Collection is open for research. Access requires at least 48 hours advance notice.
Gift of David S. Sampson, 1999; addition received in 2011.
[Identification of item], American Land Forum Records, MC 00271, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC
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Processed by Amalia G. Kakissis; Encoded by Linda Sellars; Updated February 2011 by Judy Allen Dodson
The American Land Forum was founded by Charles E. Little in 1978 to establish policy on land conservation. The award-winning American Land Forum Magazine was created by the corporation in 1980. David S. Sampson, Executive Director of the Hudson River Valley Greenways Communities Council was a member of the Board of Directors and legal advisor for the American Land Forum organization.
The records in the American Land Forum collection come from the office of David S. Sampson, Executive Director of the Hudson River Valley Greenways Communities Council and a former member of the Board of Directors and legal advisor for the American Land Forum organization. They document the establishment of the corporation, founded by Charles E. Little in 1978, whose mission was to establish policy on land conservation. The award-winning American Land Forum Magazine was also created by the corporation in 1980. The records include financial statements, organizational records, correspondence, papers on pertinent issues of concern to the organization, and various publications.
The collection contains organizational records arranged alphabetically by subject and including various drafts of the ALF's articles of incorporation, by-laws and prospectus; drafts of the IRS application and other papers sent for tax exempt status; papers containing information on the Board of Directors, their meetings, and memoranda; and the ALF's finances. Also included is correspondence, which is divided into two sections, Charles Little (1978,1980) and David Sampson (1978-1981). Charles Little contains copies of letters sent to Charles Little which were then forwarded to David Sampson. David Sampson contains mostly copies of letters sent out by David Sampson himself, with the exception of one letter received from James F. Bennett of the United States Corporation Company pertaining to the articles of incorporation for the ALF. The correspondence is arranged chronologically within each folder.
Copies of the American Land Forum / New American Land Magazine are arranged chronologically. Not all issues are present. Forum discussion papers, are arranged chronologically by the date of the forum paper. The topics of these papers, used for topical discussion meetings of the American Land Forum, range from discussions on the ALF organization itself to national land issues. Miscellaneous papers include a contract between the ALF and the Council of Environmental Quality (1978) for a study on settlement trends in US rural areas and their effects on the land, and varia including: a copy of Appendix 2 of the 1976 State Coastal Conservancy Act, a 1978 press release of the ALF , a statement made by Calvin L. Beale of the US Department of Agriculture to the Joint Economic Committee (May 31, 1978), photocopy of a pamphlet advertising the American Land Forum Magazine, ALF membership solicitation letter, charts showing the forum process, participants lists to various forums.
The records are arranged in five series: