1898-2010
Guide to the Collection
Restrictions on Access
The Environmental League of Massachusetts records are stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@record-room.com.
Abstract
This collection consists of minutes, reports, correspondence, financial records, anniversary materials, and publications of the Environmental League of Massachusetts and its predecessor organizations, the Massachusetts Forestry Association, the Massachusetts Forest and Park Association, and the Environmental Lobby of Massachusetts. The organization was founded to help promote policy for the preservation of forest lands in Massachusetts.
Historical Sketch
Incorporated on 3 June 1898, the Massachusetts Forestry Association originally focused on "fostering good forestry practices, creating the state park system, planting shade trees, and combating plant pests and diseases." The association's early efforts included opposition to the commercialization of Mount Greylock and the formation of the office of State Forester, the Division of Forestry in the Massachusetts Department of Conservation, and a number town forests around Massachusetts.
In 1933, the Massachusetts Forestry Association changed its name to the Massachusetts Forest and Park Association (MFPA). The MFPA helped incorporate the New England Forestry Association (NEFA) in 1944. An independent non-profit organization, NEFA sought to provide forestry services to small woodland owners around New England.
The Massachusetts Forest and Park Association was renamed the Environmental Lobby of Massachusetts (ELM) in 1981. ELM lobbying included support of several key environmental protection bills, including the Coastal Wetland and Inland Wetlands Act (1971), the Massachusetts Clean Waters Act (1973), and the nation's first Acid Rain Control Act (1983).
Renamed the Environmental League of Massachusetts in 1993, the organization is still in existence today.
Sources:
Massachusetts Forest and Park Association: A History. Boston: Massachusetts Forest and Park Association, 1974.
Collection Description
The records of the Environmental League of Massachusetts and its predecessors, spanning the years 1898-2010, are housed in seven record cartons and one oversize carton stored offsite. The collection is divided into three series: administrative records, subject files, and publications.
The first series, administrative records, contains the Massachusetts Forestry Association's certificate of incorporation, minutes of the association's annual meetings, board and executive committee meetings, reports of the New England Forestry Association, financial records, and some correspondence. This series is divided into four subseries: meeting minutes and reports, letterpress book, financial records, and other administrative records.
The second series, subject files, consists almost entirely of records relating to the association's conferences on Dutch Elm Disease. The series also contains a few folders of other conference materials, speeches on town forests by Harris Reynolds, labels from an exhibit to celebrate the organization's centennial, and five digitized episodes of the television program Environmental League Forum. This series is arranged alphabetically by subject.
The third series, publications, contains newsletters, bulletins, and other printed material produced by and about the Environmental League of Massachusetts and its predecessor organizations. This series is divided into four subseries: bulletins and circulars, newsletters, other printed material, and clippings.
NOTE: The date ranges listed in the Detailed Description of the Collection below may include gaps. Folders may not contain records for every month or year within a given date range.
Restrictions on Access
The Environmental League of Massachusetts records are stored offsite and must be requested at least two business days in advance via Portal1791. Researchers needing more than six items from offsite storage should provide additional advance notice. If you have questions about requesting materials from offsite storage, please contact the reference desk at 617-646-0532 or reference@record-room.com.
Acquisition Information
The Environmental League of Massachusetts records were given to the Massachusetts Historical Society by the ELM in 2001.
Detailed Description of the Collection
Expand allNOTE: The date ranges listed below may include gaps. Folders may not contain records for every month or year within a given date range.
I. Administrative records, 1898-1989
A. Meeting minutes and reports, 1898-1989
This subseries contains the organization's certificate of incorporation, agreement of association, amended by-laws, and materials documenting the 1933 name change. Also included are minutes from annual meetings, board of directors and executive committee meetings, and reports from the New England Forestry Association (NEFA).
Minutes include lists of meeting attendees, agendas, resolutions, financial updates, and information about new members. NEFA annual reports include letters to members, updates on the foundation's finances and current projects. Later NEFA reports include lists of members, officers, and directors.
Original certificate of incorporation, 1898
Agreement of association, first meeting, by-laws, name change, 1898-1959
Annual meetings, 1898-1984
Board of directors meetings, 1981-1987
Executive committee minutes, 1928-1956
Executive committee minutes, volume 1, 7 January 1898-10 October 1906
Also includes preliminary meetings.
Executive committee minutes, volume 2, 14 November 1906-29 March 1907
Executive committee minutes, volume 3, 27 April 1917-23 December 1927
Executive committee minutes, 1957-1989
New England Forestry Association reports, 1950-1956
Registers, 1898-1911; reports, 1913-1925
2 volumes.B. Letterpress book, 1898-1899
One volume of outgoing letters from the Massachusetts Forestry Association's secretary's office.
C. Financial records, 1907-1987
Ten volumes of ledgers and account books document the ELM's expenditures and income from membership dues and trust fund interest. This subseries also includes other related material, including leases and certificates of registration as a tax-exempt organization.
Account book, records of the trust of the Permanent Fund, 1907-January 1950
Account book, November 1925-June 1935
Account book, April 1930-June 1935
Account book, January 1943-December 1948
Account book, January 1949-December 1955
Account book, March 1964-February 1967
Account book, February 1967-February 1969
Account book, February 1969-April 1970
Account book, June 1970-March 1972
Account book, March 1972-September 1973
ELM Education Fund financial, 1982-1986
Financial miscellany, 1959-1987
Record of C. A. Fox Fund, now in hands of trustees of the Permanent Fund, 1 April 1954
Tax exemption documents, 1921-1939, 1959
Leases, 1959-1976
D. Other administrative records, 1992-1998
Environmental lobby mailing, April 1992
Miscellany, 1947-1996
Old appeals, 1996-1998
II. Subject files, 1913-2010Digital Content
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
The bulk of this series contains records relating to the organization's annual conference on Dutch Elm Disease (DED), including meeting announcements and published proceedings, as well as other reports, surveys, and correspondence relating to DED. The series also includes materials relating to an exhibit of ELM records to celebrate the organization's centennial, speeches by Harris Reynolds and articles about town forests, the MFPA's 75th anniversary event guest book, and a history of ELM with biographical sketches of the founders.
Also included in this series are five episodes of ELM's call-in show Environmental League Forum, filmed in 1994, in which various hosts and guests discuss environmental issues and public policy. The show aired on the Answer Channel in Boston.
Dutch Elm Disease conferences, 1947-1977
[Dutch Elm Disease] conference report: Dutch Elm Disease, Elm Phloem Necrosis, Oak Wilt, New York City, 4-5 February 1954
Dutch Elm Disease correspondence, 1940-1970
[Dutch Elm Disease] Gates Elm Fund, 1953-1955
[Dutch Elm Disease] letters on Trelife and Dr. [Howard D.] Salins, 1957-1958
[Dutch Elm Disease] Massachusetts Advisory Committee on Dutch Elm Disease, 1946-1947
[Dutch Elm Disease] Massachusetts and New England Dutch Elm Diseases, 1934-1938
[Dutch Elm Disease] Massachusetts Committee on Dutch Elm Disease annual reports, 1941-1954
[Dutch Elm Disease] miscellaneous reports and leaflets, 1933-1978
[Dutch Elm Disease] national conference, 1936-1943
[Dutch Elm Disease] release and form letters, 1935-1966
Dutch Elm Disease speeches, 1935-1946
[Dutch Elm Disease] spraying programs with DDT, 1955-1959
Dutch Elm Disease survey, 1948
[Dutch Elm Disease] Tristate, Northeastern Dutch Elm Disease committees, 1942
[Dutch Elm Disease] United States Department of Agriculture proceedings, 5 December 1934
Environmental League Forum, 29 March 1994
VHS, running time: 23:46 min.Environmental League Forum: Boston Harbor, 22 March 1994
VHS, running time: 25:03 min.Environmental League Forum: Department of Environmental Protection, 5 April 1994
VHS, running time: 23:22 min.Environmental League Forum: Matt Wilson, 14 June 1994
VHS, running time: 25:16 min.Environmental League Forum: Open Space Bond Bill, 15 March 1994
VHS, running time: 20:51 min.Environmental League of Massachusetts exhibit, 1998
Massachusetts Forest and Park Association 75th anniversary, 4 October 1973
Volume.Town forests, 1931, 1960-1966
Articles [speeches, etc.] on town forests by Harris Reynolds, 1913-1945
"The 1890s and the Founding of ELM," 2010
III. Publications, 1902-1998
A. Bulletins and circulars, 1911-1986
Arranged chronologically.
This subseries contains eight volumes of semi-technical bulletins and circulars that address an array of forestry issues, including pest control, forest fires, and shade trees. Volumes also contain brochures, guides, annual reports, and flyers. This subseries also contains unbound and legislative bulletins.
Miscellaneous bulletins, circulars, etc., 1911-1935
6 volumes.Miscellaneous bulletins, circulars, etc., 1936-1940
2 volumes.Miscellaneous bulletins, circulars, etc., 1941-1962
Conservation Legislative Bulletin, 1968-1982
Environmental Legislative Bulletin, 1982
Legislative Bulletin, 1976, 1985-1996
B. Newsletters, 1902-1984
Arranged alphabetically by title.
This subseries contains newsletters published by ELM and its predecessor organizations, including articles on the organization's activities and other items of environmental concern.
ELM Newsletter, 1981-1984
Forest and Park News, 1937-1956
1 volume.Forest and Park News, 1944-1980
Woodland & Roadside, 1902-1910
2 volumes.C. Other printed material, 1942-1998
Arranged chronologically.
This subseries contains printed material created by ELM and its predecessor organizations, including books, brochures, issue papers, and other publications.
Membership brochures, 1942-1989
The American Elm, undated
Conservation Education Program at Camp Child, Old Colony Council, Boy Scouts of America, by Alfred M. Williams, Jr., undated
Forestry and Conservation Study Outline for Agricultural Teachers of Massachusetts, undated
The Forestry Primer, 1906-1926, 1926
The First Fifty Years of the Massachusetts Forest and Park Association, prepared by W. H. Clark, 1948
The First Fifty Years of the Massachusetts Forest and Park Association, additions to 1960
Fifty Years a Forester, by Harold O. Cook, 1961
Massachusetts Forest and Park Association: A History, 1898-1973, by Richard M. Applegate, 1974
New England Forestry Foundation: A History, by Richard M. Applegate, 1975
The Inside Track: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of the Massachusetts Environmental Budget Process, by Debra R. Sanderson, January 1986
Land: Financing of Open Space, by Edith M. Netter and Daniel J. Barry, November 1988
Land: Guiding Development, by Alexandra D. Dawson, November 1988
Land and Housing Banks, November 1988
Halfway to… Where? A Report on the Implementation of the Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Act, by James Gomes, May 1994
The Carcinogens Around Us: Chemical Use in Massachusetts, 1990-1992, by Elizabeth Sturcken, August 1994
Commonwealth at Risk: Toxic Chemical Use in Massachusetts, 1992-1994, by James R. Gomes and Deborah L. Adler, May 1996
Enforcement Trends at the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, 1989-1996, by Donna Tesiero and James R. Gomes, May 1996
The Green Budget, 12 March 1998
D. Clippings, 1898-1988
Scrapbook, January 1898-November 1902
Scrapbook, October 1904-November 1906
Items found loose in scrapbook, January 1898-1902
Clippings, 1908, 1981-1988, undated
Materials Removed from the Collection
Photographs from this collection have been removed to the Environmental League of Massachusetts photographs, 1943-1990 (Photo. Coll. 198).
Pins have been removed from this collection and are stored onsite in the MHS Numismatic Collection.
For a list of printed materials removed from this collection, see Curator of Manuscripts.
Preferred Citation
Environmental League of Massachusetts records, Massachusetts Historical Society.
Access Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.