Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Environmental group formed in 1978 by landowners in Clare County, Michigan in resistance to government plan to use pesticide to control gypsy moth population. The organization has since broadened its focus to include other environmental issues such as solid waste management, wetlands protection, the use of herbicides, concerns about toxic waste, and problems of pollution in Michigan. Series in this record group include organizational files, Eco Conferences, subject files, and related organizations. Organizational files includes minutes, newsletters, reports, correspondence, grant proposals, and other materials relating to the work of the organization. The Eco Conferences series documents annual conference bringing together speakers to lead talks and workshops. This series includes annual planning files and audiocassettes and videocassettes of the conferences. Subject files contains correspondence, reports, background information, and other information on environmental issues. Related organizations consists of files on other Michigan and local environmental groups.

The Citizens for Alternatives to Chemical Contamination record group provides an in-depth look at the life of a very active and influential Michigan environmental organization, for a period of nearly two decades -- from 1978 to 1997. While describing in particular the activities of one individual organization, the collection also lends itself to research about environmental issues and Michigan environmental organizations in general. The collection is arranged into four record series: Organizational Files, Eco Conferences, Subject Files, and Related Organizations.

Citizens action group concerned with health and environmental issues. Series in record group include Administrative, Grants and Proposals, Litigation, Topical, and Great Lakes and Water Resources Planning Commission.

The records of the East Michigan Environmental Action Council (EMEAC) comprise 8 linear feet of materials spanning the years 1969-1989. The records have been retained in the order maintained by the organization and consist of 5 series: Administrative, Grants and Proposals, Litigation, Topical, and Great Lakes and Water Resources Planning Commission. The collection documents the founding of EMEAC, its development and operation as an important grass-roots organization, as well as a variety of environmental issues affecting southeast Michigan.

Republican Governor of Michigan, 1962-1969; Presidential candidate, 1968; Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 1969-1972. Papers consist of extensive correspondence and subject files from his tenure as governor, campaign material, and files relating to service at HUD and his other political activities, includes photographs, films and videotapes and sound recordings.

The papers of George Romney document the many faceted career of an automobile executive, governor of Michigan, candidate for President, cabinet officer, and activist on behalf of volunteerism. In this electronic version of the finding aid to the Romney papers, there are six subgroups of materials. These are Gubernatorial Papers covering the period of 1962 to 1969, Pre-gubernatorial Papers covering the period before taking office in 1963, Post-gubernatorial Papers covering the period after 1968, records of Romney Associates (a group established during his bid for the presidency), Visual Materials covering mainly the period up to 1969, and Sound Recordings also covering up to 1969. There is some overlapping of dates, particularly around the time when Romney was first elected governor in 1962 and the period when he joined the Nixon administration in 1969. The researcher should also note that the papers of Lenore Romney are not part of this finding aid.

The Glen Sheppard Papers document the research and writing undertaken by Sheppard during his 40-year tenure as editor, publisher, and writer for the North Woods Call, a small conservation newspaper dedicated to the stewardship and protection of Northern Michigan's natural resources. The collection's three series contain Sheppard's articles and writings, press releases and newspaper articles written by others, government reports and publications, audio and visual materials.

The Glen Sheppard Papers comprises materials collected and maintained by Glen Sheppard over the course of his career as editor and writer for the North Woods Call. The collection is divided into three series entitled Topical Files (First Alphabet), Topical Files (Second Alphabet), and Visual Materials. The Topical Files (First Alphabet) series contains materials on a greater array of topics than the Second Alphabet, though the latter is the larger of the two series. The two Topical files have been kept separate in accordance with Sheppard's own filing system. Materials within topical headings have likewise been maintained largely as Sheppard had organized them. Photographs are found interspersed with other materials in various topical files throughout the collection. The Visual Materials series comprises photographs, negatives, and maps that have been filed separately from the rest of the collection. A large proportion of the photographs in this series are alphabetized according to topic. Such topics include wildlife (namely birds, fish, and game animals), hunting and fishing, people (mainly politicians and important figures involved in Michigan conservation), and landscape photographs.

The Topical Files are primarily composed of various drafts of articles, press releases and newspaper articles written by other environmental journalists, research materials and notes, correspondence (mainly faxes), and photographs. The collection also contains a great deal of material pertaining to various government agencies, including bills and acts of legislation, memoranda, interoffice communications, reports and research studies, and pamphlets and other literature published and distributed by said agencies. These agencies include government bodies devoted to conservation issues, chief among which is the DNR (Department of Natural Resources). Other government agencies represented in this collection include the NRC (Natural Resources Commission) and the DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality). The collection also contains selected clippings from the North Woods Call along with logistical papers pertaining to the Call's operation.

The collection features materials on a broad array of topics of environmental import for the state of Michigan. The First Alphabet and Second Alphabet series feature articles, reports, environmental impact statements, and resource management plans pertaining to environmental issues impacting particular Michigan towns and counties. Such issues include the impact of corporations, factories, oil and gas resource exploitation, and pollution. The collection also includes files on the topics of land use management, water resource management, fisheries management, and Native American rights to Michigan's natural resources. The collection contains Sheppard's researches on Michigan flora and fauna (concentrated in the Second Alphabet series), with particular emphasis on deer, wolves, bears, and various species of fish. Sheppard's researches also include coverage of endangered wildlife, invasive species, and zoological diseases. The collection contains articles and research materials concerning hunting, fishing, tourism, and outdoorsmanship. Michigan's islands, rivers, lakes (particularly the Great Lakes), national and state parks, nature preserves and conservancies, wilderness areas, and wildlife refuges are all well represented in the collection (mainly in the Second Alphabet series). The collection also includes papers pertaining to the administrations of Michigan governors John Engler and Jennifer Granholm.

Republican member of the Michigan state legislature (House and Senate, 1971-1990); governor of Michigan (1991-2003); active member of the Republican Governors' Association and the National Governors' Association. The Engler collection consists primarily of materials created and maintained by Governor Engler and his staff during the period when he was governor, 1991-2003. Other records include papers from his several terms in the Michigan House and the Michigan Senate. The collection includes papers files, photographs, sound recordings, videotapes, memorabilia, and some electronic files. The gubernatorial files are arranged mainly by unit or functional responsibility within the governor's office. These series are Executive Office, Communications Division, Legal Division, State Government Affairs, Legislative Affairs Division, Operations Division, External Affairs, Scheduling, Washington DC Office, and Office of the First Lady. Topics extensively documented include state welfare and school funding reform, reorganization of state boards and commissions, notably the restructuring of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and Republican party politics.

The John Engler papers are the most important source available for the study of Michigan's state government from 1991 to 2002. The collection is particularly strong on the topics of welfare and school funding reform, state government reorganization and the rising impact of the National Governors' Association in state and national politics. Engler's efforts to attract commerce to Michigan are also well-documented. The materials are arranged into two main subgroups: Pre-gubernatorial Papers and Gubernatorial Papers. The bulk of the material relates to Engler's gubernatorial career, therefore, the analysis that follows focuses primarily on this subgroup.

The materials in the "Gubernatorial Papers" subgroup are arranged according to the offices and subdivisions of the governor's office that created them. This means that the governor's speeches and press releases, for example, may be found within a grouping or "series" called "Communications Division," within the "Gubernatorial" subgroup, while legislative histories for various public acts may be found within the "Legislative Affairs" series.

While some kinds of documents were produced uniquely by one division, other kinds were produced in several divisions of the governor's office. The governor's correspondence, for example, was drafted and approved by several different staff members. Letters to important business and political leaders may be found within the "Executive Office" series, the "State Government Affairs" series, and the "Washington DC Office" series in particular. There no comprehensive chronological correspondence file.

In using the collection, the researcher should think functionally and ask who would have created the information sought. For example, the policy advisors in the State Government Affairs Division created individual topical files which gathered together correspondence and research materials to support briefing memoranda which they presented to the governor, while the speechwriters in the Communications Division often gathered different types of materials to help them shape the presentation of the same policies to the public.

Joseph L. Sax was a Professor of law at the University of Michigan from 1966-1989. Collection includes material relating to the passage of the Michigan Environmental Protection Act of 1970, materials from his career as a legal consultant on environmental issues, course syllabi, lectures, research materials, and manuscripts of published materials.

The Joseph L. Sax papers comprise a comprehensive collection of legislative history and documentation on the enactment of the "Thomas J. Anderson, Gordon Rockwell Environmental Protection Act of 1970" (MEPA). MEPA was originally drafted by Professor Joseph L. Sax of the University of Michigan Law School and was one of the first projects undertaken by the Law School's Environmental Law Society.

The papers collected herein should be useful to several groups. Students of the environmental movement have herein a rich source of information on the early activities of the movement in Michigan and the philosophies behind various-approaches to environmental control. Lawyers interested in the legislative history of the MEPA will find an extensive collection of documents tracing the bill's movement through a number of committees of the Michigan House and Senate. Arguments about many of the issues that continue to be raised in MEPA litigation are presented in full detail in materials in these files. Students of government and political science may discover documentation of value in studies of interest group politics and the legislative process. Other uses, not imagined by those who assembled this collection, no doubt will be made.

The project was motivated in part by requests made of Professor Sax and others by lawyers, historians, and legislators in the United States and abroad about the background of the Michigan Act. Professor Sax feared that the documents that he had collected, many of which are unique and irreplaceable, might begin to be scattered and/or deteriorate. Later, it was decided to supplement Sax's papers by assembling all available documentation in the state on the Michigan Environmental Protection Act. Materials in this collection trace the history of the Act from the first correspondence between the West Michigan Environmental Action Council and Professor Sax requesting that he draft a model environmental law, through the passage of the law by the Michigan Legislature and its signing by Governor Milliken on July 27th, 1970. The collection also contains post-enactment materials, including attempts to amend the bill, through April 1976. Plans are underway to add to the collection all relevant legislative and judicial documents relating to the law, its interpretation and amendment.

Highlights of the collection include the following: the original correspondence between Professor Sax and Mrs. Joan Wolfe relating to the idea for the drafting of a model environmental law in Michigan; correspondence on MEPA from the files of Representative Thomas Anderson in which he indicates his early hopes for and concerns over the Act and his strategy for shepherding the bill through the Michigan Legislature; various versions and drafts of the bill; analyses of the bill by the Governor's office and state agencies; and testimony delivered at public hearings on the bill. Also in the collection is a tape of the Senate Debate on the bill. (A complete listing of materials in the collection is found at the end of this document.)

Several sources contributed to this collection. The great majority of the material comes from the papers of Professor Joseph L. Sax on the passage of the Act and attempts to amend it. In addition, papers of Mrs. Joan Wolfe (who also has another collection in the Bentley Historical Library) were solicited and added. These include communications of the West Michigan Environmental Action Council at various points in the legislative consideration of the Act. Attorney General Frank Kelley indicated in a reply to a request for MEPA materials that most of the relevant documentation of the Department of the Attorney General on the Act had already been forwarded (courtesy copies) to Professor Sax. Requests were also made of the Executive office of the Governor, the Secretary of the Michigan Senate, and the West Michigan Environmental Action Council; any contributions from them will be added to the files when received.

An important supplemental source of information on the Act was found in Representative Thomas J. Anderson's papers on the MEPA in the State Archives of the Michigan History Division, Michigan Department of State: Personal papers, Thomas J. Anderson, [74-22, Accession boxes 403, 404, 405(B)]. Other materials from the State Archives were reviewed to insure that the MEPA Collection would be complete for legislative history and research on the State's environmental movement. Of relevance were House of Representatives, Standing Committees' Public Hearings, 1969-1973, [RG79-37, Lot 43, Box 1.) and House Committee, 1969-70, Conservation and Recreation [72-34, Lot 21, Box 4 and Box 51.

The State Archives material was not duplicated in total for this collection. Rather, those materials which record a significant event in the movement of the bill through the Michigan Legislature or highlight an important position on the bill by an interest group or governmental entity were reproduced for inclusion here.[7]Representative Anderson, who was the prime legislative mover in the passage of MEPA, received over 8000 letters or petitions about H.B. 3055. Many of these are included in his papers and are not found herein. Our efforts aimed to add to the Bentley Collection documentation from the Archives that would be of major interest to legal and history scholars.

[Archive material is noted in the files by a penciled asterisk (*) on the upper right hand corner of the document.]

Archive materials relating to MEPA after its passage were not searched for this study; there are several folders of post enactment materials and other relevant files in the Archives (e.g. 74-22 B405 FL "Newsclippings relating to H.B. 305511).

In 1982, the library received additional materials regarding the Michigan Environmental Protection Act. This new material collected by Professor Joseph Sax largely concerns similar kinds of legislation enacted in other states. Included are correspondence and legislative materials

In 1986, the library received an additional 13 feet of material, mainly case files detailing litigation arising out of the Act. The most important of these cases was perhaps the so-called Pigeon River case (West Michigan, Environmental Action Council v. Natural Resources Commission).

In 2014, the library received an additional 16 feet of material. This addition is organized into four series: Case Files, Teaching Materials, Travels and Lectures, and Publications and Research. Each series is further arranged in chronological order by year. Additional material related to this accession has been added to the Correspondence and Related Materials series, which includes correspondence from 1986-1998, a diary from a 1979 visit to Japan, and a copy of the finding aid from the American Heritage Center's Joseph L. Sax papers.

Michigan Citizens Against Toxic Substances (MCATS) was a grassroots environmental organization that was formed in response to a proposed hazardous waste disposal facility in Augusta Township, Michigan. MCATS raised awareness in the surrounding communities about the dangers against such a facility, through technical research, meetings, press releases and various other activities. The records reflect MCATS’ active opposition against the proposed hazardous waste facility.

The records of Michigan Citizens Against Toxic Substances relate to its activities as a grassroots environmental organization. The material documents their active opposition to the proposed hazardous waste disposal facility on top of the Arkona Road Landfill. The bulk of the record group dates from the creation of MCATS in 1989 to 1998 when plans for the facility were withdrawn.

The Lansing-based Michigan Environmental Council (MEC) formed in 1980 to coordinate lobbying and other member activities, distribute information, and monitor the environmental policies of state government. More recently, the council has focused almost exclusively on distributing information, directing funding, and building broad consensus on land use issues. The MEC records include information on significant environmental issues in Michigan as well as administrative papers pertaining to the council's operation.

The Michigan Environmental Council records depict the incremental growth of one of Michigan's pre-eminent environmental organizations. In addition to administrative records dealing with the council's operation, the record group also contain information on key environmental issues, major council initiatives, and MEC members. These records therefore will be of value to those interested in the environmental movement, Michigan legislative process, and the development of non-profit organizations.

The Michigan Natural Areas Council papers document environmental advocacy activities in Michigan from the mid 1940s through 2006. The record group includes numerous reports and articles on natural areas in Michigan, legislative proceedings regarding those areas, photos, slides, correspondence between Michigan's myriad environmental groups, data collected on the natural areas, and maps.

The MNAC records are organized into three series: Administrative Files, Natural Areas Files, and Site Files. The record group documents the Michigan Natural Areas Council's activities and structure from 1934 to 2006, including some materials relating to the MNAC's administration and organization. The bulk of the files relate to the group's efforts to identify and dedicate natural areas in the state of Michigan. There is also some information relating to other Michigan naturalist groups that worked with MNAC members.

The Michigan Nature Association is a non-profit organization concerned with nature education and the purchase and maintenance of land throughout the state for the establishment of natural sanctuaries. The record group includes early papers of the organization, administrative files, correspondence, property and land files, topical files, publications, some visual materials, and legal materials associated with their opposition to the construction of transmission lines in a nature sanctuary.

The Michigan Nature Association records include early papers of the organization, administrative files, correspondence, property and land files, topical files, publications, some visual materials, and legal materials associated with their opposition to the construction of transmission lines in a nature sanctuary. The record group has been arranged into the following series: Early papers, Administrative, Correspondence, Topical files, Publications, Visual Materials, Bertha Daubendiek personal papers, and Litigation files. Most of these files were maintained by Bertha Daubendiek, a founder and secretary-treasurer of the organization.