In Memoriam
Franklin E. Parker III
1925- 2008
On February 1, 2008, the conservation community lost a giant of a man and a true champion with the death of Franklin E. Parker III. A long-time resident of Mendham, New Jersey, Frank’s conservation accomplishments were legendary. He served as a leader in the fight to save the Great Swamp in the early 1960s, as a co-founder and President of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation later in that decade, as trustee of the Natural Resources Defense Council for more than 30 years, as first Chairman of the New Jersey Pinelands Commission from 1979 until 1988, as founder and first President of the Schiff Natural Lands Trust in the 1980s, State Director of the New Jersey Field Office of the Trust for Public Land in the 1990s, and founding trustee and first Chairman of Conservation Resources over the last five years of his life.
But Frank’s invaluable contributions transcended the lofty positions he held. He was, quite simply, a prince of a man, and one of the most gracious and humble human beings I have ever known. His kindness and humility were matched only by an unwavering dedication to the cause of conservation, and a tenacity to stay the course no matter how rough things got that allowed him to inspire others to rise above their differences to get the job done.
Appropriately, Frank was born on April 22nd, the day that would later be known as Earth Day. In the decade after the first Earth Day in 1970, as the fledging environmental movement was spreading, and Frank’s long-time legal colleagues were beginning to think about retiring, Frank was just about to launch his second career as a full-time conservationist. This career change would prove fortuitous indeed for current and future residents of the Garden State.
Over the course of the last 30 years, Frank would leave an indelible mark on the progress of conservation here in the Garden State and beyond. As Chair of the Pinelands Commission, he shepherded the adoption of a regional land use plan – which is still regarded today as the national model for regional land use planning – to protect and preserve some 1.1 million acres of the unique Pine Barrens ecosystem which comprises some 20% of the land area of New Jersey. And numerous other landscapes also benefited from Frank’s attention, from Barnegat Bay, the Forsythe and Wallkill National Wildlife Refuges, the Highlands of New Jersey and New York, the Buzzards Bay area of Massachusetts, to the inner city of Newark, where Frank helped launch an effort to design and build new parks and playgrounds long after his retirement from the Trust for Public Land.
Frank’s legacy can be measured in any number of lasting ways. We conservationists are often quite fond of tallying the “bucks and acres” of conservation achievements, and Frank would clearly be elected on the very first ballot to the Conservation Hall of Fame if those metrics were applied. Yet his biggest contributions are probably the more intangible ones, for Frank served as the inspiration, role model and mentor for several generations of conservationists – as well as numerous conservation organizations – which will carry on his work as his true legacy.
On a personal level, I had the privilege of knowing Franklin Parker for almost 30 years, as a colleague, a friend, and a mentor. His service as the first Board Chair of Conservation Resources was instrumental in the successful launching of an organization designed to provide technical and financial assistance to the entire conservation community of the Garden State. Like so many others who knew him, I know that we shall not see the likes of this wonderful man for many, many years. I shall miss his gentle but astute guidance and his unfailing good humor terribly.
