ELWYN B. ROBINSON DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
CHESTER FRITZ LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA 58202
COLLECTION: OGL #1382
DATES: 1988-2000
SIZE: .5 linear feet
ACQUISITION: The Nature Conservancy of the Dakotas Records was initially deposited in the Orin G. Libby Manuscript Collection by Frank D'Andraia, Director of Libraries, Chester Fritz Library in 1998 (Acc. #99-2272). Additions to the collection were received on May 6, 1999 (Acc. #99-2294), October 18, 1999 (Acc. #99-2403), October 26, 1999 (Acc. #99-2404), (Acc. #99-2405) and on July 3, 2002 (Acc. #2002-2566).
ACCESS: Available for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Department of Special Collections.
In 1946, a group of scientists formed the Ecologist Union in order to preserve endangered ecological areas. Four years later, the organization changed its name to the Nature Conversancy and on October 22, 1951, the group was incorporated as a nonprofit organization in the District of Columbia. In 1955, the organization purchased 60 acres of land in the state of New York, its first conservation holdings.
The Conservancy is now an international nonprofit organization with agencies in all 50 states and in 27 countries and protects over 117 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of river around the world. In the Dakotas, the Conservancy protects nearly 100,000 acres of land in twelve different locations, the largest being the Cheyenne River Canyons located in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The largest land area in North Dakota is the Davis Ranch where the Conservancy is using grazing patterns of the bison for domestic cattle.
The Nature Conservancy is one of the top 15 charitable institutions in the nation with over one million members and supporters. Its mission is to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. The organization determines areas that need protection by using a scientific based approach called Conservation by Design. This approach uses strategies to improve priority conservation sites by addressing five initiatives: marine and freshwater conservation, global warming, fire, and invasive species.
The Nature Conservancy of the Dakotas Records dates from 1988 to 2000, and consists of correspondence, meeting minutes, publications, and newspaper clippings. Also included in the collection are financial statements, reports on Conservancy programs, and a handbook for volunteers. There are also two folders of Conservancy magazines and newspapers and a folder of annual reports. The folders are arranged alphabetically within the collection.
Box 1
Folder
Two posters describing wildlife indigenous to North and South Dakota were placed in the Oversized File Cabinets.
| Special Collections Home Page | Contact Special Collections | Chester Fritz Library Home Page |
|---|