Administrative Information

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Use Restrictions

See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.

Preferred Citation

Joseph T. Flakne Papers, 1953-1990, Accession #10887, Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

This collection was donated to the Library by Joseph T. Flakne of Lorton, Virginia, on November 22, 1989.

Biographical/Historical Information

A conservationist, environmentalist, and civic and womens' rights activist, Joseph Flakne was born on November 10, 1900, in Minnesota, where he became interested in nature at any early age. In 1929, he hitchhiked to Alaska and attended Alaska's Agricultural College and School of Mines, now the University of Alaska. To earn tuition, he worked for the U. S. Biological Survey, monitoring reindeer, caribou, and other wildlife. During 1946-1953, he was chief of the Alaska Division of the Office of Territories for the U. S. Department of the Interior. In 1946, he and his wife Irene moved to a log cabin in Fairfax County's Mason Neck near Washington, D. C., when the Department of the Interior transferred him to work for Alaskan statehood. During 1958-1961, he was a labor relations officer in Ancorage, Alaska for the U. S. Government. In 1964, he retired to his log cabin and began donating his time and energy to improving the park system in North Virginia. He was a conservation consultant for the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District from 1972-1986. He continued to be actively involved in conservation matters concerning the Occoquan Regional Park, Mason Neck State Park, and other natural refuges in the area, and worked closely with the NVSWCD and the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. He received widespread recognition for his public service record and his efforts in conservation and care of the environment, and was honored with the 1986 Chevron Conservation Award and the 1989 Elly Doyle Service Award, sponsored by the Fairfax County Park Authority.

Scope and Content Information

Included among the papers are articles by and about Mr. Flakne, and material relating to conservation efforts in Northern Virginia and Alaska, the University of Alaska, and the League of Women Voters. There are also electrostatic copies of letters to Dan Quayle (September 20, 1988), George Bush (March 5, 1989), Gerald L. Baliles (March 28, 1989), and other political figures on various subjects. In addition, there are three videotapes: "Woodlands, Wetlands, and Washington,"--an interview on WETA, "Joe Flakne in Alaska"--produced from 8 mm. home movies, and "The First Annual Elly Doyle Park Service Awards, November 17, 1989." There is also a cassette tape recording labeled "Joe Flakne Interview--Voice of America--1964--on return from Micronesia."