Mark Dubois papers, 1970-2002

Summary

Creators:

Dubois, Mark, 1949-

Abstract:

The Mark Dubois Papers document Dubois's work as an environmental advocate over the course of three decades (1970-2002). An avid river rafter, Dubois began his career as an environmental advocate in 1973, co-founding Friends of the River. Dubois went on to co- found and direct numerous environmental awareness organizations and campaigns, including the California Water Protection Council, the International Rivers Network, and WorldWise. He also served as International Coordinator for Earth Day 1990 and 2000 and has served as an advisor to numerous other groups. The collection has been divided along the lines of his work and contains records of the individual organizations as well as Dubois's personal files from his tenures at each organization.

Extent:

Number of containers: 16 cartons, 1 box, 1 oversize folder Linear feet: 20

Language:

Bulk of collection materials are in English. Some form correspondence and publicity is in various other languages.

Background

Scope and content:

The Mark Dubois Papers document Dubois's work as an environmental advocate over the course of three decades (1970-2002). An avid river rafter, Dubois began his career as an environmental advocate in 1973, co-founding Friends of the River. Dubois went on to co-found and direct numerous environmental awareness organizations and campaigns, including the California Water Protection Council, the International Rivers Network, and WorldWise. He also served as International Coordinator for Earth Day 1990 and 2000 and has served as an advisor to numerous other groups. The collection has been divided along the lines of his work and contains records of the individual organizations as well as Dubois's personal files from his tenures at each organization.

The collection has been divided into nine series: Friends of the River; California Water Protection Council; International Rivers Network; Earth Day 1990; WorldWise; Earth Day 2000; Other Organizations; Reference Files; and Non-governmental Organizations.

Succinct series descriptions provide a basic outline of the records available. The researcher should consult the container list to determine if the records contain a topic of interest as not all subjects are mentioned in these brief descriptions. The researcher should be aware that many topics might be covered in more than one series. Many of Dubois's interests carried through from one organization to another. For example, materials regarding the damming of rivers can be found throughout the collection.

The collection arrived at the Bancroft Library in little order. Where evident, existing folder titles have been retained; however much of the order has been imposed by the archivist. Material was duplicated throughout the collection, and for the most part, duplicates have been discarded. The collection also contained numerous faxes of poor quality that have been reformatted.

Biographical / historical:

Born on February 24, 1949, Mark Dubois was raised in Sacramento, California and spent much time rafting the Stanislaus River and exploring its canyons. In 1972 he co-founded Environmental Traveling Companions, a non-profit rafting outfit specializing in taking delinquent and inner-city children and disabled adults down the Stanislaus.

Dubois began his career as an environmental advocate in 1973 when he took up the fight to save the Stanislaus River from being dammed, co-founding Friends of the River to organize the campaign. Dubois rose to national prominence when, in 1979, he chained himself to the Stanislaus River canyon bedrock as the new reservoir was being filled. His action resulted in a temporary halt in the filling of the reservoir, buying time for legal action and the formation of a legislative campaign to save the Stanislaus River. Despite these efforts, the reservoir was filled in 1982, but Dubois continued his work on behalf of the natural environment, co-founding the International Rivers Network in 1984 and serving as International Coordinator for Earth Day 1990 and 2000. Recognizing the devastating effects of dams around the world and the promotion of dams as "development," his work has expanded to include lobbying the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. In 1991, Dubois founded WorldWise, a grassroots campaign for international bank reform, challenging the World Bank to reform and redirect their investments to fund projects with more positive and sustainable social, environmental, and economic benefits.

Acquisition information:

The Mark Dubois Papers were given to The Bancroft Library by Mark Dubois in 2003. Additions were made in 2006.

Physical location:

Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

Rules or conventions:

Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

Location of this collection:

UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library

University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft Library

Berkeley, CA 94720-6000, US

Contact:

510-642-6481

bancref-library@berkeley.edu

Website