In Memoriam

Fred Balderston, Nature Conservancy Trustee Emeritus

San Francisco, Calif. — October 18, 2007 — Dr. Frederick Balderston, Trustee Emeritus for The Nature Conservancy, died on Thursday, October 18th. Dr. Balderston served on the Conservancy’s national Board of Governors from 1975 through 1981, and continued to guide the Conservancy’s work in the Golden State as a California Board of Trustees member in the late 1990’s. His wisdom and vision were instrumental in shaping the organization’s conservation planning efforts and shepherding the Conservancy’s phenomenal growth during the late 1970’s and early 1980’s.

Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Balderston displayed a love of California’s spectacular and unique beauty and his contributions to conservation continued long past his tenure as a board member. In 2004, Balderston donated a 1,350-acre conservation easement in the Sierra Valley to the Feather River Land Trust and the Sierra Business Council. His generous contribution will protect wetlands, wildlife habitat, and working ranches in the Sierra Valley for generations to come.

“Fred Balderston was a man of compassion and vision,” said Mark Burget, chief conservation program officer for The Nature Conservancy. “His love of nature and commitment to The Nature Conservancy’s mission left an indelible mark on the business of conservation, as well as some of California’s most treasured landscapes.”

Since 1953, Dr. Balderston has held teaching and research positions with the University of California system, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Carnegie-Mellon University, the University of Amsterdam and the Netherlands Institute. He was Professor Emeritus with the University of California at Berkeley, and was awarded The Berkeley Citation (an honor granted to individuals and organizations that had rendered distinguished or extraordinary service to the University) in 1991. He also served as executive director of the Bernard Osher Foundation – a nonprofit organization which seeks to improve quality of life through support for higher education and the arts – from 1994 to 1998.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.