Remembering a Conservation Giant
Jimmy Carter’s Unparalleled Legacy of Conservation
As we remember President Jimmy Carter this week I felt the need to write this newsletter, because we are, after all, all about public lands and conservation here at More Than Just Parks. And if you love America’s public lands and the idea of protecting scenic spaces, then you really need to know about Jimmy Carter.
Theodore Roosevelt tends to get all of the love in the conservation world, and he certainly deserves our unending gratitude for his extraordinary work safeguarding America’s natural heritage. But in the Mount Rushmore of conservation, Jimmy Carter deserves his own place of honor.
So just what did the peanut farmer from Georgia accomplish in the field of conservation you ask?
The Last Frontier
Let’s start with the crown jewel of American conservation: the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). Signed into law by Carter in 1980, it protected over 157 million acres of Alaska’s wilderness. That’s larger than California and New York combined. Think about that for a moment.
In the 1970s, Alaska was under siege from every manner of extractive industry. The discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay in 1968 had triggered a gold rush mentality, and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Act of 1973 only intensified the frenzy. For industrial developers, Alaska was a treasure chest of resources waiting to be exploited. But for Carter, it was the last, great frontier—a wilderness worth saving at all costs.
When Congress dragged its feet on protecting Alaska’s unparalleled landscapes, Carter took a politically explosive step. In 1978, he invoked the Antiquities Act to designate 56 million acres as national monuments—a move unprecedented in its scope and deeply controversial. The backlash was swift and fierce. Protesters burned Carter in effigy in Fairbanks, newspapers lambasted him, and powerful interests on Capitol Hill fumed. But Carter didn’t waver.
He worked tirelessly to craft ANILCA, shepherding the legislation through a resistant Congress and personally lobbying lawmakers to support the bill. This wasn’t just a president championing a cause—it was a leader pouring his heart and political capital into a noble mission.
Today, places like Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge remain pristine because of Carter’s vision and determination. Without his leadership, much of Alaska’s wilderness would almost certainly have been lost to oil rigs, open-pit mines, and large-scale logging. His legacy is etched into the landscapes he saved—a testament to what one person’s courage and conviction can achieve.
Protecting America’s Rivers
Jimmy Carter’s love for rivers wasn’t just political—it was deeply personal. Rooted in his rural Georgia upbringing, Carter’s connection to the natural world had an almost spiritual quality. As governor of Georgia, he made a pivotal decision to veto a federally funded dam project at Sprewell Bluff on the Flint River. Initially supportive of the project for it’s boost to the local economy, Carter changed his mind after visiting the site and experiencing its beauty as well as its fragility. Turning down the federally funded project extremely controversial within the state, to say the least. Most Georgians viewed the dam as a gift, a chance to bring economic development to the region. But Carter saw its destructive nature. Decades later, Georgians now thank him for saving the Flint River. Thanks to Carter, one of Georgia’s last free-flowing rivers, and one of the longest in the country, remains wild to this day.
As president, Carter expanded his fight for rivers on a national scale. In 1977, his administration undertook an unprecedented review of federal water projects, resulting in Carter canceling 18 proposed dams that would have inundated forests, farmlands, and critical habitats. These decisions came at a great cost to Carter politically. Powerful members of his own party, whose districts stood to benefit from federal funding for the projects, were outraged. But he pushed forward because he understood the destructive nature of these projects and the irreplaceable value of the rivers they would destroy. His actions marked a turning point in federal water policy, setting a precedent for prioritizing environmental integrity over short-term economic gains.
And he didn’t stop there. Carter added 26 rivers to the Wild and Scenic Rivers System, protecting over 1,300 miles of free-flowing, beautiful waterways. These designations tripled the size of the WSR system and ensured that rivers like the Chattooga River, spanning Georgia and South Carolina, remained untamed. Carter’s legacy with rivers is nothing short of unprecedented, and a incredible gift to future generations.
The Boundary Waters
In 1978, President Carter signed legislation to protect Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, safeguarding over 1 million acres of magnificent interconnected lakes and forests. The act banned logging and mining, a major industry in northern Minnesota, ensuring the area would remain unspoiled from development. But the driving force behind the BWCAW was Vice President Walter Mondale, a Minnesota native whose connection to the Boundary Waters was deeply personal.
Mondale grew up cherishing the region’s pristine beauty and understood its ecological and cultural significance. As vice president, he was relentless in his advocacy, navigating fierce opposition from industrial and political interests who saw the wilderness as an opportunity for profit. Mondale worked tirelessly to garner support, leveraging his influence in the Senate and the state as well as his deep knowledge of the area to push the legislation forward.
Today, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is a testament to Carter and Mondale’s partnership. Its protected status has made it one of the most cherished wilderness areas in the country, drawing paddlers, wildlife enthusiasts, and conservationists alike. And of course Carter chose a Vice President who shared his deep affinity for the natural world.
Why Carter’s Conservation Legacy Matters
Jimmy Carter’s conservation achievements are unparalleled. Without him, Alaska’s wilderness would be stripped of all its character, its vast old growth forests logged, it’s landscapes dotted with oil wells and scarred with mines. Rivers like the Chattooga would have been buried under reservoirs, and the Boundary Waters marred by clear-cuts and hazardous mining operations. His actions weren’t always popular, but they were the right thing to do.
Carter’s legacy is more than numbers and acres. It’s the wilderness we explore, the rivers we paddle, and the knowledge that some places remain wild because someone cared enough to fight for them. As we remember Jimmy Carter, let’s honor his vision by protecting what remains and cherishing the natural world as he did. Because if Carter taught us anything, it’s this: the fight for nature is worth it, every single time.
A great man. Ahead of his time. Thank you for sharing this!