William Warne Collection

The William E. Warne Papers document the breadth and duration of Warne's multifaceted career as a leading federal and California state official specializing in water reclamation, water resource issues, natural resources, and international as well as domestic development; as a diplomat directing U. S. economic and technical development programs in the Middle East, in Asia, and in Latin America; as a prolific writer and researcher focusing on water reclamation and natural resources and on international development and technical assistance; and as a consultant in water and natural resources policy. The collection comprises primarily correspondence; reports; articles; speeches; and photographs detailing Warne's service for the U. S. Department of the Interior, including the Bureau of Reclamation; the Point Four Programs in Iran and Brazil and the United Nations Command in Korea; and the California Departments of Fish and Game, Agriculture, and Water Resources, as well as the California Resources Agency. The collection provides an in-depth view of evolving water and natural resources policy in the United States from the 1930s until the 1990s, and captures thinking around the development of major dams (including the Grand Coulee Dam; the Shasta Dam; and the Oroville Dam); of irrigation, flood control, and water transport systems; and of water resources in the Western United States and in California, especially as seen in the California State Water Project, described by the California Department of Water Resources as "the nation's largest state-built water and power development and conveyance system." The collection contains article series about the State Water Project and on water and growth, particulary in California; it also includes articles, press releases, and other materials about the William E. Warne Powerplant. The collection documents Warne's efforts to develop alternative water and energy resources, as seen in his work concerning desalination and on geothermal energy, and for the protection of water resources, as seen in his work with the Water Pollution Control Advisory Board. The collection also contains materials reflecting Warne's work as a water resources consultant from 1967 on, including with the Development and Resources Corporation. Materials include a draft agreement between the Khuzestan Water and Power Authority and the Development and Resources Corporation concerning agribusiness advisory services; articles and reports on energy, irrigation, water resource development, water reclamation technologies, dams and dam safety, water pollution and water quality control, pesticides, the Columbia Basin Project, progress reports on the State Water Project, desalination, the Peripheral Canal, the Grand Coulee Dam's 50th anniversary, and the Baldwin Hills Reservoir; and articles by Warne on Western regional water planning, water scarcity, drought, geothermal energy, water policy, dams, water transfers, water reuse, the Colorado River, and irrigation and drainage. Topics in the collection also include soil conservation, water allocation for agriculture, and relations between agriculture and business; the effects of population growth on fish and game animals and on natural resources; the role of the state in natural resource management, including in coordinated state and federal planning concerning natural resources; the development of Alaska; and contemporary political issues, including files concerning the 1962 Brown v. Nixon and the 1966 Brown v. Reagan gubernatorial elections. Along with reports developed by the agencies headed by Warne, the collection contains reports and other publications from a wide range of agencies; these are gathered in the "Reports and Other Publications" series. Major topics of these reports and publications include the California State Water Project; the Dez Irrigation Project; water desalination; water quality; water reuse; flood control; environmental impacts; minerals; and energy. The series also includes Geothermal Report and other periodicals, as well as studies and reports concerning particular areas and regions, including the Lower Colorado Region; the Upper Colorado Region; the California Region; Great Basin Region; and Tracey's Landing. Along with materials concerning domestic issues, the collection is equally of interest to researchers examining the United States' international development and technical assistance work, as seen in Warne's leadership roles in the 1950s in the Point Four Program in Iran, with the United States Operations Mission in Brazil, and with the United Nations Command in Korea, and in subsequent international development work that Warne undertook as a consultant, particularly on dams and other development projects in Iran. Materials of interest to scholars studying U. S. technical assistance and the Point Four program in Iran include clippings about Warne and about the program, including in Iranian publications; articles by Warne in several publications, including the Foreign Service Journal, Desert Magazine, Film World Magazine, Land and People Magazine, and the Nation; files and correspondence concerning an article critical of the Point Four Program written by Bernard S. Van Rensselaer in Reader's Digest ("How Not to Handle Foreign Aid?"); and translations of articles about the Point Four Program from Iranian newspapers. The collection also includes reports on Iran concerning topics such as program development; agricultural production and trade; the Iran Foundation Inc.; natural resource development in the Khuzestan Region; and water resources development on the Gulf of Oman coast. Materials of interest to researchers studying development programs in Korea include articles from the Korean and American press; materials concerning the U. S. Information Agency official Charles Edmundson, who was fired from that agency after critiquing the Eisenhower Administration's diplomatic and economic aid policies; and reports and speeches on economic and technical assistance work, including Economic Coordinator's Monthy Summary Reports and reports published by the Office of the Economic Coordinator for Korea. Researchers interested in Warne's writing will find a range of articles on water and natural resources as well as on international development, including several detailing his service in Iran, as well as materials concerning his books, Mission for Peace: Point 4 in Iran (1956) and Bureau of Reclamation (1973). The collection contains notes, drafts, and galley proofs of the latter work, and also provides access to research materials Warne used for it, including concerning the Colorado River Basin/Central Valley Project; the Columbia River Basin; the Hoover Dam, and the Mission River Basin. The collection also includes reports written by Warne, including in his capacity as a water resources consultant, on topics such as the Pacific Southwest's water resources; the Upper and Lower Colorado Region; the California region; and a proposal to the General Petroleum Company in Cairo, Egypt, to begin developments in Egypt's Western Desert using waters of the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer, along with a daily log of this General Petroleum Company assignment. Correspondence covers the range of Warne's professional activities, and includes many noteworthy figures, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Robert G. Sproul, Henry "Scoop" Jackson, Loy W. Henderson (Ambassador to Iran), Ardeshir Zahedi, and Eleanor Roosevelt. Along with a perspective on his work with the Bureau of Reclamation and with the U. S. Department of the Interior; his diplomatic service and Mission for Peace; and his work as a California State official on natural resources and on water issues, the correspondence offers a view of international political developments. It includes letters to Hubert Humphrey regarding Korea, to Richard Nixon regarding Iran, and to Dean Rusk asking for U. S. intervention on behalf of Mohammed Mossadegh; it also includes exchanges with Governor Edmund G. Brown; with Abdolreza Ansari regarding the Iranian coup of 1953; and with Kermit Roosevelt regarding Roosevelt's book about this event, Counter Coup. As documents in the Biographical series indicate, Warne considered several aspects of his work to be particularly significant. Among these are his efforts to promote what he terms the "great dams"; his economic development work in Iran and Korea and his book, Mission for Peace; his service for the state of California by appointment of Governor Edmund G. Brown; and his leadership on the California State Water Project and on water and energy policy in the U. S. West and abroad. Among the collection's audio-visual resources are photographs documenting key events, including the aftermath of the 1915 El Centro, CA, earthquake; work on water resource projects and on major dams, including extensive documentation of the Oroville Dam; and meetings and gatherings with domestic and international leaders. Of particular interest are several photograph albums covering pack trips that Governor Edmund G. Brown undertook with Warne and with other state officials to various destinations in California in order to explore the state's natural resource development; included in one album are several photographs of Jerry Brown. The collection also includes many speeches, including by Warne; Governor Edmund G. Brown; William R. Gianelli (Director, California Department of Water Resources from 1967-1973); Ronald B. Robie (Director, California Department of Water Resources from 1975-1983); and Ronald Reagan.