Edward "Ned" C. Fritz (February 8, 1916December 19, 2008) was an American attorney and conservationist in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

who was instrumental in establishing the

Big Thicket National Preserve The Big Thicket is the name given to a somewhat imprecise region of a heavily-forested area of Southeast Texas in the United States. This area represents a portion of the mixed pine-hardwood forests of southeast US. The National Park Service esta ...

and wilderness areas in East Texas, and founded a number of successful nonprofit organizations.

Career

Fritz was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and educated at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

and

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = " The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , pr ...

. He was a U.S. Navy flight instructor during World War II (one of his students was future President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; p ...

), then began his career as a trial lawyer in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County wi ...

, where he was also active in the state Democratic Party. Fritz founded or co-founded the Texas chapter of

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Natu ...

in 1964 and, subsequently, the Texas League of Conservation Voters, Texas Conservation Alliance, Texas Land Conservancy, and Dallas Sierra Club. After retiring from his law practice in 1974, Fritz personally led numerous citizens’ lawsuits to list endangered species, change clearcutting and other practices on U.S. national forests, and halt or modify reservoirs and other water development projects. He also wrote books about the wilderness areas he helped establish, clearcutting, and other topics. His papers are housed at Southern Methodist University, where he received his law degree.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fritz, Edward C. 1916 births 2008 deaths University of Chicago alumni Southern Methodist University alumni