Archives West Finding Aid

Louis Linden Madsen was born in Salt Lake City in 1907, received his Bachelor of Science Degree from Utah State Agricultural College in 1930, and went on to obtain his Doctorate from Cornell University in 1934. On July 1, 1955 he became the Director of the Washington State University Institute of Agricultural Science which, in 1965, was renamed the College of Agriculture. He retired from W.S.U. as Dean Emeritus in 1973. His papers, however, concern his tenure as a member of the Washington State Board of Natural Resources.

In 1957 the state of Washington enacted House Bill No. 68 which stipulated the creation of the Department of Natural Resources and its executive body, the Board of Natural Resources. This law also designated the board members as the Governor, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Commissioner of Public Lands, the Dean of the College of Forestry of the University of Washington, and the Dean or Director of the School of Agriculture of W.S.U. Dr. Madsen sat on the board from 1957 to 1973. The Board held its first meeting April 1, 1957 and, by law, chose the head of the Department of Natural Resources. The department, under the direction of the board, abolished and consolidated the functions of: the Board of State Land Commissioners; the Forestry Board; the Sustained-Yield Forest Committee; and others. The board itself exclusively controls and supervises the department and all public lands, including their use, lease, exchange, acquisition, sale, timber production, minerals, and other valuable materials.