Arnold W. Bolle Papers, 1930-1994

The collection contains writings, correspondence, research, and other materials from Arnold Bolle’s career in the Soil Conservation Service, as a forestry professor at The University of Montana, his work on A University View of the Forest Service, and the organizations he worked with before and during his retirement, like the Wilderness Society and the Montana Wilderness Association. The collection is divided into nine series.

Series I contains Bolle’s personal records, such as employment contracts, scrapbooks, journals, daily planners, and field diaries from the Soil Conservation Service. A journal kept by Bolle for 1984 to 1985 describes his daily life, as well as details his efforts to help pass a Montana Wilderness Bill, including his discussions with Montana’s Congressional delegation. The scrapbooks in the series mostly contain correspondence, clippings, and writings compiled by year. The series is arranged by subject and chronologically by year whenever possible.

Series II contains Bolle’s papers from his career at The University of Montana. Included are lecture notes and class materials, student papers, and Forestry School curriculum development projects. The series also contains materials from University-operated centers and projects like the proposed Center for Natural Resources, the Lubrecht Experimental Forest, and the Wilderness Institute. The series is arranged by subject or chronologically by year whenever possible.

Series III contains correspondence from individuals and on certain subjects. Other correspondence is identified and organized by year. The first part of the series is arranged by individual or subject. The series concludes with correspondence arranged chronologically by year.

Series IV contains Bolle’s speeches and writings. Included are many addresses he delivered at conferences across Montana and his numerous publications on forestry and wilderness issues. Included are drafts, notes, research, and published versions of his writings. The series features several drafts of his Ph.D. thesis, “Multiple Use Management” (1959). The series contains copies of A University View of the Forest Service, but further information can be found in Series VII. The series does contain his writing “The Bitterroot Revisited: A University Review of the Forest Service,” (1989), which examines changes in Forest Service practices since A University View of the Forest Service. The series is arranged chronologically by date.

Series V contains research that Bolle collected on a variety of subjects. The series contains different types of materials, especially clippings. It contains the bird census data that Bolle compiled in his neighborhood near Greenough Park in Missoula, Montana. There is also information about local and broader national environmental concerns like energy policy and clear-cutting. The series is arranged alphabetically by subject.

Series VI contains materials from the many organizations, committees, and conferences Arnold Bolle was involved in or compiled information about. The series contains materials from the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission during United States Senator Lee Metcalf’s service on the commission in the 1960s and 1970s. A large portion of the series contains materials from Bolle’s service on the governing council of the Wilderness Society, Washington, D.C. The series includes materials from the National Forest Timber Management Act of 1976 and from Limits of Acceptable Change Task Forces, especially regarding the development of management plans for the Bob Marshall and Selway Bitterroot Wilderness Areas. The series is arranged alphabetically.

Series VII contains correspondence, research, clippings, and other materials associated with A University View of the Forest Service (1970), also known as the Bolle Report. The series particularly contains correspondence and clippings about public reception of the report. The series is arranged alphabetically by subject. Series VIII contains writings, mostly unpublished, by individuals and agencies. A good deal of this contains miscellaneous Forest Service documents and memoranda. The series is arranged chronologically by year. Series IX primarily contains photographs of Arnold Bolle participating in activities related to The University of Montana, like the Grizzly Riders. The series is arranged chronologically by year.