Title: Wisconsin Ecological Society Records
Inclusive Dates: 1946-1979

Creator:

• Wisconsin Ecological Society

Call Number: Green Bay Mss 90; Audio 1060A

Quantity: 20.2 cubic feet (15 records center cartons and 13 archives boxes) and 1 tape recording

Repository:

Housed at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Archives and Area Research Center; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

UW-Green Bay Cofrin Library / Green Bay Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Records of the Wisconsin Ecological Society, a Green Bay, Wisconsin, group comprised of business and professional peoople, documenting their efforts to encourage rigorous enforcement of existing environmental protection statutes and to press for stronger legislation. Subject files include flyers, newsletters, correspondence, and other records and concern the society's activities in opposition to the U.S. Navy's Project Sanguine, water pollution by the paper and pulp industry, and the construction of nuclear power plants. Other concerns were air and water pollution generally, energy conservation, and land use.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-gb0090

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The Wisconsin Ecological Society (WES) was organized in April 1969 at Green Bay. It consisted of a small group of lawyers, scientists, and businessmen who actively sought to foster protection and maintenance of the environment. In 1970 the Society numbered 25 to 30 members. The bulk of the records span the years 1966 to 1979 and document WES participation in efforts to encourage rigorous enforcement of existing statutes and to press for stronger environmental legislation. The society sought compliance by the paper and pulp industry of water quality and effluent standards and vigorously opposed the U.S. Navy's plan to construct a one-way communications system in northern Wisconsin, known at various times as Project Sanguine, Seafarer and Project Elf. WES also opposed the construction of nuclear reactor power plants, urged the promotion of conservation, including recycling efforts, and encouraged the development and utilization of alternate forms of energy.

The records are divided into three series: Subject Files; Published Materials; and Clippings. The SUBJECT FILES, each of which is arranged alphabetically by topic, detail WES involvement in a wide variety of environmental causes and include flyers, bulletins and newsletters which were issued by WES as well as other groups and individuals; correspondence; and notes taken at hearings and conferences. Also filed here are copies of notices issued to inform the public that public hearings were going to be held by an agency of the State of Wisconsin or of the federal government; transcripts of the hearings; and findings, conclusions and orders which were issued primarily by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and its predecessors ordering rectification of a violation. Files titled legislation, statues, standards, rules and ordinances contain materials from federal, state, county and local governments including administrative rules.

The bulk of the material relating to Project Elf dates from 1969 to 1973 when it was known as Project Sanguine. The records document WES's own opposition as well as that of other opponents of the project. Attempts to force compliance by the Paper and Pulp Industry with water quality standards, as well as the industry's attempts to circumvent them, are documented in this subseries. Adjudicatory hearings were held between 1971 and 1974 before the U.S. environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concerning alleged dumping by the paper industry into Green Bay and other Wisconsin waterways. The Advisory Committee on Waste Disposal of the Wisconsin Pulp and Paper Industry consisted of industry and state representatives that met in Madison to discuss disposal methods for the industry's waste products.

The Neenah-Menasha Sewerage Commission and Kimberly-Clark data contains statistics documenting the amount and types of sewerage put into the Neenah-Menasha water treatment facility by Kimberly-Clark. The hearings transcript of Reynolds v. Fort Howard Paper Company presents testimony resulting from a 1970 suit filed by Robert “Toby” Reynolds, a Madison attorney, against Fort Howard arguing Fort Howard's treatment facilities were inadequate and ineffective, resulting in the discharge of raw sewerage into the Fox River in violation of state water quality standards.

The Water subseries primarily focuses on sources of pollution other than the paper industry. The EPA teaching tools file concerns an attempt to educate the public in the permit granting process and contains a cassette tape dated September 1973 entitled Clean Water-It's Up to You Now. Endeavors by N.E. Isaacson and associates to build dams and artificial lakes as part of development schemes in Adams, Burnett and Menominee counties faced opposition that is evidenced in the Isaacson Development Projects file. The Newwood Dam controversy stemmed from a dispute between residents of Lincoln County who lived along the Newwood River and the Wisconsin Valley Improvement Company, which sought creation of a dam along the river. Hearings held by the DNR as part of an effort to set standards for interstate surface water are covered in the 1967 Water Quality Standards Hearings. The folder relating to PLUARG, part of the International Joint Commission (Canada and the United States), contains information on workshops, notifications and invitations to hearings. Status of Orders indicate whether or not those found in violation of water quality standards are in the process of compliance with DNR clean-up orders. The Wisconsin River Restoration Committee was a citizens' group interested in the revitalization of the Wisconsin River.

The Wisconsin Ecological Society emphasis on the conservation of energy is clearly seen in the Energy subseries, particularly in regard to measures resulting from the dramatic increases in the price of oil as a result of actions taken by OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries). The Utilities subseries primarily documents hearings held as a response to various utilities' requests for rate increases, which WES generally opposed.

The debate over the Wisconsin Department of Transportation's proposal to construct Interstate Highway 43 through some prime farmlands and wetlands in the corridor between Milwaukee and Green Bay is documented in the Transportation subseries. Also included are materials detailing such concerns as surface paving and asphalt, alternate forms of transportation including mass transit, and bicycling.

The Air subseries contains materials dealing with efforts to clean up Wisconsin's air; while Land Use includes information on wetlands and solid waste. The Save Our Sylvania (Whitefish Lake) file in the Land Use Subseries documents the activities of a group of citizens in northeastern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan united in opposition to the proposed construction of a road through the Sylvania tract of the Ottawa National Forest in the Upper Peninsula.

PUBLISHED MATERIAL consists of magazines, journals, regularly published newsletters, and state and federal government reports, as well as special commission findings arranged topically. The bulk of the Nuclear Power material concerns the Three Mile Island accident of 1979. Non-Nuclear Power concerns primarily alternative forms of energy while Water concentrates on pollution and clean up of waterways. Land Use contains information on solid waste and wetlands while Paper and Pulp Industry deals with pollutants. The General subseries incorporates transportation, air pollution and utilities related documents.

CLIPPINGS are newspaper articles that have been placed in folders by decade from the 1950s through the 1970s. They have not been arranged by subject.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Robert Barlament, Green Bay, Wisconsin, April 1982. Accession Number: M82-191

Processing Information

Processed by Vivian Laflamme and Joanne Hohler, May 20, 1983.

Green Bay Mss 90	Series: Subject File
	Project Elf
Box   1 Folder   1	Articles, 1967-1973
Box   1 Folder   2	Correspondence, 1969-1977
Box   1 Folder   3	Flyers and newsletters, 1969-1978
Box   1 Folder   4	Memoranda, 1969-1971
Box   1 Folder   5	Miscellany, 1969-1970
Box   1 Folder   6	Notes and speeches, undated
Box   1 Folder   7	Press releases and statements, 1969-1971
Box   1 Folder   8	Reports and studies, 1970-1971
	Paper and pulp industry
Box   1 Folder   9	Adjudicatory hearings, 1971-1974
Box   1 Folder   10	Advisory Committee on Waste Disposal of the Wisconsin Pulp and Paper Industry, minutes, 1964-1965
Box   1 Folder   11	Articles, 1946-1976
Box   1 Folder   12-13	Correspondence, 1959-1977
Box   2 Folder   1	Findings, conclusions, and orders, 1950-1976
Box   2 Folder   2	Memoranda, 1949
Box   2 Folder   3	Miscellany, 1966-1976
Box   2 Folder   4	Neenah-Menasha Sewerage Commission and Kimberly-Clark data, 1958, 1968-1969
Box   2 Folder   5	Notes, 1966-1976
Box   2 Folder   6	Notices, 1967-1975
Box   2 Folder   7	Press releases and statements, 1957-1973
Box   2 Folder   8-9	Reports and studies, 1962-1971, undated
Box   2 Folder   10	Reynolds v. Fort Howard Paper Co., hearings transcript, 1970
Box   3 Folder   1	Testimony, 1969-1977
Box   3 Folder   2	Thilmany Paper and Pulp, 1969-1971
Box   3 Folder   3	U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, applications, hearings, and permits, 1970-1971
	Water
Box   3 Folder   4	Articles, 1957-1971
Box   3 Folder   5	Bibliography, undated
Box   3 Folder   6-7	Correspondence, 1954-1979
Box   3 Folder   8	Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), teaching tools, 1973
1060A/1	Clean Water - It's Up To You Now
Green Bay Mss 90 Box   4 Folder   1-5	Findings, conclusions, and orders, 1962-1970
Box   4 Folder   6	Flyers and bulletins, undate
Box   4 Folder   7	Fox Valley Water Quality Planning Agency, 1976-1979
Box   5 Folder   1	Hearings, 1969
Box   5 Folder   2	Isaacson development projects, 1969-1970
Box   5 Folder   3	Legislation, statutes, standards, and rules, 1967-1973
Box   5 Folder   4	Litigation, 1971
Box   5 Folder   5	Memoranda, 1959-1975
Box   5 Folder   6	Miscellany, 1967-1976
Box   5 Folder   7	Newwood Dam, 1959-1970
Box   5 Folder   8	1967 Water Quality Standards hearing, testimony, 1967
Box   5 Folder   9	Notes, undated
Box   5 Folder   10	Notices, 1962-1978
Box   5 Folder   11	Petitions, 1973
Box   5 Folder   12	Photographs, undated
Box   5 Folder   13	Pollution from Lake Use Area Reserach Group (PLUARG), 1978
Box   5 Folder   14	Pollution of Lake Michigan and Its Tributary Basin, conference summary, 1968
Box   5 Folder   15	Press releases and statements, 1966-1976
Box   6 Folder   1-2	Reports and studies, 1952-1974
Box   6 Folder   3	Reports, Door Drainage Basin, 1965
Box   6 Folder   4	Fox and Wolf Rivers, 1964-1968
Box   6 Folder   5	Lake Superior, 1966
Box   6 Folder   6	Manitowoc River, 1960-1969
Box   6 Folder   7	Oconto River, 1969
Box   6 Folder   8	Peshtigo River, 1962-1969
Box   6 Folder   9	Twin, Kewaunee, Duck, and Pensaukee Rivers, 1954, 1965
Box   6 Folder   10	Wisconsin River, 1964-1966
Box   6 Folder   11	Status of orders, 1954-1969
Box   6 Folder   12	Testimony, 1970, undated
Box   7 Folder   1	Thermal pollution, 1968-1973
Box   7 Folder   2	U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1973-1979
Box   7 Folder   3	Wisconsin River Restoration Committee, 1970-1971
	Nuclear power
Box   7 Folder   4	Articles, 1964-1978
Box   7 Folder   5	Congressional Record reprints, 1972-1976
Box   7 Folder   6	Correspondence, 1968-1976
Box   7 Folder   7	Designs, flow charts, and fact sheets, undated
Box   7 Folder   8	Flyers, bulletins, and newsletters, undated
Box   7 Folder   9	Hearings, 1968
Box   7 Folder   10	Legislation, statutes, standards, and rules, 1968-1975
Box   7 Folder   11	Litigation, 1970
Box   7 Folder   12	Memoranda, 1969
Box   7 Folder   13	Miscellany, undated
Box   8 Folder   1	Newsletters, U.S. Senator Mike Gravel, 1973-1975
Box   8 Folder   2	Notes, undated
Box   8 Folder   3	Notices, 1970-1972
Box   8 Folder   4	Nuclear Regulatory Commission, petitions and orders, 1970-1973
Box   8 Folder   5	Nuclear wastes, undated
Box   8 Folder   6	Press releases and statements, 1969-1976
Box   8 Folder   7	Reports and studies, 1967-1972
Box   8 Folder   8	Statistics, 1972-1977
Box   8 Folder   9	Testimony, 1975
Box   8 Folder   10	Thermal pollution, undated
	Energy
Box   8 Folder   11	Articles, 1970-1972
Box   8 Folder   12	Correspondence, 1970-1976
Box   8 Folder   13-14	Energy Conservation Advisory Council, 1974-1977
Box   9 Folder   1	Flyers, bulletins, and newsletters, 1973-1977
Box   9 Folder   2	Memoranda, 1972-1975
Box   9 Folder   3	Miscellany, undated
Box   9 Folder   4	Notes, undated
Box   9 Folder   5	Notices, 1973
Box   9 Folder   6	Press releases and statements, 1971-1979
Box   9 Folder   7	Reports, 1972-1976
	Utilities
Box   9 Folder   8	Legislation, statutes, standards, rules, and ordinances, 1973-1974
Box   9 Folder   9-11	Rate increases, 1970-1979
	Transportation
Box   9 Folder   12	Correspondence, 1970-1977
Box   9 Folder   13	Flyers, bulletins and newsletters, 1969-1979
Box   9 Folder   14	Legislation, statutes, standards, rules, and ordinances, 1969-1970
Box   10 Folder   1	Miscellany, undated
Box   10 Folder   2	Press releases and statements, 1970-1976
Box   10 Folder   3	Reports and studies, 1970-1974
	Air
Box   10 Folder   4	Correspondence, 1970-1979
Box   10 Folder   5	Legislation, statutes, standards, rules, and ordinances, 1969-1970
Box   10 Folder   6	Memoranda and notes, 1969-1977
Box   10 Folder   7	Notices, 1971-1974
Box   10 Folder   8	Reports, 1976-1979
	Land use
Box   10 Folder   9	Articles, 1973
Box   10 Folder   10	Correspondence, 1969-1978
Box   10 Folder   11	Flyers, bulletins, and newsletters, undated
Box   10 Folder   12	Notices, 1975-1976
Box   10 Folder   13	Press releases and statements, 1973
Box   10 Folder   14	Procedures, undated
Box   10 Folder   15	Reports, 1973
Box   10 Folder   16	Save Our Sylvania (Whitefish Lake), 1969-1970
	General
Box   10 Folder   17	Alaska Pipeline, 1972-1979
Box   10 Folder   18	Articles, 1969-1977
Box   10 Folder   19	Correspondence, 1969-1979
Box   10 Folder   20	DDT, 1969-1970
Box   11 Folder   1	Environmental impact statements, 1971-1975
Box   11 Folder   2	Flyers, bulletins, and newsletters, 1958-1979
Box   11 Folder   3	Legislation, statutes, standards, and rules, 1968-1974
Box   11 Folder   4	Memoranda, 1968-1977
Box   11 Folder   5	Miscellany, undated
Box   11 Folder   6	Notes, undated
Box   11 Folder   7	PCB contamination, 1975-1976
Box   11 Folder   8	Press releases and statements, 1967-1977
Box   11 Folder   9	Recycling, 1972-1977
Box   11 Folder   10	“Report on Preserving and Improving the Quality of Air, Land, and Water Resources,” 1971
Box   11 Folder   11	Reports, 1969-1973
Box   12 Folder   1	Student correspondence, 1971-1976
Box   12 Folder   2-3	Task Force on Environmental Protection, 1971-1972
Box   12 Folder   4	Wisconsin Environmental Protection Act, 1973-1975
	Series: Published Material	⇧
Box   13-16	Nuclear power
Box   17	Nuclear and non-nuclear power
Box   18-21	Water
Box   22	Land use and the paper and pulp industry
Box   23-26	General
Box   27-28	Series: Clippings, 1950s-1970s	⇧