BERNARD FRANK PAPERS
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
The primary topic of this collection is forest and watershed management and education in the United States, India, and Venezuela. The material originates from Frank’s teaching at Colorado State University (1960-1964), his consulting work in India (1959-1960) and Venezuela (1964), and his activities with the Soil Conservation Society of America. Only a few papers originate from his work with the U.S. Forest Service.
The collection includes Frank’s copy of Water, Land and People and Our National Forests, which have been marked for future revision. In 1963, Frank was responsible for program planning for the Soil Conservation Society of America’s annual meeting. Frank also served on the editorial board for the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation. Correspondence related to both the program planning and the editorial work is included.
This series contains material related to Frank’s employment with the U.S. Forest Service and Colorado State University, his work in India and Venezuela, and his activities with professional organizations. His papers from Colorado State University contain course curriculum, correspondence, committee meeting minutes, memoranda, and reference material. The material generated by his projects in India and Venezuela includes correspondence, manuscripts, reports, and reference material.
Frank’s publications focus on the issue of watershed management, the interrelationship of forest lands and water, and the use and abuse of these areas by people.
Dates
- 1950s-1960s
ACCESS:
The collection is open for research.
OWNERSHIP:
The Bernard Frank papers are the physical property of the Denver Public Library.
PUBLICATION RIGHTS:
All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from material in the collection should be discussed with the appropriate librarian or archivist. Permission for publication may be given on behalf of the Denver Public Library as the owner of the physical item. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained by the customer. The Library does not assume any responsibility for infringement of copyright or publication rights of the manuscript held by the writer, heirs, donors, or executors. Reproduction restrictions are decided on a case-by-case basis.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Bernard Frank was born in New York City on March 7, 1902. He was a forester, land economist, outdoorsman, and conservationist. After he earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in forestry from Cornell University, Frank began his career as a forest ranger in Quebec Province, Canada. In 1927, he joined the U.S. Forest Service as a forest economist. He was Assistant Chief of the Division of Watershed Management Research at the time of his retirement on January 3, 1959. While employed by the Forest Service, he also served with the Tennessee Valley Authority from 1934 to 1938.
After his retirement from the Forest Service, Frank spent a year in India assisting in research on forest influences under the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. This was carried out in conjunction with India's Forest Research Institute. Upon Frank’s return to the United States, he joined the faculty of Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins, Colorado, as Professor of Watershed Management. In the spring of 1964, Frank conducted a seminar in forest resources planning for La Universidad de los Andes, Merida, Venezuela.
Frank wrote over one hundred articles on forest economics, forest management, recreation, watershed management, and erosion and flood control. The University of Oklahoma Press published his book, Our National Forests, in 1955. With co-author, Anthony Netboy, Frank received an award from the American Association for Conservation Information. The award was given for outstanding service to conservation through the authorship of their book Water, Land and People (Knopf, 1950).
Frank was one of the founders of the Wilderness Society, a Fellow of the Society of American Foresters, a Fellow of the Soil Conservation Society of America, a member of the American Geophysical Union Section of Hydrology, the Sierra Club and the Colorado Mountain Club, among others. He was also an active member of the Rock Creek Watershed Association. Frank participated in the 1954 Chesapeake and Ohio Canal expedition led by Associate Justice William O. Douglas of the U.S. Supreme Court to save that area as an historical monument.
Bernard Frank died November 15, 1964 in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Extent
2 boxes (2 linear feet)
Language of Materials
English
Other Finding Aids
PROVENANCE:
Miriam Frank donated the Bernard Frank papers in 1966.
SIZE:
Number of Boxes: 2
LOCATION:
CONS34
PROCESSED BY:
Claudia Jensen
March 2003
ENCODED:
July 2004
PROJECT MANAGER:
Ellen Zazzarino
- Forest reserves -- United States. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Forestry schools and education -- United States. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Forestry schools and education -- Venezuela. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Soil conservation -- United States. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Water-supply -- United States. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Watershed management -- India. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Watershed management -- United States. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Watershed management -- Venezuela. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Title
- BERNARD FRANK PAPERS
- Date
- July 2004
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Denver Public Library, Western History and Genealogy Repository
