M. Lynne Corn Papers, 1973-1985

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Corn, M. Lynne (Mary Lynne), 1946-
Title
M. Lynne Corn Papers
Dates
1973-1985 (inclusive)
1980-1984 (bulk)
Quantity
8.28 cubic feet (8 boxes, 30 map tubes, 1 oversize folder)
Collection Number
(Accession No. 3825-003)
Summary
Papers of M. Lynne Corn, legislative aide to Seattle Congressman Mike Lowry (1979-1989), on the Washington State Wilderness Act, 1979-1985
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Open to all users, except for a map marked "Indian religious sites" (box 39) and related background material (oversized folder 37).

Papers stored offsite; advance notice required for use.

Request at UW

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

M. Lynne Corn (Mary Lynne Corn) was born in 1946 and earned a Ph.D. in biology from Harvard University in 1976. She served as an AAA (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Congressional Science Fellow in 1979-1980 in the office of Congressman Mike Lowry, and then as a legislative assistant in the same office until 1985. Corn specialized in environmental matters, and following her position in Lowry’s office, prepared reports on natural resources topics for the Congressional Research Service in the Library of Congress.

Historical Background: The Washington State Wilderness Act, Public Law 98-339, was among 19 similar measures passed in the election year of 1984. These acts gave statutory protection to over eight million acres of unroaded and otherwise unexploited federal land, mostly in the national forests, in 20 states. Their passage ended years of controversy involved in the roadless area review and inventory process. During the process, accelerated in the Carter administration’s RARE II review, these lands were managed to preserve their wilderness values, exempting them from development.

The compromise which led to passage of the wilderness acts was over "release language," the terms by which lands reviewed under RARE II but not designated as formal wilderness were to be "released" for logging and other development. Representative John Seiberling of Ohio, the champion of wilderness protection and the chair of the Interior and Insular Affairs Subcommittee on Public Lands and National Parks, had advocated a "soft" release that allowed the released lands to be reconsidered for wilderness in a short time period. James McClure of Idaho, chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and Seiberling’s counterpart, called for "hard release," which precluded reconsideration for decades and which encouraged development in the interim. The compromise reached on May 2, 1984, by these two leaders required wilderness reviews in connection with the revision of national forest plans at least every fifteen years.

In Washington State, Mike Lowry, who had been elected to Congress in 1978, teamed with his Republican counterpart, Joel Pritchard, in 1979 to urge the reconsideration by the Forest Service of roadless areas which had not been "allocated to wilderness" in the RARE II process. This strategy was counter to a quicker one advocated by Congressman Tom Foley of Spokane. Foley's bill, H.R. 6070, would designate wilderness areas across the nation en masse. The following year Lowry and Pritchard introduced a Cougar Lakes wilderness bill, H.R. 2354. The legislation would have honored the late Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas by protecting as wilderness the pristine area west of Yakima much loved by Douglas. Their colleague Al Swift introduced H.R. 2477, to create a Boulder River wilderness in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. None of these bills emerged from committee.

In March of 1983 Senator Henry M. Jackson and Senator Slade Gorton introduced a Washington Wilderness bill, S. 837, to protect 375,000 acres. This bill proved to be the vehicle for the successful legislation, although environmentalists proposed far larger and additional areas for wilderness in the state. M. Lynne Corn, Mike Lowry’s aide for environmental matters, worked with environmental advocates, analyzed proposals from them and others, wrote statements for Lowry, and was a key player in negotiations among aides to members of the state delegation. These included Gretchen White (Sid Morrison), Nick Ashmore (Tom Foley), Jim Van Nostrand (Don Bonker), and Creigh Agnew (Slade Gorton). The five Republicans and five Democrats in the delegation held two marathon sessions in early 1984 and reached a compromise in early April. The key provision was the release/sufficiency matter. In the markup session on S. 837 on April 11, the compromise was introduced as an amendment by Senator Dan Evans. This compromise apparently served as precedent for the Seiberling-McClure compromise of May 2. Washington then became one of many states where new wilderness areas were designated by Congress.

The resulting legislation established over one million acres of wilderness in Washington State, primarily in national forests but also in one area managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Over a dozen new wildernesses were created and boundaries were expanded for three existing ones. The largest areas established were the Mt. Baker Wilderness, the Glacier Peak Wilderness Additions, the Henry M. Jackson Wilderness, and the William O. Douglas Wilderness. The latter areas honored the memory of two distinguished public officials who had advocated the preservation of wild land. P.L. 98-339 also created a National Recreation Area on Mt. Baker and established a Scenic Highway Corridor for the North Cascades Highway. Losses from the wilderness advocates' perspective were the exclusion of the Kettle Range, due to Congressman Foley's opposition, reduced boundaries for the Clearwater Wilderness, and deletion of 800 acres from the existing Goat Rocks Wilderness to allow for a ski development.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The papers document one environmental issue, wilderness protection, in the files of Congressman Mike Lowry’s aide, M. Lynne Corn, and her predecessor, Duff Wilson. Although individual background items and reports date back as far as 1973, the bulk of the materials are from 1980-1984 and are concentrated in the years 1982-1984.

The files include incoming letters from interest groups and federal agencies, especially units of the Forest Service, letters and other materials forwarded to Lowry’s office, and writings created in the course of the legislative process. These writings are in such series as Statements and Testimony, Legislation, and Writings. The Intraoffice Correspondence series includes Corn's notes written to brief Lowry on the status of various wilderness proposals. Together with Outgoing Letters, most drafted by Corn for Lowry, they provide detailed but partial insight into the political maneuvering involved in the legislative effort.

The Legislation series includes printed as well as draft bills. One of Lowry’s bills, H.R. 4537, the "wilderness and fish bill," was a stratagem devised and introduced in late 1983 to nudge the wilderness legislation forward by focusing on the benefits of habitat for politically popular species. It would have protected entire watersheds as wilderness in order to save habitat for spawning salmon. The bill coincided with a public recognition of the salmon crisis.

The Acreage Charts series show proposed wilderness areas and sub-areas, and the number of acres to be designated wilderness. The charts apparently came from several sources; some were received from the Forest Service, some came from environmentalists, and others were created by Corn herself. They were used with many of the annotated maps.

Some maps were filed with textual materials, and care was taken to preserve existing groupings. Because many annotated maps are not dated, it may be impossible to determine how they were used. Many maps (boxes 9-36) are simply filed under the broad geographic area designations they had when received. The most significant maps are the overlays of official delegation maps dated 1984 in box 39, as these overlays may allow comparisons between the proposed and the actual wilderness boundaries.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

The creator's literary rights have been transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

M. Lynne Corn donated the papers in 1986 and 1987 with the approval of Mike Lowry. As he had not made plans for the larger body of his papers at that time, they were accessioned under Corn's name. Lowry subsequently donated his Congressional papers to the University of Washington Libraries when he left office in late 1988.

Processing Note

In 2004, Accession 3825-1, except for the many boxes of maps, was processed and combined with Accession 3825-2 to form Accession 3825-3. Accession 3825-2 consisted of printouts of memoranda and other Corn writings from a Wang computer system. Some memoranda matched those in the first accession and were eliminated. Other writings may duplicate those filed elsewhere in the papers.

Originally a significant part of the first accession was a bound notebook kept by Corn. Content in it, including maps, was kept as closely together as was feasible when it was sorted into record series. A substantial part of it remains unaltered as Subject Series. Thus the Cougar Lakes subject series includes Lowry's correspondence from 1979 onward about this proposed wilderness area.

Corn's original file designations usually are enclosed in quotation marks but often have been modified for clarity. Intraoffice and outgoing correspondence series have been arranged chronologically to show the sequence of discussions about the legislation.

Related Materials

The Mike Lowry Papers are available in the repository, Accession No. 3993-1.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

 

Incoming LettersReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
1/1
Bonker, Don
1984
1/2
A-C
1981-1984
1/3
D-F
1982-1984
1/4
Gorton, Slade
1983-1984
1/5
Mountaineers
1983-1984
1/6
Naches Pass Committee
1984
1/7
H, M-O
1980-1984
1/8
Sierra Club, Cascade Chapter
1982, 1984
1/9
R-T
1983-1984
1/10
U.S. Bureau of Land Management
1983
1/11
U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region
1983-1984
1/12
U.S. Forest Service (Various Units)
1983-1984
1/13
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
1981
1/14
U Miscellaneous
1982-1983
1/15
W Miscellaneous
1979, 1983-1984

Correspondence, IntraofficeReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
1/16
Duff Wilson to Lowry
1980
1/17
Corn to Lowry: "Wilderness Bill Options"
[1983?]
1/18
Corn to Lowry and Don Wolgamott: "Status of Wilderness Discussions"
Feb. 7, 1983
1/19
Corn to Lowry: "Wilderness Meeting Memo"
Mar. 23, 1983
1/20
Corn to Lowry Regarding Meeting with Wilderness Advocates
Aug. 1983
1/21
Corn to Lowry
Sept. 21-26, 1983
1/22
Corn to Lowry: "Reports on Delegation Reaction to Wilderness Bill"
[late 1983?]
1/23
Corn to Lowry: "Wilderness Events, 1/23/84"
1984
1/24
Corn to Lowry: "Senate ENR Comm. Dems"
Apr 9, 1984
1/25
Corn to Lowry: "Delegation Meeting and Wilderness Issues: Dosewallips, RR Creek Twisp"
Includes maps.
May 2, 1984
1/26
Corn to Lowry: Discussion Points on Wilderness Boundary Proposals
ca. 1984
1/27
Corn to Lowry: "Further Options During Negotiations on Wilderness Boundaries"
Includes maps.
ca. 1984

Outgoing LettersReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
1/28
Wilson, Duff
Sep. 18, 1979
1/29
Lowry to "USFS: Copy of Cougar Bill"
Mar. 5, 1981
1/30
Lowry: "Cougar Lakes Bill Intro"
Apr. 8, 1981
1/31
Corn: "Spotted Owl Sighting"
Jul. 30, 1982
1/32
Corn: "Sierra Club Priorities"
Sep. 19, 1982
1/33
Lowry to "Const.: Wild Fish Bill"
Jan. 10, 1983
1/34
Lowry and Cohen: "Wild Fish: Dear Enviro"
Feb. 9, 1983
1/35
"Wilderness Cover Letter, Q & A"
Jul. 21, 1983
1/36
"Wilderness Letters"
Jul. 26, 1983
1/37
Lowry and Pritchard
Aug., 10, 1983
1/38
To Washington State Delegation: "Wilderness Intro"
Oct., 5, 1983
1/39
Lowry: "Wild Fish, Dear Colleague"
Nov. 16, 1983
1/40
Lowry: "Dear Friends"
Dec. 9, 1983
1/41
Lowry: "Seiberling: Hearings?"
Jan. 10, 1984
1/42
"Clearwater Bill"
ca. Jan. 1984
1/43
Lowry
Mar.-May, 1984
1/44
Corn to Wilderness Delegation Legislative Assistants
Mar. 1984, Jan. 1985
Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
1/45
Conservationists' Meeting with Lowry
1979

LegislationReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
2/1
Draft: "Wilderness and Fish Bill"
1983
2/2
Draft: "WA Fisheries & Wilderness"
1983
2/3
Draft Bills
1984
2/4
Printed Bills
1981-1984
2/5
Printed Bills, Other States
1983
2/6
Reports and Report Language
1981, 1984
2/7
Statute, P.L. 98-339
1984

Acreage ChartsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
2/8
Cougar Lakes (Forest Service Background Data)
1978
2/9
Norse Peak (Forest Service Background Data)
1978
2/10
Clearwater (Forest Service Background Data)
1978
2/11
Boulder River (Forest Service Background Data)
1978
2/12
Glacier Peak (Forest Service Background Data)
1978, 1981
2/13
Salmo Priest (Forest Service Background Data)
1978-1981
2/14
Olympic Peninsula (Forest Service Background Data)
1978-1981
2/15
Sawtooth and Long Draw
1978-1981
2/16
Okanogan National Forest
1984
2/17
Colville National Forest
1978-1981
2/18
Mt. Baker (Forest Service Background Data)
1978-1981
2/19
Mt. Adams and Tatoosh (Forest Service Background Data)
1978-1979
2/20
Miscellaneous
1981, 1983
2/21
"Go List"
Sep. 26, 1983
2/22
"Cougar Lakes Boundaries"
undated
2/23
"Summary Wilderness"
undated
2/24
Proposed Wilderness Areas by Member's District
ca. 1984
2/25
Acreage Charts and Maps
1984

Proposals and MapsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
2/26
Glacier Peak
undated
2/27
Olympic Additions
1983
2/28
Olympic Additions - Olympic N.F. ORV Plan
1983
2/29
Olympic Additions - Timber
1979-ca. 1981
2/30
Olympic Additions - Fish
1980

Statements and TestimonyReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
2/31
Lowry: "Washington State RARE II Wilderness"
May 7, 1981
3/32
[Lowry?]: S.842, RARE II Review Act of 1981
[1981?]
2/33
Lowry: "Cougar Lakes: 97th Intro"
1981
2/34
Lowry Regarding Oil and Gas Leasing in Wilderness Areas
Feb. 9, 1982
2/35
Lowry
Jun. 3, 1983
2/36
"Wilderness Intro Remarks"
Nov. 18, 1983
2/37
Lowry on S.837 (Washington Wilderness Act)
Jun. 7, 1984
2/38
Lowry: "S837 Floor Statement"
Jun. 18, 1984
2/39
From Miscellaneous Groups
1981, undated
2/40
Cougar Lakes
1980-1982
3/1
Greenwater (Cougar Lakes Wilderness Proposal)
1980
3/2
Mt. Baker
1981
3/3
Juniper Forest
1980, 1981
3/4
Salmo Priest
1981
3/5
Kettle Range
1981
3/6
Wilderness Proposal Descriptions (Glacier Peak, Mt. Adams, Pasayten, Tatoosh)
[1981?]
3/7
H.R. 2354 (Cougar Lakes Wilderness)
1981
3/8
S. 837 (Washington Wilderness Bill)
Jun. 1983
3/9-10
S. 837
Sep. 1983
3/11
S. 837 Regarding Kettle Range
Jun. 1984
3/12-13
"Timber and Wilderness"
From various interest groups.
1980-1983
3/14
Statements and Position Papers
1979-1984
3/15
Washington State Snowmobile Association Testimony
1983

Press Releases, 1982-1983Return to Top

Container(s): Box-folder 3/16

Mailings and Newsletters, 1984, undatedReturn to Top

Container(s): Box-folder 3/17

WritingsReturn to Top

Mostly by Corn.

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
4/1
Washington Wilderness: No Second Chance
ca. 1983
4/2
Activities of Rep. Mike Lowry Regarding the Environment
ca. 1981
4/3
Comparison of "Hayakawa Release" Language and Compromise
ca. 1983
4/4
"Very Top Priority Issues and Areas"
undated
4/5
Draft Report Language on "Trapper Creek"
undated
4/6
"Drainages in Wilderness"
1983
4/7-8
Hearings
1983
4/9
"S. 837 Report/House"
ca. Jun. 1984
4/10
"Staff Level Negotiation of Boundaries"
ca. 1984
4/11
BLM land: Issues Related to Including It
undated
4/12
Background on Wild Fish Bill
[1983?]
4/13
Comments on DF Wilderness Bill
undated
4/14
"Enviro Newsletter"
Jun. 6, 1984
4/15
Notes
Mar. 14, 1983
4/16
Notes and Writings
1983, 1984
4/17
Fish
1983
Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
4/18
Mailing List
ca. 1983
4/19
"HMJ Invitation List" to Dedication Ceremony on Aug. 12
1984

Program, Wilderness Act Dedication, Aug. 12, 1984Return to Top

Container(s): Box-folder 4/20

Clippings, 1980-1984Return to Top

Container(s): Box-folder 4/21-22

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
4/23
Congressional Research Service
1976, 1979, 1984
4/24
"Cougar Lakes Wilderness Study Report" - U.S. Forest Service
1976
4/25
Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Off-Road Vehicle Use Plan
1977
4/26
Wenatchee National Forest - Environmental Assessment for Gap and Middle Ridge Planning Area, Yakima County
1984
4/27
"Mineral Resource Background Data...S. 837" - U.S. Bureau of Mines
1983
5/1
Controller General Reports to Congress Concerning Timber
1978, 1979
5/2
Old-Growth Forests of the Douglas Fir Region of Western Oregon and Western Washington
1980
5/3
Washington State Winter Recreation Commission
1983

Other PublicationsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
5/4
Trail Guides and Miscellaneous
1979-1982, undated
5/5
Environmental Statement - Bumping Lake Enlargement
1979
5/6
Naches Pass Road, Draft Environmental Impact Statement
1982
5/7
Naches-Tieton-White River Management Plan - Environmental Statement
1977, 1978

Subject SeriesReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
5/8
"RARE II 1983 Data" - Clearwater
Jun. 1983
5/9
"RARE II 1983 Data" - Early Winters, Chopaka Mt.
1983
5/10
"RARE II 1983 Data" - Salmo Priest
1982-1983
6/1
"RARE II 1983 Data" - Kettle Range
[1983?]
6/2
"RARE II Data" - Mt. Baker
1983
6/3
"RARE II 1983 Data" - Glacier Peak
[1983?]
6/4
Cougar Lakes
1980
6/5-6
Forest Management Tour, Cougar Lakes/Norse Peak Roadless Areas
1981
6/7
Salmon
1980, 1983
6/8-9
"Sufficiency - RARE II"
1980-1982
6/10
Cougar Lakes - Correspondence
1973-1983
6/11-13
Cougar Lakes
1979-1983
6/14 - 7/3
Briefing Notebook - Washington Wilderness Coalition
ca. 1984
Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
7/4
Miscellaneous
Includes notes by Corn.
1983-1984
7/5
Miscellaneous
Mar. 1984
7/6
Miscellaneous
1979-ca. 1983
7/7
Photos and Overlays
1973-ca. 1980
7/8
Miscellaneous
ca. 1984
7/9
Olympic National Forest
undated
7/10
Washington State RARE II
Especially concerns Clearwater.
ca. 1983
7/11
Colville National Forest
1983
7/12
Okanogan National Forest
[1984?]
7/13-16
Gifford Pinchot National Forest
[1984?]
8/1
Gifford Pinchot National Forest Indian Heaven (Sierra Club)
1983
8/2
Olympic National Forest
undated
8/3
Glacier Peak and Mount Baker
undated
8/4
Geologic and Other - Washington Dept. of Natural Resources and U.S. Bureau of Mines
1984
8/5
Railroad Creek
1984
8/6
Miscellaneous
1979, undated
tube:oversize
9
Colville National Forest
undated
10-11
Cougar Lakes - Proposed
undated
12-13
Cougar Lakes I
undated
14
Gifford Pinchot National Forest
undated
15-17
Glacier Peak I
undated
18-19
Glacier Peak - RARE II
undated
20-23
Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
undated
24
Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest - Clearwater Wilderness
undated
25-28
Okanogan National Forest
undated
29-33
Olympic National Forest
undated
34-36
Washington State RARE II
undated
37
Map of Indian Religious Sites in Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
Restricted.
undated
folder:oversize
38
Background Material Relating to Map of Indian Religious Sites
Restricted.
undated
tube:oversize
39
Overlays of Original Official Delegation Maps Made by M. Lynne Corn or Marianne Bicksell
1984

Floppy Disks, ca. 1983-1984Return to Top

Container(s): Box-folder 8/7-8

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Conservation of natural resources--Washington (State)
  • Forest reserves--Washington (State)
  • Wilderness areas--Law and legislation--Washington (State)
  • Wilderness areas--Washington (State)
  • Women in politics--United States

Personal Names

  • Corn, M. Lynne (Mary Lynne), 1946- --Archives
  • Lowry, Mike

Corporate Names

  • United States. Forest Service
  • United States. Washington State Wilderness Act of 1984

Geographical Names

  • Clearwater Wilderness (Wash.)
  • Cougar Lakes Wilderness (Wash.)
  • Glacier Peak Wilderness (Wash.)
  • Henry M. Jackson Wilderness (Wash.)
  • Mount Baker Wilderness (Wash.)
  • Norse Peak Wilderness (Wash.)
  • Salmo-Priest Wilderness (Wash.)
  • United States--Politics and government--20th century
  • Washington (State)--Environmental conditions
  • Washington (State)--Maps
  • William O. Douglas Wilderness (Wash.)

Form or Genre Terms

  • Maps

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)