NED FRITZ was keen on forming groups. Some were temporary and tied to a specific campaign like preserving Bachman Creek from channelization. But a few have lasted for decades and grown to be some of the most important nature-based groups in Texas. His legacy lives through them. See the complete list of groups founded at Ned Fritz Legacy.
Texas Committee on Natural Resources (TCONR), formed in 1966 with his wife Genie, waged the most important eco-fights of the mid-’60s to late ‘00s. The ‘80s brought to them an intense focus on forests, especially clearcutting. Texas professional forestry books mention them frequently as one helluva opponent. Rivers are another emphasis with TCONR’s special dedication to saving the vanishing bottomland hardwood forests. They waged many a fight to prevent the damming of free-flowing rivers.
After Ned’s passage in ‘08, the name was changed to Texas Conservation Alliance (TCA). But the heart stayed the same. Like TCONR, dedicated board members and committee heads research topics like national forests and water-reservoir economics extensively, providing activists the material to take a stand. Visit their website.
Ned was the first chair of the board of trustees for The Nature Conservancy Texas, and later became acquisitions director. Out of frustration that TNC-Texas did not accept all the properties he found worthy, Ned formed Natural Areas Preservation Association (NAPA) in 1982, the first Texas-only land trust, first saving 100 acres of forest in the northern Big Thicket ecosystem.
Now called Texas Land Conservancy, they’ve preserved nearly 60,000 acres by purchasing the lands of placing them under conservation easement. In North Texas, Oak Cliff Nature Preserve and Kachina Prairie are open to the public. Ned’s wife Genie, who co-founded the group, was on the board for many years. Visit their website.
To bring to you the story of Ned and Genie Fritz and the groups they formed and more, it will require a large and complicated website. Ned Fritz Legacy is basically a book presented as a website. With so much text, care must be taken to make it enjoyable to read. It will take dozens of hours of work. See an example in our section, Ned in a Nutshell.
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!
