G. M. Brandborg Papers - Archives West

G. M. Brandborg Papers, 1909-1977

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Brandborg, G. M., (Guy M.) 1893-1977
Title: G. M. Brandborg Papers
Dates: 1909-1977 (inclusive)
19091977
Quantity: 14.5 linear feet
Collection Number: Mss 691
Summary: Papers of Guy M. "Brandy" Brandborg, long-time employee of the U. S. Forest Service, and Forest Supervisor of the Bitterroot National Forest from 1935-1955. The collection includes files related to Brandborg's interest in and activities related to wilderness, conservation, and watershed protection efforts in Montana, and two memorial scrapbooks documenting his activities in favor of sustainable timber harvesting and against extensive clearcutting.
Repository: University of Montana, Mansfield Library, Archives and Special Collections
Archives and Special Collections
Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library
University of Montana
32 Campus Dr. #9936
59812-9936
Missoula, MT
Telephone: 406-243-2053
library.archives@umontana.edu
Access Restrictions: Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and The University of Montana--Missoula.
Languages: English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Guy M. "Brandy" Brandborg was born in Henning, Minnesota on March 3, 1893. In the summer of 1913, Brandborg came to Montana to work in Glacier National Park. That fall, he attended Forest Ranger School in Missoula, Montana and worked for the Forest Service during his summers. His first summer with the Forest Service was spent at the Earl Mountain Ranger Station near Choteau, Montana. After graduation in 1915, Brandborg worked on the Flathead National Forest.

After returning from Army duties during World War I, Brandborg moved to Idaho in 1924 to begin his professional career as a ranger in the Forest Service. He worked on the Nez Perce National Forest for ten years and was promoted from Ranger to Assistant Supervisor. Brandborg returned to Montana in 1935 and served as Forest Supervisor of the Bitterroot National Forest until his retirement in 1955.

Brandborg was active in education in his community throughout and following his tenure as Forest Supervisor. In addition to serving on the State Board of Education for eleven years, Brandborg assisted in developing a program for teaching conservation at Montana State University (now The University of Montana) in Missoula, and Montana State College (now Montana State University) in Bozeman. The program was run through the Montana Fish and Game Commission and the Montana University Extension Service. In 1958, he helped to organize the Montana Conservation Council, which provided a public forum for discussion of Montana’s natural resources and their sustainable use as well as conservation education in schools.

After his retirement, Brandborg witnessed excessive clearcutting and other land abuses on public forests and grazing land. He campaigned for a sustainable harvest of timber through letters to Montana congressmen, testifying before the United States House and Senate, letter campaigns and contributing to the formation of conservation organizations. In 1958, he helped organize the Montana Wilderness Association which was instrumental in the 1964 passage of the Federal Wilderness Act. In 1963, Brandborg and Doris Milner formed the Save the Selway Committee which, through legislation sponsored by Senators Frank Church and Lee Metcalf, helped establish two of the largest wilderness areas in the United States. Throughout the rest of his life, Brandborg and his wife Ruth worked tirelessly towards protecting wilderness and a policy of the sustainable harvesting of timber on public lands. Brandborg died in Missoula in 1977 at the age of 84.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The collection has been organized into two series. Series I: Subject Files (1909-1977) includes subject files that have been arranged alphabetically, and then chronologically, largely reflecting the order in which they were maintained by Brandborg. Subject files typically consist of correspondence, memos, clippings, and/or notes. A few of the files contain photographs.

Although the collection reflects the variety of Brandborg’s activities and interests, many of the subject files document G. M. Brandborg’s work as Forest Supervisor on the Bitterroot National Forest and include internal newsletters and correspondence, information regarding fire policy, management plans, and financial data. Of particular interest are notes and a journal from Brandborg’s days at the Forest Ranger School in Missoula, Montana, from 1913-1915, and experimental cutting photographs on Lick Creek on the Bitterroot National Forest. In addition, the collection contains files related to the clearcutting crisis on the Bitterroot National Forest and Brandborg’s role in drawing attention to unsustainable logging practices. Materials are comprised of correspondence to various governmental agencies, House and Senate testimony from Brandborg and others, congressional correspondence with Montana Senators, logging reports and data, correspondence with various environmental groups, and clippings and articles.

Series II: Scrapbooks (1956-1977) includes two scrapbooks of clippings, created in memorial for Brandborg, related to clearcutting issues on the Bitterroot National Forest.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Non-exclusive copyright tranferred to The University of Montana.

Preferred Citation

[Name of document or photograph number], G. M. Brandborg Papers, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The files in this collection have been arranged into two series:

Series I: Subject Files, 1909-1977, 12 linear feet

Series II: Scrapbooks, 1956-1977, 2.5 linear feet

Acquisition Information

This collection was donated to Archives and Special Collections by Stewart Brandborg, son of G. M. Brandborg, on June 28, 2005.

Processing Note

Materials were organized by the creator by subject rather than date or period in the creator’s life. The original order was retained as were the original folder titles. Some materials were duplicated by the creator and copies were filed in different folders. These duplicates were retained.

Related Materials

Archives & Special Collections also holds the papers of G. M. Brandborg's son, Stewart Brandborg.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Series I: Subject Files, 1909-1977Return to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
1/1	1939 Pollinger Report on Forest Service Management Program	1971
1/2-3	A National Forest Economy (2 folders)	1939-1972
1/4	Aldrich, Don, Executive Secretary of the Montana Wildlife Federation	1967-1975
1/5	All-terrain Vehicle Uses	1973-1976
1/6	American Forestry Association	1953-1954
1/7	Analysis: State Land Departments	1948-1959
1/8	Background Notes for Interview	1977
1/9	Baucus, Max, Correspondence	1975-1976
1/10	Bell, J. Fredrick, Letters	1976
1/11	Birth of Yellowstone National Park, Bert Hanson	1963
1/12	Bitterroot Lawsuit and the Organic Act	1976
1/13	Bitterroot Management Direction	1969-1973
2/1	Bitterroot Multi-use Environmental Plans	1970-1973
2/2	Bitterroot National Forest Management Plans	1941-1943
2/3	Bitterroot National Forest Multiple Use Plan	1940
2/4	Bitterroot National Forest Multiple Use Plan	1972
2/5	Bitterroot Road Plan	1976
2/6-7	Bitterroot Task Force Study Team (2 folders)	1959-1970
2/8	Boesch, Mark and Brigham, Morton	1973-1974
2/9	Bolle Report	1971-1975
2/10	Brandborg, Guy M., Notes From Ranger School	undated
3/1	Brandborg, Guy M., Statements to the Environmental Protection Agency	1973-1976
3/2	Brandborg, Guy M., Talks Notes	1947-1953
3/3	Brant, Irving; Hainsworth, Brad; Irion, Clyde	1970-1976
3/4	Bureau of Land Management	1964-1975
3/5-6	Burk, Dale A. (2 folders)	1965-1976
3/7	Burk, Dale A., American Motor Conservation Award	1970-1972
3/8	Burnt Fork Planning Unit	1973
3/9	Camp Tolin	1972-1973
3/10	Carter, Jimmy Clippings and Articles	1976
3/11	Church and McGovern	1970-1975
3/12	Citizen Responsibility in Conservation	1950-1954
3/13	Civilian Conservation Corps	1972
3/14	Civilian Conservation Corps	1975
3/15	Clark, Will	1964-1967
4/1	Clauser, Don	1963-1964
4/2	Clearcutting	1972-1976
4/3	Clippings	1950-1958
4/4	Clippings, Miscellaneous	1974 and undated
4/5-6	Clippings, Miscellaneous (2 folders)	1975-1976
4/7	Coalition to Save our National Forests	1976
4/8	Colorado Wilderness Court Case	1967-1971
4/9	Committee for Better Forestry	1970-1971
4/10	Common Cause and John Gardner	1970-1972
4/11	Community and Resource Management	1968 and undated
4/12	Congressional Record, Appendix and Data	1963-1964
4/13	Conservation Articles	1963-1967
5/1	Conservation Education	1948-1959
5/2	Conservation Education	1951-1954
5/3	Conservation Education Committee, Montana State Legislature	1951-1954
5/4	Conservation and the Selway Wilderness	1958-1967
5/5	Conservation by Sportsmen Culbs	1957-1975
5/6	Controlled Burning on the Bitterroot	1966
5/7	Correspondence, Miscellaneous Controversy	1972-1974
5/8	Correspondence, Miscellaneous Politician	1972-1974
5/9	Correspondence, Montana Wildlife Federation	1952-1962
5/10	Correspondence, Personal	1972-1976
5/11	Correspondence, Politicians	1976-1977
5/12	Correspondence, National Forest Issues	1954-1975
5/13-14	Correspondence, Wildlife Management Institute, Educational Program	1949-1953
5/15	Edward Crafts and Philip Handler	1972
6/1-2	John Craighead, Grizzly Bear Study	1970-1975
6/3	County Education and Organization	1941-1951
6/4	Culver and Risser	1971-1972
6/5-6	William Cunningham, Thesis: The Magruder Corridor Controversy, a Case History (2 folders)	1968-1972
6/7	Cutting Reports Fact Sheet	1958-1971
6/8-9	Dakota Environmental Council Incorporated	1969-1973
6/10	Kenneth P.Davis, President of the Society of American Foresters	1970
6/11	Department of Agriculture Appraisal of the Forest Service	1955
6/12	Department of Agriculture Employee Handbook	circa 1940
6/13	Bernard DeVoto	1962-1973
6/14	Dirty Dozen Campaign	1976
6/15	Division of Range Research	1935-1954
6/16	Education Program	1958 and undated
7/1	Environmental Information Center	1973-1976
7/2	Environmental Program for the Future	1973-1976
7/3	Environmental Quality	1963-1970
7/4	Brock Evans, Northwest Representative for the Sierra Club	1970-1976
7/5	Extension Fish and Wildlife Specialist-Job Description	1958
7/6-7	Extension Reports	1954-1965
7/8	Extension Wildlife Educational Program, Joseph Severy	1949-1957
7/9	Farm Data	1969-1972
7/10	Federal Lands	1946-1953
7/11	Federation of Western Outdoor Clubs	1964-1977
7/12	Fish and Game Commissioners	1956-1957
8/1	Barry Fisher, Sierra Club	1973
8/2	Forest Financial Data	1951-1953
8/3	Forest History, Pinchot Material	1943-1963
8/4	Forest Program and Practices, "old"	1927-1948
8/5	Forest Service Fire Policy	1934-circa 1950
8/6	Forest Service Friday Newsletter	1976
8/7	Forest Service Regional Program Emphasis and Notes	1971-1977 and undated
8/8	Forest Supervisor Daniels	1972-1974
8/9	Forestry in the State of Montana	1953
8/10	Forestry Problems	undated
8/11	Forestry Seminar Panel in the Humanities	1973
8/12	Freedom of Access to Information Act	1954-1965
8/13	Friends of the Earth	1973-1975
8/14	Mike Fromme, Articles and Letters	1971
8/15	Gallatin National Forest Issues	1976
8/16	General Wildlife Articles	1936-1941
8/17	Glacier Peak Wilderness Area	1957-1958
8/18	Governor Judge	1954-1973
9/1	Grazing Data and Correspondence	1947-1952
9/2	Great Bear Wilderness	1972-1973
9/3	John Green, Environmental Protection Agency	1970-1975
9/4	Guthrie, Kenworthy, Stegner	1970-1975
9/5	Floyd Haskell, Senate Interior Committee Correspondence	1976
9/6	John Harris, Montana State University Extension Program	1964-1968
9/7	Hearing Statements	1970-1971
9/8	Laney Hicks, Report	1970
9/9	History of Conservation	1947 and undated
9/10-11	History of Montana Education Program	1952-1962
9/12	House Resolution 13832	1976
9/13	Blair Hutchinson and Thatcher Hubbard	1972
9/14	Idaho Forest Industry Council	1972-1975
10/1	Idaho State Federation Reports	1950-1952
10/2	Kauffman Report, Libby	1941-1948
10/3	Kelly Creek Fire, Nez Perce National Forest	1939
10/4	Kootenai National Forest	1974
10/5	Land Ethic	1967-1974
10/6	Land Law Policy Review Commission	1965-1968
10/7	Land Management Act	1975-1977
10/8-9	Land Use Bulletins	1935-1951
10/10	Land Use Planning	1940-1976
11/1	Law	1973-1974
11/2	League of Women Voters	1975-1976
11/3	John Leshy, Natural Resources Defense Council, Correspondence	1975-1976
11/4	Letters to Editor and Guy M. Brandborg Statements	1974-1976
11/5-8	Lick Creek Experimental Cutting Photographs and Notes (4 folders)	1909-1961
11/9	Lincoln Back Country	1968
11/10	List of Recommended Conservation Reading	1957-1965
12/1	Logging in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area	1974
12/2	Russell G. Lynch, Conservation Journalist	1970
12/3	Magruder Corridor	1967-1971
12/4	Magruder Corridor, Save the Selway	1964-1965
12/5	Management Plan for the Bitterroot Working Circle	1940
12/6	Mike Mansfield, Correspondence	1969-1975
12/7	McCall Wilderness Hearing	1961
12/8	Michael McCloskey and the Sierra Club	1963
12/9	Gale McGee	1971-1973
12/10	William Meiners and Resource Management	1972-1976
12/11	Ernest Melby	1953-1972
12/12	John Melcher Correspondence	1976
12/13	Clifton Merritt Correspondence	1971-1975
13/1-3	Lee Metcalf	1965-1976
13/4	Lee Metcalf	1974-1975
13/5	Miles Romney and the Sidney Hillman Prize Awards	1965-1966
13/6	Tom Miller	1974-1975
13/7	Mission Montana: Selway and Lochsa	1969
13/8	Monongahela Decision	1974-1975
13/9	Monongahela Decision	1976
13/10-11	Montana Conservation Council	1958-1961
13/12	Montana Conservation Council	1959-1963
14/1	Montana Conservation Council History	1959
14/2	Montana Conservation Council Interviews	1959-1960
14/3	Montana Conservation Council and Land Use Planning	1941-1965
14/4	Montana Conservation Council Leadership Statement	1959-1963
14/5-6	Montana Council Grant Material	1949-1957
14/7	Montana Historical Society	1970
14/8	Montana League of Conservation Voters	1971-1975
14/9	Montana Outdoors Article, not Published	1976
14/10	Montana State Legislature	1949
14/11	Montana State University	1976
14/12-13	Montana State University Wildlife Extension Program	1951-1957
14/14	Montana State University Wildlife Extension Program History	1953-1968
14/15-16	Montana Study, early correspondence	1942-1952
15/1-3	Montana Wilderness Association	1962-1976
15/4	Montana Wilderness Association	1963-1968
15/5	Montana Wildlife Federation	1954-1960
15/6-8	Montana Wildlife Federation	1962-1967
16/1	Moose Creek Timber Sale Area	1971-1975
16/2	National Forest Land Management Practices	1968-1976
16/3-7	National Forest Management Act Conference Reports and Testimony	1975-1976
16/8	National Geographic Society	1975-1976
16/9	National Wilderness Waterway	1962
16/10	Nature Conservancy	1976
16/11	Nature Notes Newsletters	1937-1941
16/12	Newsletters and Booklets, Miscellaneous	1972-1976
16/13	Richard Nixon and Forest Practices Act	1972-1973
16/14	North American Wildlife Conference	1954
16/15	Northern Rockies Action Group	1976
17/1	Northwest Wilderness Conference	1970
17/2	Gus Norwood Address to Annual Montana Farmer Labor Institute	1961
17/3	Notes	undated
17/4	Oakes and Other Conservationists	1963-1967
17/5	Arnold Olsen Correspondence	1960-1970
17/6	Operation Grassroots Newsletters	1974
17/7	Outdoors Unlimited	1970
17/8	Dick Pattison Correspondence	1963-1964
17/9	Personnel Training	1941-1955
17/10	Pesticides	1963-1965
17/11	Photographs	undated
17/12	Pinchot, Lucas, Rahm, Correspondence	1970-1972
17/13	Pinchot-National Resources Defense Council	1972-1974
17/14	Plans Notes	undated
18/1	Pollution	1955-1960
18/2	Population and Wilderness Articles and Statements	1936-1970
18/3	Predator Control	1965
18/4	President’s Advisory Panel on Timber and the Environment	1971-1974
18/5	Proposed Back Country Policy	undated
18/6	Ravalli County Agricultural Resource Conservation Program	1950
18/7	Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association Educational Program	1951-1961
18/8	Ravalli County Hunting and Fishing	1958-1974
18/9	Ravalli County Timber Report	1953-1973
18/10	Reader’s Digest	1971-1975
18/11	Scott Reed	1969-1973
18/12	Region 1 Reports, Steve Yurich, Regional Forester	1971-1972
18/13	Reports of the Chief of the Forest Service	1933-1949
19/1	Resource Conservation and Development Program	1967-1974
19/2-4	Resource Management in Ravalli County	1940-1954
19/5	Resource Planning Act	1975-1976
19/6	Roadless Areas Road Program	1972-1973
19/7	Rock Creek Controversy	1971
19/8	Miles Romney	1974-1976
19/9	Theodore Roosevelt and Resource Conservation	1958
19/10	Salmon River and Idaho Primitive Areas	1973
19/11	Earl Sanvig Correspondence	1947-1976
20/1	Earl Sanvig Correspondence	1947-1976
20/2	Save the Selway	1964-1967
20/3	School of Administrative Leadership	1969-1970
20/4	Don Schwennesen	1975-1976
20/5	Scotchman's Peak Wilderness Study Area	1976
20/6	Selway	1959-1970
20/7	Selway	1962-1969
20/8-9	Selway	1963-1967
21/1-3	Selway	1964-1967
21/4	Senate Bill 393	1975
21/5	Senate Bill 1734	1970-1971
21/6	Senate Hearing Statements	1959-1963
21/7	Senate Statement	1971
21/8	Senator Dale Bumpers and Governor Jimmy Carter	1976
21/9	Shoop, Melcher	1971-1973
21/10-11	Sierra Club Staff Forester Gordon Robinson Letters	1954-1976
21/12	Henry Skranak, Libby, Montana	1973-1975
22/1	Society of American Foresters	1971-1975 and 1929
22/2	Sociology and Forest Management	1968-1975
22/3	Soil Conservation Service	1975-1976
22/4	Soil Interpretations for Use in Planning	1959-1971
22/5	Soils Lecture by the United States Department of Agriculture	1948
22/6	Sounding Board	1968
22/7	State Forestry	1972-1973
22/8	Students and Politics	1971 and undated
22/9	Subcommittee on Public Lands	1970-1976
22/10-12	Submitted Hearing Statements	1970-1971
22/13	Talks	1954 and undated
23/1	Talks, Guy M. Brandborg Notes	1968-1970
23/2-3	Talks, Notes, and Speeches	1934-1942 and undated
23/4	Talk at the University	1971
23/5	Talks, Wildlife	1946-1954
23/6	Talks, Wildlife Conservation	1935-1955
23/7	Taxation and the Forest Service	1939-1954
23/8	Otto Teller	1965-1979
23/9	Timber Analysis	1941-1968
23/10	Timber Fact Sheets	1951-1953
23/11	Timber Harvest Data	1966-1975
23/12	Timber Salvage in Montana-John McGuire	1974
24/1	Timber Supply Act	1969
24/2	Timber Supply Bill	1969-1970
24/3	Timber Tax Committee	1941-1956
24/4	United States Department of Agriculture Council Plan for Ravalli County	1952-1953
24/5	University of Montana School of Forestry Study on Forestry Practices on the Flathead National Forest	1974
24/6	University of Montana Wildlife Extension Program	1976 and undated
24/7	University People	1972
24/8	Vessey Correspondence	1967
24/9	Wambach's Study	1972-1975
24/10	Water	1962-1969
24/11	Water in the Bitterroot Valley	1965-1978
24/12	Martin Weeks	1975-1976
24/13	Western Regional Conference for Wilderness Issues	1974
24/14	Wheat Farm Domestic Allotment	1972-1974
24/15	Wild and Scenic Rivers Act	1969-1973
24/16	Wild Missouri	1969
24/17	Wild Rivers Bill	1965
24/18-19	Wildlife Educational Program	1954-1959
24/20	Yale Press Material	1945-1952

Series II: Scrapbooks, 1956-1977Return to Top

Description	Dates
25: Scrapbook	1956-1977
26: Scrapbook	1956-1977

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

Clearcutting--Bitterroot National Forest (Mont. and Idaho)
Forest conservation--Bitterroot National Forest (Mont. and Idaho)
Forest management--Bitterroot National Forest (Mont. and Idaho)
Logging--Environmental aspects--Bitterroot National Forest (Mont. and Idaho)

Corporate Names

United States. Forest Service--Officials and employees

Geographical Names

Bitterroot National Forest (Mont. and Idaho)

Form or Genre Terms

Scrapbooks

Occupations

Conservationists--Northwest, Pacific.
Forest rangers--United States.

Archives West Finding Aid

Table of Contents

G. M. Brandborg Papers, 1909-1977

Overview of the Collection

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Preferred Citation

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Acquisition Information

Processing Note

Related Materials

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Series I: Subject Files, 1909-1977Return to Top

Series II: Scrapbooks, 1956-1977Return to Top

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

Corporate Names

Geographical Names

Form or Genre Terms

Occupations

Finding aid prepared by Amy Casamassa
2008

Archives West Finding Aid

Table of Contents

G. M. Brandborg Papers, 1909-1977

Overview of the Collection

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Preferred Citation

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Acquisition Information

Processing Note

Related Materials

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Series I: Subject Files, 1909-1977Return to Top

Series II: Scrapbooks, 1956-1977Return to Top

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

Corporate Names

Geographical Names

Form or Genre Terms

Occupations

Finding aid prepared by Amy Casamassa 2008

Finding aid prepared by Amy Casamassa
2008