Ned Fritz Legacy Project

09/24/2026

New photos just dropped for Ned Fritz Day! Ned with an owl box at his home, and sunflowers from his unruly yard by the mailbox.

09/24/2026

TODAY is NED FRITZ DAY! In 1983, acting Governor Lloyd Doggett decreed Sept. 24 to be Ned Fritz Day. The team at Ned Fritz Legacy insists now that it be celebrated every year.

Ned was a man of many achievements, born of his love for nature, aided by his brilliant mind, savvy lawyer skills, and passion for people. Rare is the day you are not impacted by Ned Fritz (February 8, 1916 to December 19, 2008)!

• Land trusts in Texas, part 1 — started the land-trust movement in Texas as first acquisitions director of The Nature Conservancy Texas. Time: 1960s.
• Texas environmental movement — founded with his wife Genie the first Texas-focused environmental nonprofit, now known as Conservation Alliance. Time: 1960s.
• Trinity River — led efforts to keep it from being a concrete ditch of a barge canal from Fort Worth to the Gulf. Time: early 1970s.
• Big Thicket National Preserve — used his legal and political skills to push legislation establishing it over the finish line, saving 113,000 acres. Time: early 1970s.
• Great Trinity Forest — brought initial attention to the 6000-acre bottomland forest and thwarted plans to destroy a rare grove of Texas buckeye trees. Time: early 1980s.
• Forests nationwide (especially East Texas) — fought against clearcutting on federal lands, started a national forest reform movement, and achieved clearcutting policy changes (though not an end to the practice). Time: 1980s.
• East Texas wilderness — ensured 35,000 acres were preserved as wilderness. Time: 1980s.
• Land trusts in Texas, part 2 — founded with his wife Genie the first Texas-focused land trust, now known as Land Conservancy. Time: 1980s.

See all of Ned's achievements at the Ned Fritz Legacy website, search Legacy List. (Facebook is forcing pages to pay $15 a month for including links. I manage four nonprofit pages and can't afford that. So sorry, no URL.)

As the Living Lorax of his time, honor Ned by spending time with a tree or in the forest today. You'll feel better, guaranteed. See Wild DFW: Explore the Amazing Nature Around Dallas-Fort Worth for places to go.

Photo of Ned exploring a cave while in his late 70s by David Bezanson.

09/22/2026

Ned loved trees!

Ned Fritz Legacy: a biography in process
https://nedfritz.com/

09/20/2026

Sunday reading and viewing! How do immensely tall trees transport water all the way to their tops? Here are a few words and a short video.

READ/VIEW: https://earthsky.org/earth/giant-trees-defy-a-decades-old-theory/

Ned loved trees!

Ned Fritz Legacy: a biography in process
https://nedfritz.com/

Science news, night sky events and beautiful photos, all in one place. Click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter.

09/18/2026

Poplars on the Epte by Claude Monet.

Ned loved trees!

Ned Fritz Legacy: a biography in process
https://nedfritz.com/

09/16/2026

Atlas cedar of Perosa Canavese in Turin

Ned loved trees!

Ned Fritz Legacy: a biography in process
https://nedfritz.com/

09/13/2026

Sunday reading and viewing! Ned was the first in Texas to popularize in a big way the glory of legacy trees. We probably knew of this tree, the Angel Oak of South Carolina. Spend 10 minutes with this tree in this creatively designed piece by the New York Yimes.

We’d like you to look at this tree for 10 minutes, uninterrupted.

09/11/2026

Kensington Gardens by Paul Nash

Ned loved trees!
Ned Fritz Legacy: a biography in process
https://nedfritz.com/

09/08/2026

Ned and Genie Fritz adored Bill Oliver. He was their favorite folksinger by far. Bill would lead the song circles at TCONR's epic forest campouts, often singing all night under the stars and heading to their tents in the early morning, just as the birders were leaving theirs.

But more than songs, Ned admired Bill's commitment to the environment and willingness to stand up and speak out. Both believed nature education was vital to the future of nature, but also knew it had to be fun.

Settle in an enjoy Ned and Genie's favorite Bill Oliver tunes: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxzJ2A_cscN3pev70xSAsfp7z9LGa5fAI&si=ciK5wh8ymuvA2stX