"Nathaniel "Nat" Reed, 84, a Hobe Sound resident whose childhood ardor for Florida’s natural wonders led to him becoming a tireless crusader for the environment, died in a Quebec hospital Wednesday, according to his family.
In a long career spent both in and out of government service, Mr. Reed co-wrote the Endangered Species Act, helped stop the construction of the world’s largest airport in the Big Cypress Swamp, and later founded the group 1,000 Friends of Florida.
Mr. Reed’s love of fishing was so deep and abiding that his mother joked he had emerged from the womb with a fly rod in his hand. Mr. Reed had often told his family, "It would be perfect if I could catch one last, perfect salmon before I go."
"He just about pulled it off," said his son, Adrian."
Craig Pittman reports for the Tampa Bay Times July 11, 2018.
