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Rand Jack Papers, 1923-1998

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Jack, Rand
Title
Rand Jack Papers
Dates
1923-1998 (inclusive)
1968-1998 (bulk)
Quantity
14.75 linear feet
Collection Number
XOE0169Jackpapers
Summary
The Rand Jack Papers document aspects of the legal and environmental work of Bellingham lawyer and long-term Fairhaven College professor Rand Jack. These papers include materials from Jack’s work as an attorney, his 1979 run for Whatcom County Council, and a rich body of records pertaining to his employment as an independent land steward for Forestal Trillium S.A.'s Rio Condor Project in Chile.
Repository
Western Washington University, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies
Goltz-Murray Archives Building
808 25th St.
Bellingham, WA
98225
Telephone: (360) 650-7534
cpnws@wwu.edu
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public.

Languages
English, Spanish.
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Biographical Note

Rand Jack is a lawyer, professor, environmentalist and long-term resident of Whatcom County, Washington. A graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School, Jack taught classes at Western Washington University’s Fairhaven College for over thirty years, while also practicing law part-time at Brett & Coats Personal Injury Attorneys PLLC in Bellingham, Washington.

An ardent environmentalist, Rand Jack was one of the founders of the Whatcom Land Trust. From 1993-1995 he was employed as an independent land steward, monitoring Forestal Trillium S.A.'s proposed sustainable logging project on Tierra del Fuego in Chile (the “Rio Condor Project”). Jack crafted a set of Stewardship Principles for the project, promoting the need for an accompanying environmental impact statement, which was compiled by a commission of Chilean scientists. The project attracted considerable media, academic and popular attention in Chile and abroad, including from international environmental groups, and sustainable forestry proponents and environmentalists in the Pacific Northwest. Intensive scrutiny and criticism of the Rio Condor Project (and growing support for preservation of the old-growth forests on Tierra del Fuego) was accompanied by legal battles and led eventually to the project’s collapse. In December 2003, Goldman Sachs obtained the land after purchasing the defaulted bonds of Forestal Trillium S.A.. These and other lands were later transferred to the Wildlife Conservation Society to be maintained as an ecological preserve.

Sources:

  • Rand Jack Papers, CPNWS.
  • Brett & Coats website: http://www.brettlaw.com/our-attorneys/rand-jack
  • Environmental News Service bulletins (September 2004) http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/sep2004/2004-09-15-01.html

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Content Description

The Rand Jack Papers document aspects of the legal and environmental work of Bellingham lawyer and long-term Fairhaven College professor Rand Jack. These papers include materials from Jack’s work as an attorney, his 1979 run for Whatcom County Council, and a rich body of records pertaining to his employment as an independent land steward for Forestal Trillium S.A.'s Rio Condor Project in Chile.

Legal and campaign files contain records from some of the higher profile court cases for which Rand Jack served as attorney. These include the legal challenge of Village Books, et al, versus Initiative 1C - the City of Bellingham, WA (against an anti-pornography ordinance), lawsuits brought as injunctions against the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, and another to stop the U.S. Military from transporting chemical nerve agents across Washington and Oregon States. These files also include campaign promotional materials, candidate forums, and newspaper clippings documenting Jack’s unsuccessful run for Whatcom County Council in 1979.

The majority of the collection documents Rand Jack’s work as independent land steward for the Rio Condor Project. Jack monitored and provided recommendations to Forestal Trillium S.A. ("Trillium") from 1993-1995, as the company sought to establish sustainable forestry operations on the Chilean island of Tierra del Fuego in Chile.

Rio Condor Project files contain research material authored by Chilean scientists, project descriptions from Trillium and Bayside Limited, and reports by the Beacon Group (project investors). Also included are legal documents, correspondence, press releases, maps, photographs, slides, audio and video recordings, newspaper and magazine articles both for and against the project, and background research and materials concerning the short and long-term ecological ramifications of the project. The collection also includes the manual for Rand Jack’s Fairhaven 410b class titled “ Rio Condor Project”, taught during Fall quarter of 1994 at Western Washington University.

The majority of the Rio Condor project files are organized in accordance with Rand Jack’s original filing system, with some additional materials organized together as “other research and background files” or by format. Since there is some overlap between different sections of these extensive files, researchers are advised to examine the entire inventory.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Rand Jack Papers, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Libraries Archives & Special Collections, Western Washington University, Bellingham WA 98225-9123.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The Rand Jack papers are organized in accordance with the following series:

  • Series I. Legal and Campaign Files 1923-1998   ( bulk) 1968-1998   ( bulk)
  • Series II. Rio Condor Project Files 1929-1996   ( inclusive) 1992-1996   ( bulk)
  • Series III. Alaska Kayaking Trip 1994

Custodial History

Rio Condor Project materials were transferred and all materials formally donated to the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies by Rand Jack on December 17, 2010.

Acquisition Information

The early legal files and court cases of Rand Jack were transfered to the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies by Robert H. Keller. Materials documenting the Rio Condor Project were transfered by Rand Jack on December 17, 2010.

Processing Note

The collection was processed by Eric L. Mastor in 2011. The Rio Condor Project materials in the Rand Jack collection have been maintained largely in the order in which the author arranged, organized and collected them.

Processing Note

About Harmful Language and Content

To learn more about problematic content in our collections, collection description and teaching tools (including how to provide feedback or request dialogue on this topic), see the following Statement About Potentially Harmful Language and Content

Separated Materials

Some audio materials relating to Rand Jack’s run for County Council can be found in the Robert H. Keller papers at the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Finding aid prepared by Eric L. Mastor
2011

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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