Most of the material in the Subject File series consists of memos, news releases, routing and follow-up slips, reports, manuals, speeches, statements, proposed legislation, lobbying efforts for individual projects and National Park Service acquisitions, hearings and testimonies. In addition, there are some newspaper/magazine articles and editorials, photographs, maps, notes, directories and publications such as booklets, brochures and pamphlets. A small amount of correspondence can be also found in this series.

Administration and management papers from Hartzog’s eight-year tenure as the Director of the National Park Service comprise a large part of this series. These papers involve such topics as budgets, employment and ceiling reductions, communications, concessions, policies, standards, travel, personnel, organization and reorganization of the National Park Service. Many memos, follow-up and routing slips guide one through the various activities of the National Park Service. Testimonies by Hartzog before Congressional committees on matters related to land acquisition, appropriations and other subjects are located in this series. There are monthly reports and meeting reports from Regional/Field Directors as well as the Department of the Interior’s news releases. Other administration and management papers are from his earlier assignments as the Assistant Superintendents of the Rocky Mountains National Park, Colorado, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee; the Superintendent of Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Site, St. Louis, Missouri; and Associate Director of the National Park Service. Material on other parks such as the Big Cypress Swamp, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton National Park, North Cascades National Park, Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Piscataway Park, Redwood National Park, Yellowstone National Park and Yosemite National Park are located in this series. Also included is information on Ford’s Theatre, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the National Capital Region and its parks, the National Visitor Center (Washington, D.C.), the South Florida ecological study and environmental project regarding the Everglades and the Jetport, and the Wolf Trap Farm Park and Foundation.

Material related to Hartzog’s first two job positions with the Department of the Interior, adjudicator for the Bureau of Land Management and Assistant Chief of Concessions Management, are located in this series. These papers reflect his contributions to a law enforcement manual, a concessions management manual, recodification of Service rules and regulations and a franchise fee formula for concessions operations. In addition, the series has material related to various committees, commissions, groups, organizations and task forces such as the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission, the Christian Ministry in the National Parks, the Citizens Advisory Committee on Recreation and Natural Beauty, the Ford Executive Institute, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the National Park Foundation, the National Recreation and Park Association and the Rockefeller Foundation. Also, there is information on the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation and the Department of Natural Resources. Papers regarding the Centennial Celebration of Yellowstone and the Second World Conference on National Parks, as well as statistical reports of public use of the national parks, are located in this series. Material on other general subjects include the environment, environmental conservation, historic preservation, legislation by Senator Henry M. Jackson, Native American programs and relations, land acquisition, wilderness and wildlife management.

George Hartzog was the principal speaker at many conferences, dedications, seminars, workshops and conventions. These addresses and speeches by Hartzog, as well as ones by other individuals, are kept in this series. Some of the other speakers include Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Richard M. Nixon; Vice-President Hubert H. Humphrey; Secretaries of the Interior Walter J. Hickel, Rogers C.B. Morton and Stewart L. Udall; and National Park Service Director Conrad L. Wirth.

There is not much information regarding Hartzog’s personal life except correspondence and material concerning his education, army career, and his federal personnel records. The correspondence contains letters from personal friends and supporters such as Ansel Adams, photographer and environmentalist, and Horace M. Albright, co-founder of the National Park Service and second Director, 1929-1933. The education items include student papers, course outlines, texts, and reference material. Employment and resignation forms, as well as pay and time attendance records, make up the substance of Hartzog’s personnel records. There are also newspaper clippings and editorials following the announcement of Hartzog’s departure and replacement.

Important correspondents include Ansel Adams; Presidents Jimmy Carter and Lyndon B. Johnson; Senators Alan Bible and Henry M. Jackson; and Secretary of the Interior Walter J. Hickel.

The researcher should also consult the Subject File Additions series because it contains similar material. These papers are kept separate because Mr. Hartzog donated them at later dates.