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Eleanor Stopps papers, 1940-2008

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Stopps, Eleanor
Title
Eleanor Stopps papers
Dates
1940-2008 (inclusive)
1974-2008 (bulk)
Quantity
4.17 cubic feet (4 boxes, 1 tube, 1 vertical file)
Collection Number
4563
Summary
Papers of an environmental activist related to campaign for Protection Island, Washington
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.

Request at UW

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Eleanor Stopps was an environmental activist and leader known for helping to get Protection Island, located in the strait of Juan de Fuca north of Discovery Bay, established as a wildlife habitat. Starting in the 1960s, she worked with fellow Seattle Audubon Society member Zella Schultz, an artist and ornithologist, to study and band glaucous-winged gulls on Protection Island. The island had been recognized since the 1930s as an important habitat for sea birds and wildlife, but it later became privately owned and was destined for development. Schultz had begun an effort to convince the state or federal government to purchase and protect the island and its species. When Schultz died in 1974, Stopps vowed to continue her friend's work to protect Protection Island. She testified before the Washington State Legislature and the U.S. Congress. She led a nine-year grassroots effort that finally proved successful in 1982 when Congress allocated $4 million for the purchase of Protection Island as a national wildlife refuge.

Stopps was a resident of Jefferson County, Washington, from 1974 to 2012, when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer and moved to Gig Harbor to be closer to her family. In her long career as an environmentalist, she received a Citizen Appreciation Award in 1988 from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and was acknowledged as Jefferson County Citizen of the Century for 1889-1989. In 1992 she received the Nature Conservancy's Oak Life, its highest award. Since 2005, her legacy has been honored through the Eleanor Stopps Environmental Leadership Award, now administered through the Port Townsend Marine Science Center. The award recognizes citizens on the North Olympic Peninsula who have provided leadership in protection and stewardship for the environment. Eleanor died on April 25, 2012 in Tacoma at the age of 92.

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Content Description

Correspondence, writings, reports, legislation, news releases, minutes, clippings, maps, property records, photographs, and other material related to Stopps' campaign for Protection Island, Washington. Also includes writings of and material about Zella M. Schultz, ornithologist, artist, and mentor to Stopps; circa 1967-1983. Major correspondents include Audubon Society, Nature Conservancy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and members of the Washington State congressional delegation.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Copyrights retained by creator. Contact University of Washington Libraries Special Collections for details.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Organized into 2 accessions.

  • Accession No. 4563-001, Eleanor Stopps papers, 1940-1990
  • Accession No. 4563-002, Eleanor Stopps papers, 2003-2008

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 

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Subject Terms

  • Conservationists--Washington (State)--Archives
  • Environmental policy--Washington (State)
  • Environmental protection--Washington (State)
  • Environmentalism--Washington (State)
  • Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)
  • Political activists--Washington (State)--Archives

Personal Names

  • Stopps, Eleanor,--Archives

Geographical Names

  • Protection Island (Wash.)
  • Protection Island (Wash.)--History--Sources
  • Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge (Wash.)--History--Sources

Other Creators

  • Personal Names

    • Bonker, Don, 1937- (creator)
    • Breaux, John B (creator)
    • Buckmaster, Doug (creator)
    • Dicks, Norman D (creator)
    • Gorton, Slade, 1928- (creator)
    • Jackson, Henry M. (Henry Martin), 1912-1983 (creator)
    • Krause, Fayette Florent (creator)
    • McClure, James A (creator)
    • Pyle, Robert Michael (creator)
    • Schultz, Zella M. (Zella McMannama), 1920-1974 (creator)
    • Swift, Al, 1935- (creator)

    Corporate Names

    • Audubon Society. Admiralty Chapter (creator)
    • National Audubon Society (creator)
    • Nature Conservancy (U.S.). Washington State Chapter (creator)
    • Protection Island Beach Club (creator)
    • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (creator)
    • Washington (State). Department of Game (creator)


2007 (Last modified: 12/31/2020)

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