POLLUTION CONTROL AGENCY:

Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Helgen (Judy) Files. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 2016-16

Processing Information:

Catalog ID number: 008442651

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Includes emails, phone and other handwritten notes, data, maps, journals, conference notes and transcripts, presentation slides, journal articles, work plans, contacts lists, media reports, press kits, Minnesota congressional bills and written annotations on the above. May include citizen communication, reports of deformed frogs and communication with scientists. Topics and correspondents may include deformed frog locations, conferences attended by Judy Helgen, toxicity testing including Frog Embryo Teratogenesis Assay Xenopus [FETAX], Minnesota well water concerns, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency [MPCA], Audubon, State Representative Willard Munger, Environmental Protection Agency [EPA], National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences [NIEHS], Hamline University, Mount Holyoke College, and California Lutheran University.

Arranged in chronological order.

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Includes emails, journal articles, scientific reports, and phone notes and interviews pertaining to collaborators and other scientists investigating the causes of deformities found in frogs and other amphibians.

Arranged in alphabetical order by correspondent’s name.

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Contains notes on phone calls including communication with concerned citizens, people reporting deformed frogs, collaborators on scientific investigation, other colleagues, reporters with various media organizations, people from the MPCA, the Department of Natural Resources, and other organizations connected to deformed frog investigations.

Arranged in chronological order.

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Includes media reports, interviews, emails, letters, notes, phone notes, contact lists, data, field notes, scientific articles, fact sheets, project proposals, maps, photographs and aerial photographs. May include documentation of 1993 report of deformed frogs in Granite Falls, Minnesota, and Helgen’s subsequent work in Granite Falls, documentation of 1995 report of deformed frogs in Ney Pond, Henderson, charter school students, and subsequent work by Helgen and students in that area, documentation of State Representative Willard Munger’s support for deformed frog research, and contextual information on people and locations gathered in 2006 in preparation for Helgen’s book. The latter includes copies of secondary and primary sources.

Arranged in alphabetical order by topic.

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Includes internal MPCA documents, emails, MPCA protocols, charts, data, field notebooks, résumés, scientific reports, journal articles, presentation slides, and contact lists. Details MPCA reorganization, Goal 21, deformed frog research, Sue Kersten report on MPCA study of deformed frogs [1997-1999], Helgen’s 1995-1997 and 2001 fieldwork, deformed frog research sites, frog team members, A Thousand Friends of Frogs, media issues, Wisconsin Bureau of Endangered Resources, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Minnesota Department of Health, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, United States Fish and Wildlife, and United States Geological Survey.

Arranged in alphabetical order by topic.

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Includes journals, notes, data, secondary sources, media reports, interviews, emails, contacts lists, presentation slides, and a draft of a fictional short story. Contents relate to key organizations and people including scientists, Audubon Society, State Representative Willard Munger, MPCA, A Thousand Friends of Frogs, as well as, Helgen’s scientific work, relationships with organizations and people, and early preparations for a book about the deformed frog story.

Arranged in chronological order.

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Includes notes on talks given by others, presentation texts, conference publications, emails, and media reports relating to conferences dealing with frog deformity research attended by Helgen.

Arranged in chronological order.

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Includes newspaper and magazine articles, cartoons, transcripts of radio and television stories and interviews, communication between Helgen and reporters, communication between MPCA and reporters, MPCA updates, press releases, emails, letters, and Helgen’s inventories of media reports. Subjects may include frogs, deformed frogs, the Ney Pond discovery, Helgen’s work, cancer scare, ground water scare, people and locations connected to deformed frog research, cartoons depicting frogs, and Helgen’s book.

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Transcriptions of 105 microcassettes of Helgen’s voice notes. The recordings were made while driving to and from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and were used for her book. Voice notes describe her day-to-day work investigating frog deformities as well as her interactions with the MPCA, other agencies, other scientists, reporters from various media organizations, and concerned citizens.

Arranged in chronological order.

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Biologists -- Minnesota.

Environmental policy -- Minnesota.

Environmental protection -- Minnesota.

Frogs -- Abnormalities -- Minnesota.

Frogs -- Habitat -- Minnesota.

Indicators (Biology) -- Minnesota.

Water -- Pollution -- Minnesota.

Wetland ecology -- Minnesota.

Persons:

Helgen, Judith Cairncross.

Munger, Willard.

Organizations:

Minnesota New Country School (Le Sueur, Minn.).

Minnesota. Department of Health.

Minnesota. Department of Agriculture.

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

United States. Environmental Protection Agency.

Places:

Granite Falls (Minn.)

Henderson (Minn.)

Minnesota -- Environmental conditions.

Document Types:

Aerial photographs.

Articles.

Bills (legislative records).

Electronic mail.

Field notes.

Maps (documents).

Notes.

Photographs.

Press kits.

Technical reports.

Transcripts.

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