Article

Guide to the Theodor R. Swem Papers

This finding aid describes the Theodor R. Swem Papers, part of the NPS History Collection. To search this guide for names, places, key words, or phrases enter Ctrl F on your keyboard (command key + F key on a Mac). Request an in-person research appointment or get more information by contacting the archivist.

Man sitting at a table in front of a large Alaska map — Ted Swem at an Alaska Task Force meeting, May 10, 1973. (NPS History Collection photo by M. Woodbridge Williams, HFCA 1607)

Collection Overview

Collection Number: HFCA 1645 (Series XIV.H)
Accession Number: HFCA-01203
Creator: Swem, Theodor R.
Title: Theodor R. Swem Papers
Dates: 1961-1978
Extent of Collection: 1.25 LF
Language of Materials: English

Digital Access: The collection has not been digitized.

Conditions Governing Access: This collection is open to research use. See the NPS general copyright and restricted information here.
Provenance: Found in collection in 2010.
Processing Note: This collection was processed and described by contractors in 2015. Updated by Nancy Russell in November 2024.

Rights Statement for Archival Description: This guide is in the public domain.
Preferred Citation: Theodor R. Swem Papers, Assembled Historic Records of the NPS (HFCA 1645), NPS History Collection
Location of Repository: NPS History Collection, Harpers Ferry Center, PO Box 50, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425

Related Materials

Alaska Files, Assembled Historic Records of the NPS (HFCA 1645)

Biographical Note

Theodor ("Ted") R. Swem was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on December 6, 1917. He attended Coe College in Iowa and received his Bachelor of Science in Forestry from Iowa State University in Ames. After completing a year at the Biology School at Harvard, Swem worked for three years with the Colorado Game and Fish Commission. He worked the next 10 years with the Bureau of Reclamation at Denver in Recreation and Wildlife Planning. In 1957, he joined the National Park Service (NPS) as head of Planning Studies for Region II in Omaha.

Swem transferred to the NPS Washington Office (WASO) in 1961 as a planner in the Branch of Proposed Area Studies and then Park and Recreation Area Planning. He became assistant director for Cooperative Activities in 1964. In 1969 he became regional director of the National Capital Region (NCR). After a year at NCR, he moved back to WASO as an assistant director. In 1973 he received an additional appointment as chairman of an Inter-Bureau Alaska Planning Group within the Department of the Interior.

From 1973 to 1976, Swem was responsible for the NPS activity in Alaska as related to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) and was key to the development of national park areas in Alaska. Swem retired in 1976, but his work led to the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) which was signed by President Jimmy Carter in December of 1980.

In retirement, Swem was president of the Wilderness Society Governing Council (1978-1980), a board member of American Rivers, Inc., and management consultant to Silvertrip Consulting and the Defenders of Wildlife. He and his wife, Helen, were married for 57 years and they had four children. Ted Swem died in 2006.

Scope and Content Note

Documents regarding the activities of Theodor R. Swem. Most of the files pertain to his work in establishing an NPS presence in Alaska through the Alaska Task Force, including general reorganization and establishing or adjusting area boundaries. Materials include reports, statements, policies, clippings, correspondence and memos, project files, and notes.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by subject, and thereunder chronologically.

Container List

BOX 01
Folder 01: Administration: Briefing Book: House Oversight Hearing, 1975
Folder 02: Administration: Reorganizations: Regional Directors’ Meetings, 1968-1969
Folder 03: Administration: Reorganizations: Reorganization Committee: Correspondence, 1965
Folder 04: Administration: Reorganizations: Reorganization Committee: Notes, 1965
Folder 05: Administration: Reorganizations: Reorganization I, 1965-1966
Folder 06: Administration: Reorganizations: Reorganization II, 1965-1966
Folder 07: Administration: Reorganizations: Streamlining, 1964
Folder 08: Administration: Reorganizations: Washington Office, 1967-1973
Folder 09: Cooperative Activities: Alaska: Correspondence, 1964-1972

BOX 02
Folder 01: Cooperative Activities: Alaska: Correspondence, 1973 [1 of 2]
Folder 02: Cooperative Activities: Alaska: Correspondence, 1973 [2 of 2]
Folder 03: Cooperative Activities: Alaska: Correspondence, 1974
Folder 04: Cooperative Activities: Alaska: Reports: Economic Base Study, 1964
Folder 05: Cooperative Activities: Alaska: Reports: Environmental, 1972-1975
Folder 06: Cooperative Activities: Alaska: Reports: Resource Management, 1961-1978
Folder 07: Cooperative Activities: Alaska: Reports: Russian Mission, 1976
Folder 08: Cooperative Activities: Alaska: Reports: Status, 1973-1976
Folder 09: Cooperative Activities: Alaska Task Force: Correspondence, 1975-1976

BOX 03
Folder 01: Cooperative Activities: Alaska Task Force: Land Withdrawals, 1972
Folder 02: Cooperative Activities: Alaska Task Force: Litigation, 1972
Folder 03: Cooperative Activities: Alaska Task Force: Long-Range NPS Objectives, 1973-1974
Folder 04: Cooperative Activities: Alaska Task Force: Press Conferences and Releases, 1972
Folder 05: Cooperative Activities: Boundary Adjustments, 1962-1963
Folder 06: Cooperative Activities: Projects, “B” (Post-MISSION 66), 1964
Folder 07: Cooperative Activities: Projects, “Train” (Post-MISSION 66), 1964
Folder 08: Cooperative Activities: Projects, “X” (Task Force on Resources and Recreation), 1966
Folder 09: Cooperative Activities: Projects, “X” (Task Force on Resources and Recreation), 1966
Folder 10: Cooperative Activities: Projects, “Y” (Task Force on Quality of the Environment), 1967
Folder 11: Cooperative Activities: Projects, “ZIP,” 1965