Regional Oral History Office University of California the Bancroft Library Berkeley, California
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Regional Oral History Office University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California Sierra Club Oral History Series Doug Scott Campaigner for America’s Wilderness, Sierra Club Associate Executive Director Interviews conducted by Ann Lage and Kent Gill in 1990 and 1993 Copyright © 2013 by The Regents of the University of California ii Since 1954 the Regional Oral History Office has been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of Northern California, the West, and the nation. Oral History is a method of collecting historical information through tape-recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. The tape recording is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The corrected manuscript is bound with photographs and illustrative materials and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and in other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ********************************* All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between The Regents of the University of California and Doug Scott, dated December 5, 1990. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. Excerpts up to 1000 words from this interview may be quoted for publication without seeking permission as long as the use is non-commercial and properly cited. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to The Bancroft Library, Head of Public Services, Mail Code 6000, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-6000, and should follow instructions available online at http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/ROHO/collections/cite.html It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Doug Scott, “Campaigner for America’s Wilderness, Sierra Club Associate Executive Director ” conducted by Ann Lage and Kent Gill in 1990 and 1993, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 2013. iii Doug Scott, 2010 Courtesy of Pew Environment Group iv v Table of Contents—Doug Scott Interview history xiii Interview 1, November 19, 1990 Tape 1 1 Family and boyhood near Portland, Oregon—Disregard for authority, a family trait—Developing an interest in climbing with the Mazamas—A formative high school trip to Washington, DC, 1961—Williamette University, 1962-1964, majoring in history and English—Impact of mother’s death in 1962—Working as a dishwasher at Mount Rainier National Park—Park guide at Carlsbad Caverns National Park—Studying Forest Recreation at the University of Michigan, 1965- 1966—A trip to Isle Royale—Graduate school in forestry at the University of Michigan, avoiding the draft—Testifying at a public hearing on Isle Royale, 1967—First involvement with environmental groups, Wilderness Society, Aububon. Tape 2 20 Testifying on the Shenandoah National Park Wilderness Proposal—Continuing activism in graduate school—First lobbying effort on San Rafael Wilderness— The crucial summer of 1968, working on wilderness issues in Washington, researching the history of the Wilderness Act, and representing the Mackinac group of the Sierra Club—Observing the political process in Congress, the power of Wayne Aspinall—The valuable experience of being involved in both the grassroots and the national component of a campaign—The contribution of Wilderness Act implementation in the making of the environmental movement at the grass-roots and national levels—Return to graduate school in fall 1968, inheriting the job of conservation chair for the Mackinac Chapter—Background to the Sleeping Bear Dunes campaign. Interview 2, November 21, 1990 Tape 3 36 Catching Potomac Fever in summer ‘68, and setting sights on a career as an environmental advocate—Reigniting interest in a Sleeping Bear Dunes national park, building up relationships with congressmen and staff—Learning from history: finding a model in Howard Zahniser’s work with Congress on the Wilderness Act—Efforts to maintain the Wilderness Society’s tax-deductible status—Stirring the pot for Sleeping Bear Dunes with a letter-writing campaign— Securing the support of Governor George Romney—Presenting Sleeping Bear vi Dunes to the Sierra Club board, witnessing the Brower controversy firsthand, September 1968—The evolving position of local congressman Vander Jagt. Tape 4 54 Listening to Vander Jagt’s concerns about condemning private property for the national park—Building momentum for legislation in 1969, working all the avenues—Getting bipartisan support, and shepherding the bill through Congress, 1969-1970—Stirring up local support in Michigan congressional districts— Educational liaison specialist for the Wilderness Society, 1970—Passage of the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore bill, fall 1970—The significance and impact of the Sleeping Bear campaign on Scott’s future career—Compares the styles and evolution of Wilderness Society and Sierra Club. Tape 5 70 Comparing Sierra Club and Wilderness Society, continued—Financing parklands acquisitions under the Nixon and Johnson Administrations—Supportive people in the Nixon administration. Interview 3, November 26, 1990 Tape 6 77 Lobbying the Bureau of the Budget and the White House on Sleeping Bear Dunes—The origins in fall 1969 of the Ann Arbor teach-in on the environment, an expansive vision, antiwar movement organizational tools, becoming the prototype for Earth Day—A broad spectrum on the steering committee, Dow Chemical funding—Give Earth a Chance slogan—The five-day teach-in, March 1970, Gordon Lightfoot, cast of Hair, Arthur Godfrey, others—Spreading the message: role of the national Sierra Club and interest from the press—The radical element in the teach-in movement, and Scott’s commitment to working within the system—Going national, on the steering committee for Senator Gaylord’s national teach-in organization. Tape 7 95 On the youth panel for the 1969 UNESCO Conference on the environment—May 1970 to Washington for the Wilderness Society—Reflections on the impact and aftermath of Earth Day, a quantum jump in scale and a broadening of scope in the environmental movement—Joining the battle against the SST as Wilderness Society representative, 1970-1971: putting grassroots pressure on Senator Griffin—The significance of the successful SST campaign, first victory against “the industrial might”—Focus on implementing the Wilderness Act in Congress—The Park Service’s wilderness threshold theory and other obstacles to vii park wilderness proposals—Orchestrating congressional and White House pressure on Park Service director George Hartzog. Tape 8 114 Assessment of Hartzog as Park Service director—Pushing the Forest Service to protect de facto wilderness—Recommending Chuck Clusen, friend and fellow activist from Ann Arbor days, for the Sierra Club staff—Accepting the appointment as Northwest Representative for the Sierra Club, 1973. Interview 4, November 29, 1990 Tape 9 125 John McComb, friend and professional colleague—Staff restiveness and creation of the conservation department in the Sierra Club, 1979, as a vehicle for more disciplined campaigns—Becoming director of federal affairs as part of a quadrumvirate command structure over the conservation department—1983 reorganization, becoming associate conservation director under John McComb— Staff changes under Doug Wheeler as executive director, 1985-1986—Sierra Club’s loss of senior staff members to the Wilderness Society—Mike McCloskey’s singular contributions, a stabilizing force in the Sierra Club— Implementing the framework for a unified wilderness system, through the details of early wilderness bills, fighting insistence on “purity” in wilderness areas— Zahniser’s careful wording of the Wilderness Act, the meaning of “untrammeled.” Tape 10 142 The significance of the battle over eastern wilderness--The importance of precedents: early attention to details of Great Swamp Wilderness, Lassen National Park wilderness, and others—The Forest Service’s first Roadless Area Review and Evaluation, and legal and administrative challenges based on NEPA, 1971- 1972—Wilderness Society trainings for grassroots citizen-activists—Wilderness workshops, working around the Sierra Club’s bureaucracy and inwardness—The Washington staff of the Wilderness Society in early 1970s, Stewart Brandborg’s later dismissal as the society’s executive director—Deciding to leave the Wilderness Society for the West and the Sierra Club—The eastern wilderness issue. Tape 11 160 Wild areas or wilderness designation for “previously disturbed” eastern wilderness, a split in the conservation movement—How Washington works: influencing the Nixon administration, the administration and eastern wilderness bills. viii Interview 5, November 30, 1990 Tape 12 173 Hiring process for the Sierra Club Northwest representative—Staff and volunteer roles in the Sierra Club and the Wilderness Society—Perspective as a candidate for the Sierra Club board in 1971—Putting down roots in Seattle, engaging