Skagit Citizens for Nuclear Disarmament and Skagit Peace Education Fund Records, 1983-1995

Skagit Citizens for Nuclear Disarmament (SCND) and the Skagit Peace Education Fund (SPEF) were formed in response to the intense nuclear proliferation of the 1970s, building upon the work of Skagitonians Concerned About Nuclear Power to advocate against nuclear build-up and for peace, justice, and the well-being of the environment. The Nuclear Freeze movement gained momentum throughout the 1980s and Nuclear Free Zones were established in over 1,000 locations worldwide. In 1984, a Nuclear Free Zone in Skagit County was approved with 62% of the vote. Once enacted in 1985, the freeze prohibited all development, storage, manufacture or usage of nuclear weapons in the county.

SCND bylaws were approved in 1981, and SPEF was incorporated in the summer of 1986 and awarded non-profit status in 1992. Activities supported by members of SCND and SPEF included publishing the Skagit Network News (which was distributed to over two thousand households in the area in the 1980s and 1990s); developing a Peace Library at the Anacortes Peace Arts Center; hosting film screenings and presentations by authors, artists and dignitaries; collaborating with politicians; working to incorporate peace studies into teacher education; and participating in various local and regional fairs, festivals, and fundraising endeavors.