Many had tried for decades to preserve the BIG THICKET ecosystem north of Houston. NED FRITZ brought organizational chops to the effort, inspired people to do their best, to do even beyond what they thought they could do.
As things began to gel in the early ‘70s, he stepped aside as groups came to the fore, turning his focus to shepherding legislation and negotiating with politicians to make the Big Thicket National Preserve, the first of its kind, a reality.
Desperate to save Texas’ mixed hardwood and pine national forests from being clearcut and turned into loblolly pine plantations for timber interests, Ned identified areas suitable for WILDERNESS designation, meaning they could never be logged, nor could roads sunder them.
Ned and US Representative John Bryant took on powerful timber business interests and a less-than-cooperative National Forest Service to push through federal legislation preserving 65,000 acres in five wildernesses: Big Slough, Indian Mounds, Little Lake Creek, Turkey Hill, and Upland Island.
These events occurred before digital photography was popularized. Our photos of Ned from that period—a few SLR, but mostly taken with Instamatics—must be scanned, then the image processed to reverse the effects of aging and oxidation: remove creases, sharpen edges, and balance luminance, contrast, and color.
For that, we turn to our webmaster, Scooter Smith, who is a whiz at Photoshop. It is painstaking, time-consuming work. But that’s what it takes to bring Ned’s story alive for you at Ned Fritz Legacy: https://nedfritz.com/.
Please give what you can at GoFundMe. Or if you’d like to give by check (preferred), visit the Legacy’s donations page where credit cards are also taken. Thanks to those who’ve donated so far!
