Senators support renaming Hobe refuge
Environmental advocate Nat Reed died in July at 84.
HOBE SOUND — Friends and family of Nathaniel “Nat” Reed have welcomed the idea of renaming Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge to honor the late environmentalist.
On Tuesday, Florida Sens. Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio filed a bill to change the name of the Martin County wildlife refuge to the Nathaniel P. Reed Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge.
Lia Bohannon, Reed’s daughter, called it a “fitting tribute.”
“I think he would consider it a great honor, and I think he’d be very overwhelmed,” she told The Palm Beach Post on Wednesday.
Reed was instrumental in drafting the Endangered Species Act and helping to save Big Cypress Swamp, just a few highlights of a lifetime fighting for conservation. He died in July at age 84. He was taken off of life support after he fell and hit his head while fishing in Quebec.
“In politics or in conservation work, you don’t come across individuals who just exude a presence that was backed up with a record,” said Eric Eikenberg, CEO of the Everglades Foundation.
Reed’s father, Joseph V. Reed, established the Reed Wilderness Seashore Sanctuary, a National Natural Landmark on the northern portion of Jupiter Island, in 1967. Two years later, the wildlife refuge was established.
Today, the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge is made up of 1,091 acres, sliced into the Island Tract and Mainland Tract by the Indian River Lagoon. The largest undeveloped section of beach in southeast Florida, 3.5 miles, is protected there and the refuge is home to 40 species that are threatened, endangered or of special concern. Jupiter Island’s hunter-gatherers — the Tequesta, Ais and Jaiega tribes — also lived in this area.
“The refuge was something very special to Nathaniel,” Eikenberg said. “Quite frankly, the entire Everglades ecosystem was very special to him.”
Eikenberg and Debbie Fritz-Quincy, director of the Hobe Sound Nature Center that partners with the refuge, echoed a similar sentiment that losing Reed was big for environmental advocates, but that naming the refuge after him is a step in recognizing his legacy.
“It’s a great way to remember the life’s work of these folks,” Fritz-Quincy said, pointing to the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee Refuge, which was named for the conservationist. “They put a lot of energy into these environments and the environmental issues.”
Nelson said in discussions about how to honor Reed, renaming the wildlife refuge was considered the best fit.
“Naming this particular refuge after Nat Reed makes sense because the refuge wouldn’t be there without his family,” Nelson said on the Senate floor.