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Milton N. Nathanson papers

 Collection
Identifier: WRCA-214

Collection Scope and Contents

The Milton N. Nathanson Papers consists of files Nathanson compiled during his work as an attorney specializing in Colorado River water issues. The bulk of the collection is comprised of files documenting Nathanson's employment at the Department of Interior as Assistant Regional Solicitor and Field Solicitor, as well as his work as special consultant to the Department of Interior and the Coachella Valley Water District after his retirement from government service; also prominent in the collection are Nathanson's notes and drafts written while he was authoring the book, Updating the Hoover Dam Documents, and materials related to his long involvement in the Colorado River Board of California. The collection encompasses a range of materials--including correspondence, contracts, legal works, manuscripts, maps, periodicals, clippings and ephemera--documenting such Colorado River projects and issues as: the construction and maintenance of the All American Canal; Colorado River Basin Project operating and filling criteria; the Arizona versus California legal battle; the Central Arizona Project; the Bureau of Reclamation's acreage limitation law and related litigation; the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act; and the numerous legal battles and agreements between the Coachella Valley Water District, the Imperial Irrigation District and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California regarding their respective Colorado River water rights and allotments.

Dates

  • Creation: 1855-1995
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1965-1985

Creator

Languages

The collection is in English.

Access

The collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

Copyright has not been assigned to the University of California, Riverside Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives. Distribution or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. To the extent other restrictions apply, permission for distribution or reproduction from the applicable rights holder is also required. Responsibility for obtaining permissions, and for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Biographical Note

Milton Norman Nathanson (1910-2000) was a prominent water rights attorney, specializing in Colorado River water issues, specifically "The Law of the River." Born on December 19, 1910 in Philadelphia, Nathanson attended college in his home state at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts from its Wharton School of Finance and Commerce in 1932 before receiving his Juris Doctorate from Penn Law in 1935. In 1941, Nathanson joined the Office of the Solicitor at the United States Department of Interior in Washington, D.C. after briefly practicing law in the private sector; he served in the counterintelligence division of the United States Army during the Second World War from 1943-1945 before returning to Washington, D.C. following the war.

Nathanson transferred to the Department of Interior's Los Angeles office in 1947, where he served as Assistant Regional Solicitor until the early 1970s, and then Field Solicitor until his retirement in 1975. During his time at the Department of Interior's Los Angeles office, Nathanson was involved in many important projects and cases regarding Colorado River water issues, including the protracted Arizona versus California litigation, the authorization and construction of the Central Arizona Project, and the passage of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act.

Nathanson continued to act as a special consultant to the Department of Interior after his retirement, and later served as legal consultant to the Coachella Valley Water District for nearly two decades during its protracted litigation with the Imperial Irrigation District and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California regarding their respective Colorado River water rights and allotments. In addition to his consulting work, Nathanson was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown as a Public Member of the Colorado River Board of California, a position he held from 1975 until 1981; he also served as a technical expert for the United Nations, and as Water Rights Expert for the State Department of Guyana, helping to draft the country's water code.

Demonstrating his stature as one of the leading experts of "The Law of the River" of his time, Nathanson was commissioned by the Department of the Interior to author the book Updating the Hoover Dam Documents, which he completed in 1978 for publication in 1980. Nathanson died on October 29, 2000.

Extent

9.42 Linear Feet (10 boxes)

Abstract

The Milton N. Nathanson papers consists of files Nathanson compiled during his work as an attorney specializing in Colorado River water issues, including his employment at the Department of Interior as Assistant Regional Solicitor and Field Solicitor and as special consultant to the Department of Interior and the Coachella Valley Water District, as well as notes and drafts written by Nathanson while he was authoring the book, Updating the Hoover Dam Documents, and materials related to his involvement in the Colorado River Board of California.

Collection Arrangement

The Milton N. Nathanson Papers are subdivided into four series:

  1. Series 1. Department of Interior, 1855-1983
  2. Series 2. Private Consulting, 1920-1995
  3. Series 3. Updating the Hoover Dam Documents, 1900-1990
  4. Series 4. Colorado River Board of California, 1964-1993

Acquisition Information

Gift of the Law Offices of Redwine and Sherrill, 2001.

Separated Material

Some maps have been transferred to the Map Collection of the Water Resources Collections and Archives.

Processing History

Processed by David Uhlich, 2008.

Collection Number

Collection number updated February 2019. Legacy collection number was MS 2001/2. This change was part of a project in 2018/2019 to update the collection numbers for collections in the Water Resources Collections and Archives.

Title
Milton N. Nathanson papers
Status
Processed
Author
Finding Aid prepared by David Uhlich.
Date
2007
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Description is in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Water Resources Collections & Archives Repository

Contact:
University of California
Rivera Library
P.O. Box 5900
Riverside CA 92517-5900 United States