Records Requests Update
- Jack Brewer
- 1 minute ago
- 4 min read
In December 2025, Expanding Frontiers Research made a public appeal for funds to assist with fees incurred from FOIA requests. This blogpost will provide an update of the status of requests described in December and provide links to records obtained.
Over $500 was generously pledged by supporters in December. The total amount of payments allocated by EFR to the National Archives and Records Administration since then is $357.60. About $400 has been spent overall on public records requests during that time.
Specific requests presented to donors in December involved the following subjects:
Burning Man) Law enforcement records have been obtained from the Pershing County Sheriff's Office on the annual festival. The records were shared at the EFR Patreon, as well as in blogposts. A dedicated section of the EFR online archive was created to provide access to the Burning Man collection. We continue to await a final response to a FOIA request submitted to the FBI.
Esalen Institute) FBI records responsive to the Esalen Institute, a California “holistic learning and retreat center” that dates back to the Cold War, were obtained from NARA in March and published at the EFR Patreon. A series of requests and appeals remain open and ongoing with FBI and State Department, of which readers will be promptly advised as we receive notifications.
James E. McDonald) FBI records were obtained from NARA on the atmospheric physicist and UFO investigator. The records pertain to activities of McDonald and his wife, Betsy, and reflect community resentment of her political activism, which included helping young voters organize. The records and a growing digital folder of material pertaining to the McDonalds may be accessed at the EFR Patreon. For more information related to McDonald and family, readers may choose to browse the Ann Druffel Special Collection and view our blogpost, Daughter of UFO Researcher James McDonald Wrote UFO Psychology Thesis.
Donald Menzel) NARA provided over 100 pages of FBI records requested and they were shared at the EFR Patreon. A master folder of records obtained on the late astronomer may also be accessed from the post. More material continues to be in processing, and an appeal of withheld records remains pending as of this writing.
NICAP Personnel) A 206-page FBI file on NICAP organizer and almost certain CIA asset Nicolas de Rochefort was obtained from NARA and provided through the EFR Patreon. The EFR blog also contains information about the mysterious Frenchman who was a formidable lobbyist in the United States and was once the subject of a lawsuit filed on behalf of an investigative journalist seeking de Rochefort's CIA records.
We continue to await NARA to complete the processing of FBI records responsive to former NICAP board member Joseph B. Hartranft. He was influential in the aviation community and instrumental in negotiations involving the dissolution of NICAP and the acquisition of its files by the Center for UFO Studies.
New York Saucer Information Bureau) Significant records were obtained on the NYSIB, its personnel, and a foreign national who was the subject of an espionage investigation and a contact of the UFO group and well-known UFO personalities. The circumstances are described and records are shared in several blogposts, including The Robert Stark Espionage Case: The FBI Makes the UFO Connection, as well as the EFR Patreon NYSIB collection.
Walter Bowart, aka Thomas Kirby) We continue to await NARA to finish processing the FBI records requested on the mid-20th century counterculturist. We likewise await final responses from NARA and FBI on records pertaining to Greenwich Village icons Tuli Kupferberg and Susan Elizabeth “Suze” Rotolo.
Highlights of other records delivered through the FOIA include a 162-page FBI file obtained from NARA on the International Astronomical Union. The records were summarized and may be accessed through a January blogpost that reflects the significance of academics and scientists to the Cold War global intelligence community.
EFR also obtained FBI records responsive to “Storm Area 51,” which show why law enforcement took the 2019 fiasco in the desert dead serious. Read the April blogpost to learn about an AI-powered intelligence tool, Babel Street, that was used to simultaneously monitor hundreds of websites and social media accounts in an effort to combat potentially unlawful actions.
We continue to pursue records from county offices responsive to Ramtha's School of Enlightenment. EFR obtained substantial records from the Thurston County Sheriff's Office and followed up with requests to the health department. Significant documents were obtained and may be viewed at the EFR Patreon.
Other records requests conducted by EFR include obtaining over 200 pages of written comments submitted to the Uintah County Community Development Office about a proposed oil well in the vicinity of Skinwalker Ranch. Further correspondence with Uintah County revealed the proposal was approved when officials ruled the arguments against construction lacked merit.
Expanding Frontiers Research appreciates our supporters that make our work possible. Thank you. Inquiries about projects and related circumstances are encouraged.
For more information on NICAP personnel and the intelligence community influence of the UFO genre, please consider browsing the Wayward Sons Book Group, a designated playlist on the EFR YouTube channel. Those who would like to receive a free pdf of the nonfiction book Wayward Sons: NICAP and the IC and who would enjoy participating in the weekly Zoom meetings of the book group are encouraged to email jackbrewerblog at yahoo dot com.