JOHN CLARK SALYER PAPERS

The John Clark Salyer Papers are comprised of items from 1911 to 1970. The entire collection dates from Salyer's tenure with the Department of the Interior, where he served as Chief of Wildlife Refuges. Correspondence, reports, newspaper clippings, and maps are all included in the collection.

The Salyer Papers provide a window into the work of John Clark Salyer and his time at the Department of Wildlife Refuges. Superintendent's reports, inter-office notes, and correspondence from landowners proposing new refuges to be located on their lands, all provide information that is not otherwise readily available. The majority of the collection is arranged by state, then by alphabetical listing of refuge titles. Salyer's efforts as an author are also included in the collection. All of the articles in the collection focus on wildlife management topics. Other items gathered during Salyer's tenure with Wildlife Refuges can be found in series three (reference files). Series three is comprised of correspondence with contemporaries, topical files, and memos describing the Department of the Interior policies. The collection does not contain Salyer's personal papers, or items relating to his life outside of the Department of Wildlife Refuges.

This series makes up the bulk of the collection, and is comprised of reports, correspondence, maps, and other items from Salyer's tenure as Chief of Wildlife Refuges for the Department of the Interior. Much of the information addresses the establishment of wildlife refuges, but other topics include management of refuges, possible threats to refuge lands, and specific species in wildlife refuges. The material in this series is arranged by state, and alphabetically by the name of the refuges in each state.

Salyer wrote many articles about wildlife preservation and wildlife refuges in the United States. Some of these articles make up this series. Topics include waterfowl preservation, wildlife refuge management, and drainage of wetlands. Drafts of articles, correspondence, notes, and published copies comprise a portion of this series.

Throughout his tenure with the Department of the Interior, Salyer compiled many items not dealing with specific wildlife refuges. These files include correspondence, reports, newspaper clippings, and maps. General topics, such as wildlife management in national parks, waterfowl habitat, oil and gas leases on federal lands, and wildlife refuge legislation form part of this series. Specific topics such as individuals, organizations, and projects are also included in this series. All material is arranged alphabetically by subject.