Nathaniel 'Nat' Reed dies; worked to save Florida's Everglades, environment across US

Staff report | TCPalm

Show Caption Hide Caption Video: Nathaniel Reed on the environmental movement of the 1970s Nathaniel Reed describes “the moment” of the early 1970s and the motivation of politicians and the public to preserve the environment.

Nathaniel Pryor "Nat" Reed, a Jupiter Island environmentalist who worked to preserve natural areas in Florida and throughout the United States, died Wednesday.

Reed was 84. He would have turned 85 on July 22.

Reed died after a fall while fishing in Quebec, Erik Eikenberg, CEO of the Everglades Foundation, an organization Reed helped found and lead for 25 years, confirmed to TCPalm.

"He was doing something he loved, fishing," Eikenberg said. "He caught a salmon that gave him a run for his money. He had an accident, slipped and suffered a head trauma."

Reed "passed from the injuries" after about a week in the hospital, Eikenberg said.

More: Eve Samples' April 2017 profile on Nat Reed

'Lost a giant'

Reed most notably was assistant secretary of the Interior for Fish, Wildlife and National Parks under presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, where his legacy includes helping to pass the Endangered Species and Clean Water acts, playing a key role in the federal government's banning of the pesticide DDT, protecting land in Alaska and defending redwoods in California.

Reed worked to save and expand Big Cypress Preserve in Florida's Everglades.

He helped found the Everglades Foundation and served on its board for 25 years.

"He dedicated his life to public service and the protection of natural resources," according to an Everglades Foundation news release. "His leadership transformed the environmental culture, values and public policies of our state and nation."

The foundation listed these accomplishments:

Guiding force in securing bipartisan support for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan approved in 2000.

Served six Florida governors and two U.S. presidents.

Served 14 years on South Florida Water Management District board, helping solidify the agency’s legacy as a leader in Everglades restoration.

"We have lost a giant," Eikenberg told TCPalm. "He was truly a great Floridian. He dedicated his life not just to the Everglades, but to natural resources throughout the United States."

Above all, Eikenberg said he would remember Reed's nurturing nature.

"For those of us younger than him, he put his arm around us and showed us the right path," Eikenberg said. "I am a better person for knowing Nathaniel Reed.”

The "About Me" page on his blog says:

He started his career in the family real estate and hotel business in Florida from which his concern for the environment steered him in public life.

He served as chairman of the Florida Department of Air and Water Pollution Control, and Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, among other government roles.

Beyond his government service, he helped found 1000 Friends of Florida and has served as both president and chairman of the board of the organization.

He was serving or had served on the boards of the Atlantic Salmon Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, National Geographic Society, Yellowstone National Park, Everglades Foundation and Hope Rural School.

He won the Arthur R. Marshall Foundation's 2014 Champion of the Everglades Award.

"He was a giant of a conservationist, with his fingerprints on many of the most significant national conservation accomplishments of the last 60 years," Julie Wraithmell, executive director of Florida Audubon, said in a news release.

Video: Nathaniel Reed on the future and Florida politics Nathaniel Reed offers advice and thoughts on the future of the environment, including a tidbit regarding Walt Disney.

Naming reservoir

On Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, suggested naming the proposed reservoir to cut Lake Okeechobee discharges in Reed's honor.

"All we can do is try to continue his life's work of protecting Florida's unique environment," Nelson said Wednesday afternoon in a speech on the Senate floor.

Earlier Wednesday, the Army Corps of Engineers gave its approval for the reservoir, a critical step in getting federal funding to match state funds for the $1.8 billion project.

More: Army Corps OKs project to cut Lake O discharges

In a March 10, 2017, column for TCPalm, Reed wrote: "There is nothing complicated about the need to invest in the so-called Everglades Agricultural Area reservoir. One need only understand that water flows downhill. ... We need to invest in the EAA reservoir, and we need to do so now — not later."

$1 a year

Video: Nathaniel Reed on President Nixon and the environment Nathaniel Reed recalls conversations with the president regarding the environment, including the 1080 and DDT pesticides.

Reed told TCPalm in 2017 he quickly learned Nixon was more political pragmatist than environmentalist.

He recalled Nixon telling him: "I don't give a darn about environmental issues. I've got too many things on my plate — but what I want from you ... is the best environmental record, a better environmental record than Jack Kennedy had. And don't get me in too much trouble."

In 1969, Republican Gov. Claude Kirk appointed Reed the first environmental adviser to any governor in the history of Florida.

Paid a salary of $1 a year, Reed "launched an all-out battle to save natural Florida," Michael Grunwald wrote in his book "The Swamp."

Before joining the federal government, he also advised governors Reubin Askew and Bob Graham, both Democrats.

TCPalm staffers Cheryl Smith, Tyler Treadway, Ali Schmitz and Eve Samples contributed to this report.