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James R. Sedell Papers, 1819-2011

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Sedell, James R.
Title
James R. Sedell Papers
Dates
1819-2011 (inclusive)
1944-2011 (bulk)
Quantity
63.48 cubic feet, including 18 VHS tapes, 7 DVDs, 63 CDs, 25 cassette tapes, 8 zip drives, and 96 3.5-inch floppy disks, (67 boxes, including 60 cubic foot boxes, 2 oversized boxes, and 5 oversized folders)
Collection Number
MSS Sedell
Summary
This collection consists of materials collected and generated by Dr. James R. Sedell. Sedell was a researcher at Oregon State University, focusing on stream ecosystem research in the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest, who also held positions at Weyerhaeuser Co., the US Forest Service Pacific Northwest and Southwest Research Stations, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. This collection primarily consists of project materials and reference materials, and also includes over 100 of his publications and manuscripts, conference materials, as well as his research from Mount Saint Helens after its 1980 eruption.
National Science Foundation Proposals and project justifications are restricted due to the presence of confidential information. All requests to access these materials should be directed to the University Archivist.
Repository
Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives Research Center
Special Collections and Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
97331-4501
Telephone: 5417372075
Fax: 5417378674
scarc@oregonstate.edu
Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research. Proposals submitted to the National Science Foundation located in Series 3, Series 10,  and Series 12, are restricted due to the presence of confidential information. All requests to access these materials should be directed to the University Archivist.

Languages
English, French, Spanish;Castilian, German
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Biographical Note

James (Jim) Russell Sedell was born in Medford, Oregon on July 5th, 1944 to John and Lola Sedell. He grew up with three siblings: sisters Margaret and Sharon, and brother Steven. He attended Willamette University for his undergraduate degree. There he met and was tutored by Ellen Hoeye. He graduated in 1966 with a Bachelors in Philosophy. In August of that same year, he and Ellen got married. After this, they moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where Sedell attended the University of Pittsburgh. In 1971, he received a Ph.D. in Environmental Biology, having written his dissertation on “Trophic Ecology and Natural History of Neophylax concinnus and Neophylax oligius.”

After graduating from University of Pittsburgh in 1971, Sedell moved back to Oregon and took up a research position offered to him by Jerry Franklin at Oregon State University. His research focused on the stream ecosystems present in the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest. During this time, he also assisted in the development of the River Continuum Concept. This concept considers how energy is recycled while traveling through the gradient of small streams to large rivers. He held this position until 1977, when he moved to Washington state and became the Manager of the Aquatic Research Team at the Weyerhaeuser Company. During his time with Weyerhaeuser, he worked to spread awareness about the importance of wood’s roles in the health of bodies of water and their ecosystems, and played a major role in the reversal of the policy that required the removal of trees from fish passage channels.

In 1980, Sedell returned to Corvallis to lead the United States Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station’s Aquatic Science Team. Soon after returning, Mount Saint Helens erupted, and Sedell was one of the first scientists onsite. Capitalizing on the opportunity the scientific community had to look into how ecosystems reassembled after a disturbance, Sedell focused on sampling the water of Spirit Lake and surrounding bodies of water to research how water and its inhabitants were impacted by the eruption. His work at Mount Saint Helens led to the creation of one of the most comprehensive volcanic landscape research collections in the world. In 1992 and 1993 he also helped to develop the National Management Strategy that eventually led to Pacific Anadromous Fish, or PACFISH, an ecosystem-based habitat strategy to restore and conserve riparian and freshwater areas for Pacific anadromous fish populations. In 1993, President Clinton held a Forest Summit in Portland, and Sedell was selected to be on the president’s panel as the Scientific Expert for Fish and Water Quality. After this summit, President Clinton created the Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team (FEMAT), and appointed Sedell as co-leader of the aquatic component of this team. He also went on to lead a similar project that focused on aquatic conservation for federal lands within the Interior Columbia River Basin.

In 1994, Sedell accepted the position of Forest Service Water Coordinator in Washington, D.C. Soon after accepting this position, he moved into the position of Director of Wildlife, Fish, Water, and Air Research. In this role, he was able to speak and provide insights to national level policy makers. In 2004, Sedell was appointed the Director of the United States Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Research Center in Albany, California. While in this position, he helped to establish the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry (IPIF) in Hilo, Hawaii, which “provides scientific and technical information needed to restore, conserve, and sustain tropical forests and wetlands of the Pacific.”

In 2008, Sedell retired from the Forest Service, but worked as Fish Conservation Director for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation in Portland in his retirement. This position allowed him to oversee and award grants to scientists focused on protecting and conserving aquatic resources. He held this position until his passing on August 18th, 2012. Since his passing, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation established the James R. Sedell Fish and Forest Scholarship Fund in his memory, and the Forest Service established the Jim Sedell Research Achievement Award. His work has also been written about, with the most prominent publication being After the Blast: The Ecological Recovery of Mount St. Helens by Eric Wagner, which details his, as well as Dr. Jerry Franklin and Dr. Fred Swanson’s, involvement in research at Mount St. Helens after its eruption.

A tribute to Jim Sedell with photographs and videos is available at this site.

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Content Description

The James R. Sedell Papers documents the research, publications, and life’s work of Dr. Sedell. The collection spans 12 series and covers both professional and personal endeavors. A majority of this collection covers his professional works, including research notes and data, photographs and slides, transparencies, audio-visual materials,  proceedings of conferences and symposiums he participated in, and student dissertations and theses. A portion of this collection is also dedicated to biographical materials, including professional materials such as resumes, job applications, and references written for other researchers, as well as personal materials, such as spiritual and religious group materials, hobby materials such as coin collection information, as well as artifacts such as stickers and pins from various organizations.

A large portion of this collection is also dedicated to the reference material used by Sedell during his research. These materials include various journal articles, presentations completed by others, publications from agencies such as the US Forest Service, as well as proceedings from conferences and symposiums that he attended but didn’t participate in.

Another noteworthy portion of this collection are the projects that Sedell was associated with. These projects include his work associated with the 1980 eruption of Mount Saint Helens, the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) and Forest Ecosystem Management Team (FEMAT), both of which were set forth by President Clinton after the 1993 Forest Conference, the Large Scale Watershed Restoration Projects (LSWRP), and Pacific Anadromous Fish (PACHFISH). These project materials include correspondence, publications, research notes, and reference materials.

Access to National Science Foundation Proposals and Project Justifications held in the collection is restricted due to the presence of confidential information. All requests for access to these materials should be directed to the University Archivist.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

James R. Sedell Papers (MSS Sedell), Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The James R. Sedell Papers are arranged into 12 series: 1. Correspondence, 1968-2008; 2. Publications and Manuscripts, 1972-2010; 3. Projects, 1819-2010; 4. Research Notes and Data, 1950-2007; 5. Presentations, Transparencies and Graphics, 1975-2008; 6. Photographs, 1964-1999; 7. Audio-Visual Materials, 1975-2005; 8. Electronic Records, 1992-2008; 9. Conferences and Workshops, 1965-2010; 10. Reference Material, 1843-2011; 11. Teaching Material, 1970-2001; and 12. Biographical Material, 1939-2010.

Unless otherwise noted in the series and sub-series descriptions, the arrangement scheme for the James R. Sedell Papers was imposed during processing in the absence of a usable original order.

Acquisition Information

These materials were donated to SCARC in 2013 by Ellen Sedell.

Processing Note

Duplicates, unrelated materials, and some materials with confidential information were removed from this collection during processing.

Related Materials

Materials related to the James R. Sedell Papers may be found in the Spotted Owl Management, Policy, and Research Collection (MSS SpottedOwl),  the Joe Cone Papers (MSS Cone), the William J. Ripple Papers (MSS Ripple), the Gail Achterman Papers (MSS Achterman), the John D. Lattin Papers (MSS Lattin), the Satellite Images and Aerial Photographs of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest (MAPS Satellite), the Donald B. Zobel Collection of Historic Forestry and Vegetation Maps (MAPS ZobelMaps), and the Oregon State Memorabilia Collection (MSS MC).

An oral history of Sedell, conducted in 1998, can also be found in the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest Oral History Collection (OH 028); a recording of Sedell answering questions about stewardship can be found in the Fisheries and Wildlife Department Films and Videotapes (FV 243). Another collection of interest is the Pacific Northwest Stream Survey Collection (MSS PNWStream), which was donated to SCARC by Sedell. A majority of the publications located in Series 2 can also be found electronically in the Valley Library Main Collection.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Finding Aid Authors: Maya Bergmann, Genevieve Connolly, and Elizabeth Nielsen.
2023

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

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