None The Nature Conservancy in Massachusetts Press Releases Search All Press Releases Kerry Crisley 617-227-7017, ext.316, kcrisley@tnc.org

Parks’ Lasting Legacy

BOSTON, MA — November 26, 2007 — Ed Parks liked to joke about his good works. Last summer, when asked to cite his motivation for working with The Nature Conservancy and partners to protect his historic farm in Middleborough, he shrugged and quipped “it keeps me busy.”

Jokes aside, Parks took the future of his land seriously. Outside his 17th-century home, Black Brook runs through forests and fields before reaching the Assawompset Ponds, a source of drinking water for thousands of people. The Brook is embedded in the Taunton River Watershed, one of the healthiest and most diverse systems on the North Atlantic Coast.

Thanks to Parks, most of the land that comprises Black Brook Ranch was protected from future development earlier this year.

The Nature Conservancy was saddened to learn of Ed Parks’ passing on November 17th at the age of 83. He died less than a week after his wife of 57 years, Christine West Parks. The two were buried together at the National Cemetery in Bourne on November 27th.

“Mr. Parks’ conservation ethic was remarkable, and he went far above and beyond what many would do to ensure the condition of his land,” said Loring Schwarz, Acting Director of The Nature Conservancy’s Massachusetts Chapter. “450 acres is an impressive legacy to conserve for future generations.”

A native of New Bedford, Parks served in World War II, where he was a awarded two purple hearts and a bronze star and was a German prisoner of war.  After the war, he moved to nearby Marion to be close to his mother, who first introduced him to Black Brook Ranch.  She was acquainted with the family of former New Bedford Mayor Charles Ashley, who had once owned the Ranch and had been influential in the City’s purchase of hundreds of acres of land to protect New Bedford’s water supply.

Parks called Mayor Ashley “far-thinking” for his practice of purchasing land to protect Black Brook and the Assawompset Ponds. When Black Brook Ranch went on the market in 1950, the just-married Parks bought it at the urging of his wife, Christine.

Parks followed in Ashley’s footsteps, and over the years added nearby parcels to his ranch; all with the intent of keeping it in its natural condition despite a thriving real estate development market. This culminated in June of 2007, when Parks worked with the Conservancy, the state, and City of New Bedford and town of Middleborough to formally preserve the land.

“Ed was an inspiration to work with.  He understood that opportunities are dwindling to protect large tracts of farm and forest in this part of the state,” said Southeast Massachusetts Program Director Robb Johnson, who worked closely with Parks on the project. “He was willing to do his part by generously stepping up and conserving what he could.”

According to Parks’ daughter Nancy, this conservation ethic has been passed down through his family as well.

“My son recently brought some friends to the ranch,” she noted last summer. “One of his friends said ‘imagine what you can build here’ and my son immediately responded ‘no, you don’t build on it; you keep it this way.’”

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.