|
Locations < Wharton Conservation Center
Dr. Charles H. Wharton was a visionary conservationist and the best field biologist to work in the State of Georgia. Dr. Eugene P.Odum said Wharton is “the most knowledgeable person on Georgia’s natural environments”. U.S. Senator and former Governor Zell Miller has proclaimed with great pride that the first bill he introduced as a freshman state legislator in 1966 was the Natural Areas Council Act, which was drafted and brought to him by Dr. Wharton.
More than forty year ago Dr. Wharton advocated, in The Southern River Swamp-A Multiple Use Environment, that a number of provincial conservation centers be developed, such that, each Georgia student must visit at least two of the centers before they could meet the standards for graduation.
This extraordinary scientist had the foresight in 1958 to begin an individual effort to protect the heart of the Tallulah River headwaters by the purchase of 129 acres of prime headwaters habitat. He also advocated for Wilderness status for headwaters of streams including the Nantahala, Toccoa, Chattahoochee, Chattooga, and others. In recognition of these efforts, Governor Zell Miller appointed Dr. Wharton as Chairman of the Preservation 2000 Council that led the protection of more than 103,000 acres of prime natural habitats. He also served as a member of the Rivercare 2000 Program Advisory Council where he continued to push for his conservation center visits for all high school graduates.
We were saddened by Dr. Wharton's passing in 2003, but are honored to be involved in the his continued legacy. In 2006, the estate of Charles H. Wharton completed the donation of 129 acres of pristine mountain land in the headwaters of the Tallulah River to Georgia Wildlife Federation. The conservation easement held by GWF has now been transferred to the Conservation Fund. In the future, the land and facilities will be known and managed as the Wharton Conservation Center.
Georgians for generations to come will benefit from, and have a deeper understanding of the Southern Highlands ecosystem as a result of the extraordinary vision of and bold leadership of Dr. Charles H. Wharton.
|
