A.B. "Bert" Curtis was born on a ranch near Salem, Oregon, August 1, 1903. His parents, Charles Garret Curtis of Independence, Missouri, and Elizabeth Ann Milne, who was born near Dundee, Scotland, were early pioneers. The family moved to Orofino, Idaho, in 1912 where Charles Curtis operated a hotel for a time before returning to ranching.
Having attended high school in both Orofino and Plummer, Bert entered the University of Idaho where he remained for one year. He then attended Lewiston State Normal School where he received his teacher's diploma after two years of study. He taught and coached athletics in Fernwood for a while, then returned to the University of Idaho for two more years. On December 21, 1920, A.B. Curtis married Alene Honeywell of Clear Lake, South Dakota. They had five children, four sons and a daughter.
In 1927 Curtis was appointed Assistant Chief Fire Warden for the Clearwater Timber Protective Association; a year later he was appointed Chief. In 1945 he was made Chief Fire Warden and Manager of the Potlatch Timber Protective Association, and in that same year he became State Fire Warden. In 1966 the Clearwater and Potlatch Timber Protective Associations combined and Curtis remained Chief Fire Warden of the new organization until he retired in August 1968. He was president of two mining concerns, Orofino Lime Products and Oxford Copper Mining Company near Pierce. He represented Idaho as a Director on the Inland Waterways Association, and was a founding member of the University of Idaho Advisory Research Council. In 1956 he received a national award for outstanding service in state, federal, and private forestry. From 1965 to 1970 he represented the timber interest as a member of the Advisory Council of the Public Land Law Review Commission.
In 1951 Bert Curtis was elected mayor of Orofino, a position he held for some 20 years. In 1958 he tried unsuccessfully to unseat Gracie Pfost, the Democratic incumbent representing Idaho's First District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
At the time this inventory was prepared (October 1980) Curtis was still living in Orofino.
Public law 88-606 passed by Congress in 1964 established the Public Land Law Review Commission to conduct a comprehensive review of the policies applicable to the use, management, and disposition of the public lands of the United States. Public lands, as defined by the law and included in the commission study, were public domain, federal reservations other than Indian, all national forests, wildlife refuges and ranges; these lands comprised about one-third of the area of the nation. The law also set a deadline of December 31, 1968, for the commission to make its final report to the President. After Congressional hearings held in April 1967 an eighteen month extension was granted.
The commission was composed of nineteen members, six appointed by the President of the United States, six by the president of the Senate and six by the Speaker of the House; the nineteenth member was chosen by the first eighteen to act as chairman. Due to election results in the years of the commission's existence the membership changed slightly. The first organizational meeting was held on July 14, 1965. An advisory council of eight federal government and twenty-five non federal government members was appointed by the commission; governors of the states were also asked to name representatives to work with the commission and advisory council.
The commission held public hearings in various sections of the country and the members of the commission, advisory council and governors' representatives toured the public lands of each area after the meetings. Reports on many aspects of public land problems were written, many by outside agencies, and from these reports the commission compiled its final report,
The Public Land Law Review Commission papers of A.B. Curtis are contained in seven large file boxes; the reports prepared for the commission occupy several shelves in the library archives. Among the types of material found in this collection are press releases and memoranda issued by the commission, A.B. Curtis's commission related correspondence, speeches of commission members, especially Wayne Aspinall and Milton Pearl, material relating to the public meetings of the commission (of particular interest are Curtis's own memoranda of these meetings which he circulated to his close friends) and the reports prepared for the commission to assist it in making its own recommendations to the President and Congress.
In addition to the material in the archives, the Special Collections library photograph collection contains many of the photographs Curtis took while on PLLRC tours.
The correspondence in this collection is arranged in chronological order. When more than one letter bears the same date, these are in alphabetical order by surname of the correspondent. Speeches are arranged chronologically under each speaker. Material relating to the meetings of the Public Land Law Review Commission are in chronological order. Information on the studies prepared for the commission are in order by RFP (Request for Proposals) number, or, if there is no RFP, by the date of the study plan. The final studies themselves were assigned numbers by the commission, and are shelved in order by that number.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
Although it may seem unusual to begin an inventory with miscellaneous material, the items in this series provide the background for the hearings, studies, and reports which follow. This series contains Public Land Law Review Commission memoranda, general information concerning the organization and staff, correspondence of A.B. Curtis which concerns the Commission, speeches given by members of the Commission, and articles relating directly or indirectly to the work of the Commission.
Each sub-section of this series is described under its appropriate folder heading. Depending on the type of material, there is a brief description of the contents, a list of the contents, or both.
pt. 2. "Classification and Multiple Use and Public Land Sale Acts of 1964: Rules and Regulations."
Briefing on Public Land Law Review Commission Held April 26, 1967." Hearing on H.R. 12121, A Bill to Amend the Act of September 9, 1964 (78 Stat. 983) Establishing the Public Land Law Review Commission. Washington, D.C., U.S. Government Printing Office, 1967. 63 p.
Joint Resolution no. 10. February 9, 1967. Memorializes Public Land Law Review Commission to consider certain matters relating to federal lands in Nevada. 3 p.
A brief historical sketch of the great land inheritance and how it has enhanced a nation. Washington, D.C., U.S. Government Printing Office. 1966. 12 p.
Printed for use of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, House of Representatives. September 24, 1964. (U.S. 88th Congress, 2d Session; Committee Print no. 39) Washington, D.C., U.S. Government Printing Office, 1964. 132 p.
This folder contains lists of the PLLRC members, the Advisory Council members--both federal and non-federal government--and the governors' representatives. Subsequent revisions of most lists are also contained in this folder. Biographical information on Advisory Council personnel is given in an attachment to an August 18, 1965 list.
This folder contains a list of potential study contractors plus three supplemental lists. Also included are periodic progress reports on the various studies undertaken by contractors.
The memoranda in this folder were issued between September 1, 1966 and October 26, 1970. Information includes summaries of the hearings held in Salt Lake City, Alaska, Boston, Fresno, Palm Springs, and Billings.
These memoranda were issued between February 18, 1966 and October 27, 1970. Information includes notices of meetings, reports of the activities of the Advisory Council, copies of correspondence relating to the various studies of the commission and reports of the meeting held in Salt Lake City in June 1966.
These releases which were issued between December 1. 1965 and October 30, 1970, contain copies of correspondence, notices of meetings, lists of projects under study, schedules for public meetings, notices of contract awards and notices of the appointment of new staff members.
The correspondence in this series is filed in chronological order. It includes incoming, outgoing, and third party letters. Most letters deal with the routine business of the Public Land Law Review Commission, but a majority of the 1967 letters are concerned with the planning of the PLLRC hearings held in Spokane in early September, and the subsequent air tour of Idaho's public lands. Several letters have brief articles attached--these are mentioned following the list of correspondents. Although only the year is given after the name of the correspondent in the following list, the file cards fully identify the correspondent, give the exact dates of the letters, indicate whether the letters are incoming or outgoing, and occasionally include the subject of the letter.
Report prepared for Public Land Law Review Commission, May 1969, rev. Sept. 1969. Washington, D.C., U.S. Dept. of Justice, Land and Natural Resources Division. 4 microfiches. (collation of original: 193 p.)
These talks are listed alphabetically under the speaker. The exact date of the speech and the organization before which it was delivered are mentioned on the file cards maintained for this group.
Items include a list of committees for 1970-1971, minutes of the annual meeting and the executive committee meeting, December 1970.
On November 19, 1967, Governor Samuelson convened a three day conference in McCall on the Natural Resources in Idaho. Included in the folder for this conference are the agenda, the remarks of Joe R. Williams, State Auditor, and several publications of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service: "More Wildlife Through Soil and Water Conservation" 1963 (Agriculture Information Bulletin no. 175); "Hold That Flood! It's Being Done in Idaho" 1966; "Conservation Moves Ahead in Idaho" 1967; and A.B. Curtis's personal diary of the meeting
On October 10 & 11, 1966, the University of Idaho sponsored a Public Land Law Conference in Boise. Besides the agenda the items included in this folder are:
C.T. Hanson. "Laws governing the staking and filing of claims in the State of Idaho. 1966. 47 p.
Floyd Iverson. "Laws, regulations, and policies: U.S. Forest Service." 8 p.
Jerry A. O'Callahan. "Communication in public land management" p.
A.J. Teske. "Land acquisition for mining development." 9 p.
Paul A. Bailly, President, Bear Creek Mining Company. Statement. 44 p.
Proceedings of the Conference. 144 p.
Beginning in June 1966 the Public Land Law Review Commission held a series of public meetings around the country for the purpose of hearing and seeing regional problems first hand. In April 1968 the first of several hearings on the various reports prepared for the PLLRC was held. Listed below, in chronological order, is a brief description of the contents of the folders for these meetings. A.B. Curtis did not attend the first two meetings, those held in Salt Lake City on June 7-8, and in Alaska on July 1-11, consequently no folders exist for those meetings.
This was the first organizational meeting of the Commission members with the members of the Advisory Council and the Governor's Representatives. Included in the folder are lists of all staff members, official summaries of the meetings, a bound volume containing twenty-seven individual presentations to the Commission which suggest areas for study or define specific problems which should be studied. (A complete list of these statements will be found on the file cards in the archives department.)
The public hearings were held in Boston on the 18th and 19th of August, and were followed by a tour of the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire, on the 19th and 20th. Material for the meeting includes the agenda, witness list, Curtis's eight page diary of the meeting, and several statements. There is some travel/tourist information of the White Mountain National Forest included, also.
On September 16th public meetings were held in Denver. The agenda, attendance record, Curtis's pencil notes and typed diary are included in the folder as are the official summaries of each session and several statements. The narrative of the air tour of Colorado's public lands (52 p.) and other tourist information is also included.
The material for the southwestern regional meeting includes the agenda, commission attendance list, witness list, the official minutes of the meeting and Curtis's own memorandum. Several statements which were presented to the commission are also included. Following the hearings an air and auto tour of the national forest and the Nogal Range Unit was arranged for the commissioners.
The material for the South Pacific public meetings include the agenda, witness lists, Curtis's diary, the official summary of the meetings and several statements submitted to the commission. Among the material relating to the problems in California is a booklet entitled "Historic Salton Sea and Imperial Irrigation District." (32 p.)
The meetings in New Orleans were held on May 26-27. These were followed by another day of hearings in Asheville, N.C., on the 29th. The usual material, agenda, witness lists, statements, and summaries, are contained in the folder. Following the meetings a tour of portions of North Carolina were arranged. Among the information Curtis collected on this trip were pamphlets on the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. "Air Tour and Visit of Gulf Coast Offshore Oil, Gas and Sulphur Operations, May 28, 1967."
In addition to the agenda, witness list, official memorandum of the meeting and summary of statements presented to the commission, there is a twenty-five page narrative of the Montana air tour which was scheduled for July 15-16. The publications include a brief story of Montana and a booklet on the Indians of Montana and Wyoming.
In September A.B. Curtis arranged for the PLLRC meeting in Spokane, with the ultimate intention of an air tour of the Idaho public lands. Toward the end of the planning sessions, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, was also included in the plan. This Pacific Northwest visit commenced with public meetings in Seattle on September 1; the Spokane hearings were held on September 2, and on the 3rd the air tour began. Among the items in the two folders for these meetings are the minutes for the July 1977 planning committee meeting, the usual agenda, witness lists, and statements for the meetings themselves, and speeches delivered at two of the luncheons. There is a folder labeled "Idaho and the Problems Relating to its Agricultural Land," which contains a booklet entitled "The Economic Importance of the Western Phosphate Industry," as well as other material relating to agriculture. A second folder contains a great deal of information on Grand Teton National Park. The file folders also contain the narrative of the aerial tour of Idaho, aeronautical maps showing the flight plan, newspaper clippings about the PLLRC meetings, and a variety of tourist/travel brochures.
The agenda, commission attendance list, list of witnesses, minutes of the meeting of Governors' Representatives, official summary of the meeting and Curtis's diary are among the material relating to the meeting held in Milwaukee. Following the meeting there was an air tour of the Ottawa National Forest near Ironwood, Michigan. There are several informational brochures on the forest as well as three booklets on the Apostle Islands region of Wisconsin.
The folder for this final regional meeting contains, in addition to the usual agenda, official summary and Curtis's notes, the most complete file of statements presented to the commission, thirty from members of the Advisory Council and twenty from representatives of other interested organizations.
This meeting was convened to hear the views of federal departments and agencies having an interest in public lands. The presentations of some of these agencies are included.
The topics discussed at this meeting were the studies on Revenue Sharing, Withdrawals and Reservations, and the Outer Continental Shelf. After the meeting the commission members toured some copper mines, then embarked on an air tour of Arizona's public lands. A.B. Curtis's personal diary and a small collection of newspaper clippings provide the only information on the substance of the meeting.
The subject of this meeting was the report on Administrative Procedure. Curtis's personal notes are the only source of information on the discussions.
Included in this folder are comments on the commissions' Fish and Wildlife study by the Dept. of the Interior, Colorado State University, Dept. of Fishery & Wildlife Biology, Iowa State Conservation Commission, and the Wildlife Management Institute. There is also a summary of the study entitled "Development, Management, and Use of Water Resources on the Public Lands."
The study discussed at this meeting was the Federal Land Policies in Alaska. Among agencies submitting reports on this study were the U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Dept. of Agriculture, and the Atomic Energy Commission. A.B. Curtis's diary is also included.
The reports discussed at this meeting were the Economic Impact of Federal Land Ownership and Use, Federal Public Land Laws and Policies Relating to Intensive Agriculture, and Public Land Timber Policy. There are comments from Bernard Orell (Weyerhaeuser Co.) the Northern and Intermountain Regions of the Forest Service and several federal departments on the Public Land Timber Policy study.
Although called to discuss the reports on Regional and Local Land Use Planning and Forage, there are comments on the Timber study by Curtis and Bernard Orell.
The studies on Trespass and Unauthorized Use, Outdoor Recreation, and Nonfuel and Energy Fuel Minerals were discussed at this meeting. Some comments on these reports by outside agencies are included in the folder.
Curtis's notes are the only record of what transpired at this meeting called to discuss Use and Occupancy and User Fees and Charges.
Besides the agenda and commission attendance list, the only item in this folder is a summary of State Land Resources and Policies Study.
After the PLLRC submitted its final report to the President and Congress the University of Nevada sponsored a regional conference to review the recommendations of the commission. The program for the meeting and a copy of the speech given by Arthur M. Roberts "Timber Resources" are included in the folder. Remarks of Commissioner John A. Carver, Jr., Federal Power Commission, Before the Public Land Law Review Commission Conference, Reno, Nevada, November 17, 1970. 13 p.
Each of the studies requested by the PLLRC to enable it to complete its own report was commissioned in the same manner. First a proposed study plan was drawn up and circulated to Advisory Council members for their comments. Many council members sent copies to experts in the field of study and included these comments with their own report to the Commission. A "Request for Proposals" (RFP) was then sent to potential contractors. After a proposal was accepted, a contract signed, and the final report submitted, the council members were asked to read the reports and send comments on them to the Commission. Some of these reports are only a single page, others much longer and very detailed.
Most of the folders in this series contain study plans, requests for proposals and comments from Advisory Council members. These are arranged in RFP number order. There are some folders which contain study plans and comments only. These are in chronological order by study plan date, the folders are lettered A-L rather than numbered. In several instances a study changed title between study plan and comments; these changes are noted in parentheses following the original title. The reports to which the material in these folders refer are in the following series.
This series consists of the published version of the reports referred to in the previous series, plus some miscellaneous reports related to public land law. Most reports exist in two drafts--the original which was submitted to the PLLRC for study and discussion, and the final or revised draft which was reproduced by the Clearinghouse for Federal Scientific and Technical Information, Springfield, Virginia.
List of Public Land Law Review Commission material in Archives Group 147