Skip to main content

William Warne Collection

 Collection
Identifier: SPC-2007-006

Scope and Content

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.

Dates

  • 1905-2010
  • Majority of material found within 1933-1992

Creator

Access

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Publication Rights

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Biography

William E. Warne was born near Seafield, Indiana in 1905 and died in 1996. When Warne was eight years old, the family moved to the Imperial Valley, California, where he grew up on a dairy farm that was irrigated using Colorado River Water. In 1927, Warned earned a degree in English from the University of California at Berkeley; he then worked as a reporter for several California newspapers and for the Associated Press from 1925-1935, becoming the AP's expert on reclamation, water, and irrigation. In 1935, Warne took a position with the U. S. Department of the Interior, where he worked for the Bureau of Reclamation as an editor and chief of information until 1942. Warne then went on to serve as assistant director of the Division of Power from 1942-1943, and as assistant commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation from 1943-1947. In 1947, he was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Department of the Interior, a position he held until 1951. He served as United States Delegate at the Fourth World Power Conference in London in 1950. During his time with the Department of the Interior, Warne was responsible for several initiatives. He served as co-director (with Harlan H. Barrows) of the Columbia Basin Project Joint Investigations concerning the largest irrigation project in the West from 1939-1942, including the launch of the Grand Coulee Dam; coordinated the Missouri River Basin development program to promote irrigation and rural development (1944-1951); and headed the Federal Alaska Development Program (1947-1950) and the Navajo Indian Program. In 1951, Warne began directing technical assistance and economic development missions on behalf of the United States; this work included positions as country director of the Point Four Program in Iran (1951-1955); as director of the United States Operations Mission in Brazil (1955-1956); and as Economic Coordinator of the U. S. Command in Korea (1956-1959). Part of the Point Four Program involved planning for Iran's Dez dam. In Brazil, Warne directed studies of water resources development in that country's drought-stricken northeastern provinces. In Korea, Warne helped sponsor over 200 small rice irrigation projects. Warne's book about the Point Four Program, Mission for Peace: Point 4 in Iran, was published in 1956. Following his diplomatic service, by appointment from Governor Edmund ("Pat") Brown, Warne served as director of four state agencies in California: he was director of the California Department of Fish and Game from 1959-1960; the California Department of Agriculture from 1960-1961; and the California Department of Water Resources from 1961-1967; he was also the first administrator for the California Resources Agency (1961-1962), where he began coordinating water resources programs throughout the state. As Director of Water Resources for California, he played a critical role in the launch of the California State Water Project, the largest state-built water storage and conveyance system, formulating its facilities, initiating their construction, and shepherding the project through the state legislature in its critical early years. During this time, Warne also was appointed by President John F. Kennedy to serve as a member of the Federal Water Pollution Control Board, a seat he held from 1962-1965. To honor Warne's achievements, the Department of Water Resources dedicated its power plant at Pyramid Lake to him; the plant is named the William E. Warne Powerplant. In 1967, Warne took a position as a staff consultant in water resources with the Development and Resources Corporation of New York; he served as Vice President for Water Resources with this company from 1967-1969. While in this position, he was project manager for the Khuzestand Development Project and the Dez Irrigation Project in Iran. In 1967, he also gave lectures in water resources for the University of California-Davis's Regents Lecture Series. In 1968, Warne was elected to the National Academy of Public Administration, where he served for seven years as chair of the Academy's Environmental and Resources Committee, including on panels on energy and nuclear plant siting problems. Warne served on many commissions and boards relating to water, development, and pollution control. In 1969, he began a career as a private consultant, working on water supply and other projects in several states and countries, and in 1973, he became president of William E. Warne Associates, Inc. He served for six years on the California Water Quality Control Board, and for two terms as President of the National Water Supply Improvement Association, which advocates water desalination; in addition, he served on the board of California Association of Reclamation Agencies of Water (CAREW), a group concerned with water reclamation and reuse. Projects included consulting on the state water plan for the state of Washington and on economic development in Eastern Montana; proposing a statewide water resources study for the state of Minnesota; serving as advisor for the Five-Year Program for development of Egypt's Western Desert and as technical assistance expert in groundwater management and use for Argentina; and other consulting work in Iran, Pakistan, Vietnam, Morocco, Cyprus, Turkey, and Korea. In California, he also served as consultant for the Orange County Water District. Along with Mission for Peace, Warne wrote the book, Bureau of Reclamation (1973), as well as scores of articles, reports, and studies. Writings include reports written in his capacity as a water resources consultant, including "Comparative Review, Analysis and Evaluation of the Pacific Southwest's Water Resources Study, Part I and Part II" (1971); "General Petroleum Company (Cairo, Egypt): A Proposal of a Five-Year Program to Begin New Developments in Egypt's Western Desert Using Waters of the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer" (1977); and "A Proposal for a Comprehensive Plan for Desalination and Total Water Management in support of Community Development and New Agricultural Development with which to Stabilize the Energy and Industrial Parks in the Bandar Abbas Area of Iran" (1975), to name but a few titles and topics. Throughout his career, Warne wrote prolifically for journals and magazines, focusing especially on water development in California and the West and on desalinization. In circa 1986, Warne bought Geothermal Report, a newsletter that he considered to be, along with Water Desalination Report, the only running record of these technologies involving energy, water, and the West.

Extent

126 boxes

78 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

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 in his roles as assistant secretary from 1947-1951 and as assistant commissioner for the Bureau of Reclamation from 1943-1947; his work directing the Point Four Programs in Iran and Brazil and the United Nations Command in Korea in the 1950s; his positions heading the the California Departments of Fish and Game, Agriculture, and Water Resources, as well as the California Resources Agency, by appointment of Governor Edmund G. Brown in the 1960s; and his subsequent career as a water resources consultant from the 1960s on. 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. 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 as well as domestic water and energy issues.

Arrangement

Arranged in sixteen series:

  1. Series I. Biographical, 1939-2010
  2. Series II. Correspondence, 1933-1999, bulk 1950-1990
  3. Series III. U.S. Department of the Interior, 1933-1973
  4. Series IV. Point Four Program, Iran, 1951-1972, bulk 1951-1956
  5. Series V. Point Four Program, Brazil, 1955-1959
  6. Series VI. United Nations Command, 1957-1966
  7. Series VII. California Department of Fish and Game, 1958-1960
  8. Series VIII. California Department of Agriculture, 1959-1961
  9. Series IX. California Resources Agency, 1961-1963, 1965
  10. Series X. President's Water Pollution Control Advisory Board, 1961-1965, no date
  11. Series XI. California Department of Water Resources, 1951-1982, bulk 1961-1967
  12. Series XII. Water Resources Consulting, 1965-1994, bulk 1967-1992
  13. Series XIII. Reports and other Publications, 1959-1980, no date
  14. Series XIV. Photos and Photo Albums, 1905-1975
  15. Series XV. Audio, 1954-1958, no date
  16. Series XVI. Films, 1967, no date

Acquisition Information

This collection was initially donated by William Warne and by his daughter, Margaret Warne Monroe, to the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming. In 2007, the American Heritage Center donated the collection to Archives and Special Collections at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

Processing Information

Materials were processed and arranged by Erin Kurinsky in 2010.

Title
Inventory of the William Warne Collection
Status
Completed
Author
Finding aid prepared by Sue Tyson
Date
©2011
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the California State University Dominguez Hills, Gerth Archives and Special Collections Repository

Contact:
University Library South -5039 (Fifth Floor)
1000 E. Victoria St.
Carson CA 90747
310-243-3895