puerto Rico in 1967. Files also include articles and papers written by Fox and some personal correspondence from 1971-1972. There is also one folder of files pertaining to Stephen F. Austin University, which includes correspondence, research bulletins, and a research paper. Fox was invited by the School of Forestry to attend a dedication ceremony for their new forestry building in 1970.

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the authors of some items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Gordon Fox Papers, Library and Archives, Forest History Society, Durham, NC, USA.

Acquisitions Information

Materials donated by Mark Greene in February 2007.

Processing Information

Processed by Lea Tiernan and Jessamyn Leonard, 2015

Encoded by Staff, 2021

Support for digitization and outreach provided by the Alvin J. Huss Endowment.

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