Warne, William E.

Biographical Information

Biographical Sketch

William E. Warne, state, federal, and international government official for a quarter-century, is the Administrator of the Resources Agency of California and Director of the California State Department of Water Resources.

His professional career has been devoted to the conservation and development of water and other natural resources in California and throughout the nation, and to resources and economic development in foreign countries on behalf of the United Nations and the United States.

The civil service and appointive posts in which he has served since 1935 include the following:

State of California - Administrator, Resources Agency of California (since October 1, 1961); Director, Department of Water Resources (since January 3, 1961); Director, Department of Agriculture (1960); Director, Department of Fish and Game (1959).

International - Economic Coordinator, United Nations Command, Korea (1957-59); Mission Director, U. S. International Cooperation Administration, Brazil (1955-56), and Iran (1951-55).

Federal - Assistant Secretary of the Interior (1947-51); Assistant Commissioner, U. S. Bureau of Reclamation (1943-47); Chief of Staff, War Production Board (early World War II); special assignments to national resources, power, and river basin work and information and editorial positions in the Bureau of Reclamation (1935-42).

Warne was raised on a farm in California's Imperial Valley. He was a newspaper and press service reporter and editor in California and Washington, D. C. for eight years after he graduated from the University of California in 1927.

The United Nations, the United States, and foreign countries have honored Warne for his work. Special awards to him included: United Nations Command's Citation for Outstanding Service (1959), honorary degrees, Seoul National University and Yonsei University, Korea (1959); U. S. Foreign Operation Administration's Honor Award for Distinguished Public Service (1955); Shah of Iran's Order of the Crown (1955); U. S. Department of the Interior's Distinguished Service Honor Award (1951).

Warne is the author of Mission for Peace, a book in which he relates his experiences in Iran as the administrator of the United States' first point 4 Program.

Warne was born September 2, 1905, near Seafield, Indiana, and moved to Imperial Valley with his family in 1914. He graduated from the Holtville Union High School.

He and his wife, the former Edith Peterson, have three children: Jane Warne (Mrs. David C. Beeder), Lieutenant William Robert Warne, U. S. Army, and Margaret Warne. He lives in Sacramento and maintains his official residence in Altadena.

He is a member of Sigma Delta Chi, Lambda Chi Alpha, the National Press Club, and the Commonwealth Club of California.

From: State of California, The Resources Agency of California, Department of Water Resources, May 1, 1962

Who's Who in the West

WARNE, William Elme, Irrigationist; b. nr. Seafield, Ind., Sept. 2, 1905; s. William Rufus and Nettle Jane (Williams) W.; A.B., U. Cal. 1927; Doctor of Economics, Yonsei U., Seoul, 1959; LL.D., Seoul Nat. U., 1959; m. Edith Margaret Peterson, July 9, 1929; children-Jane Ingrid (Mrs. David C. Beeder), William Robert, Margaret Edith. Reporter, San Francisco (Cal.) Bulletin and Oakland (Cal.) Post-Enquirer, 1925-27; news editor, Brawley (Cal.) News, 1927, Calexico (Cal.) Chronicle, 1927-28; editor and night mgr. Los Angeles bur. A.P., 1928-31, corr. San Diego bur., 1931-33, Washington (D.C.) corr., 1933-35; editor, bur. of reclamation, Dept. of Interior, 1935-37; on staff Third World Power Conf., 1936; asso. to reviewing com. Nat. Resources Com. on preparation of Drainage Basin Problems and Programs, 1936, mem. editorial com. for revision, 1937; chief of information, bur. of reclamation, 1937-42; co-dir. (with the late Harlan II. Barrows) Columbia Basin Joint Investigations, 1939-42; chief of staff, war production drive, W.P.B., 1942; asst. dir. div. of power, Dept. of Interior, 1942-43; dir. of Information, Dept. of Interior, 1943; asst. commr., bur. of reclamation, 1943-47; apptd. asst. sec., Dept. Interior, 1947, asst. see. Water and Power Devel., 1950-51; U.S. minister charge Tech. Cooperation for Iran, 1951-55, Brazil, 1955-56; U.S. minister and economic coordinator for Korea, 1956-59; dir. Cal. Dept. Fish and Game, 1959-60 Agriculture, 1960-61, Water Resources, 1961-66 administrator Resources Agency California, 1961-62. Chairman President's Committee on San Diego Water Supply, 1944-46, chairman Fed. Inter-Agency River Basin Com., 1948, Fed. Com. on Alaskan Devel., 1948; pres. Group Health Assn., Inc., 1947-51; chmn. U.S. Del. 2d InterAm. Conf. Indian Life, Cuzco, Peru, 1949; U.S. Del. 4th World Power Conference London, England, 1950; mem. bd. Near East Found., 1956-58, 59; Cal. Water Pollution Control bd., 1959, Commn. Interstate Co-operation, 1960; mem. adv. bd. Fed. Water Pollution Control, 1962--; member Governor's cabinet, 1961; U.S. committee International Commission Large Dams. Served as second It., O.R.C., 1927-37. Recipient Distinguished Service award, Dept. of Interior, 1951; Distinguished Pub. Service Honor award, FOA. 1955; Order of Crown, Shah of Iran, 1955; Outstanding Service citation UN Command, 1959. Mem. Sigma Delta Chi, Lambda Chi Alpha. Clubs: Nat. Press (Washington); University, Sutter (Sacramento). Author: Mission for Peace-Point 4 in Iran, 1956. Home: 2090 8th Av. Office: 1120 N St., Sacramento 14.

From: Who's Who in the West, 9th edition, 1964 page 829.

From the guide to the William E. Warne Papers, 1961-1966, (Water Resources Collections and Archives)

Biography

William E. Warne was born near Seafield, Indiana in 1905 and died in 1996. When Warne was eight years old, the family moved to the Imperial Valley, California, where he grew up on a dairy farm that was irrigated using Colorado River Water. In 1927, Warned earned a degree in English from the University of California at Berkeley; he then worked as a reporter for several California newspapers and for the Associated Press from 1925-1935, becoming the AP's expert on reclamation, water, and irrigation. In 1935, Warne took a position with the U. S. Department of the Interior, where he worked for the Bureau of Reclamation as an editor and chief of information until 1942. Warne then went on to serve as assistant director of the Division of Power from 1942-1943, and as assistant commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation from 1943-1947. In 1947, he was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Department of the Interior, a position he held until 1951. He served as United States Delegate at the Fourth World Power Conference in London in 1950. During his time with the Department of the Interior, Warne was responsible for several initiatives. He served as co-director (with Harlan H. Barrows) of the Columbia Basin Project Joint Investigations concerning the largest irrigation project in the West from 1939-1942, including the launch of the Grand Coulee Dam; coordinated the Missouri River Basin development program to promote irrigation and rural development (1944-1951); and headed the Federal Alaska Development Program (1947-1950) and the Navajo Indian Program. In 1951, Warne began directing technical assistance and economic development missions on behalf of the United States; this work included positions as country director of the Point Four Program in Iran (1951-1955); as director of the United States Operations Mission in Brazil (1955-1956); and as Economic Coordinator of the U. S. Command in Korea (1956-1959). Part of the Point Four Program involved planning for Iran's Dez dam. In Brazil, Warne directed studies of water resources development in that country's drought-stricken northeastern provinces. In Korea, Warne helped sponsor over 200 small rice irrigation projects. Warne's book about the Point Four Program, Mission for Peace: Point 4 in Iran, was published in 1956. Following his diplomatic service, by appointment from Governor Edmund ("Pat") Brown, Warne served as director of four state agencies in California: he was director of the California Department of Fish and Game from 1959-1960; the California Department of Agriculture from 1960-1961; and the California Department of Water Resources from 1961-1967; he was also the first administrator for the California Resources Agency (1961-1962), where he began coordinating water resources programs throughout the state. As Director of Water Resources for California, he played a critical role in the launch of the California State Water Project, the largest state-built water storage and conveyance system, formulating its facilities, initiating their construction, and shepherding the project through the state legislature in its critical early years. During this time, Warne also was appointed by President John F. Kennedy to serve as a member of the Federal Water Pollution Control Board, a seat he held from 1962-1965. To honor Warne's achievements, the Department of Water Resources dedicated its power plant at Pyramid Lake to him; the plant is named the William E. Warne Powerplant. In 1967, Warne took a position as a staff consultant in water resources with the Development and Resources Corporation of New York; he served as Vice President for Water Resources with this company from 1967-1969. While in this position, he was project manager for the Khuzestand Development Project and the Dez Irrigation Project in Iran. In 1967, he also gave lectures in water resources for the University of California-Davis's Regents Lecture Series. In 1968, Warne was elected to the National Academy of Public Administration, where he served for seven years as chair of the Academy's Environmental and Resources Committee, including on panels on energy and nuclear plant siting problems. Warne served on many commissions and boards relating to water, development, and pollution control. In 1969, he began a career as a private consultant, working on water supply and other projects in several states and countries, and in 1973, he became president of William E. Warne Associates, Inc. He served for six years on the California Water Quality Control Board, and for two terms as President of the National Water Supply Improvement Association, which advocates water desalination; in addition, he served on the board of California Association of Reclamation Agencies of Water (CAREW), a group concerned with water reclamation and reuse. Projects included consulting on the state water plan for the state of Washington and on economic development in Eastern Montana; proposing a statewide water resources study for the state of Minnesota; serving as advisor for the Five-Year Program for development of Egypt's Western Desert and as technical assistance expert in groundwater management and use for Argentina; and other consulting work in Iran, Pakistan, Vietnam, Morocco, Cyprus, Turkey, and Korea. In California, he also served as consultant for the Orange County Water District. Along with Mission for Peace, Warne wrote the book, Bureau of Reclamation (1973), as well as scores of articles, reports, and studies. Writings include reports written in his capacity as a water resources consultant, including "Comparative Review, Analysis and Evaluation of the Pacific Southwest's Water Resources Study, Part I and Part II" (1971); "General Petroleum Company (Cairo, Egypt): A Proposal of a Five-Year Program to Begin New Developments in Egypt's Western Desert Using Waters of the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer" (1977); and "A Proposal for a Comprehensive Plan for Desalination and Total Water Management in support of Community Development and New Agricultural Development with which to Stabilize the Energy and Industrial Parks in the Bandar Abbas Area of Iran" (1975), to name but a few titles and topics. Throughout his career, Warne wrote prolifically for journals and magazines, focusing especially on water development in California and the West and on desalinization. In circa 1986, Warne bought Geothermal Report, a newsletter that he considered to be, along with Water Desalination Report, the only running record of these technologies involving energy, water, and the West.

From the guide to the William Warne Collection, 1905-2010, 1933-1992, (California State University, Dominguez Hills Archives and Special Collections)