Marjorie Harris Carr

Marjorie Harris Carr (March 26, 1915 – October 10, 1997) was an American scientist and environmental activist, well known for her conservation work in Florida. She was born in Boston and grew up in southwest Florida, where her parents taught her about native flora and fauna. After earning a Master of Science degree from the University of Florida in 1942, she went on to establish and lead several conservation efforts in the state, including co-founding the Alachua Audubon Society in 1960 and co-founding Florida Defenders of the Environment in 1969. Her work with Florida Defenders of the Environment — which continued until her death in 1997 — to preserve the Ocklawaha River Valley helped halt construction of the Cross Florida Barge Canal, which is now a public conservation and recreation area named in her honor in 1998. She was inducted in the Florida Women's Hall of Fame in 1996. She was married to herpetologist Archie Carr from 1937 until his death in 1987; they had five children.

Early life Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Carr was raised in southwest Florida, where her naturalist parents taught her how to identify the state's native flora and fauna while on nature hikes and while horseback riding to school. In 1918, her parents moved the family from Boston to Bonita Springs, Florida, and later relocated to Fort Myers in 1928, where she attended high school.

Education and early career Carr graduated from Fort Myers Senior High School in 1932, and enrolled in Florida State University (which at the time was the Florida State College for Women). Her studies included biology, ecology, botany, ornithology, and bacteriology. In 1936, she received a Bachelor of Science degree in zoology from Florida State University. and was later published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the New England Zoology Club.

From 1945 until 1949, Carr and her family lived in Honduras, where she explored the rainforest daily with her husband, Archie Carr. Marjorie completed thousands of scientific bird skins and later published her research on the birds of Honduras, including "The San Geronimo Swift in Honduras" in the Wilson Bulletin in 1951, and "Notes on the Birds of Honduras for the Years 1945-1949, with Special Reference to the Yeguare River Valley, Department of Francisco Morazan" in Ceiba in 1995. Carr continued to work on Ocklawaha River conservation, including removal of the Rodman Dam and Reservoir, and to preserve parks and green spaces in Florida for nearly 30 years until her death in 1997. Florida Defenders of the Environment remains an active environmental conservation organization with a primary mission to "restore the Ocklawaha River."

Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway The Barge Canal was officially deauthorized by Congress in 1990, and all lands and structures associated with the project were transferred to the state of Florida for use as a public conservation and recreation area. The Florida Governor and Cabinet signed a resolution to deauthorize the Canal on January 22, 1991. The lands transferred to the state of Florida became the Cross Florida Greenway State Recreation and Conservation Area. Carr was appointed by the Florida legislature to the Canal Lands Advisory Committee in 1991 to represent the public at large and help create a master plan for the Greenway.

In 1998, the Greenway was officially renamed the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway in Carr's honor. The Greenway runs 110 miles and comprises more than 70,000 acres through portions of Citrus, Levy, Marion, and Putnam counties, from Yankeetown on the Gulf of Mexico to south of Palatka on the St. Johns River. It is part of the system of Florida State Parks and is managed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Recreation and Parks.

Honors and awards Marjorie Harris Carr won a number of awards and honors for her work. As detailed by Peggy Macdonald, 1997: Inducted into the Florida Wildlife Federation's Conservation Hall of Fame 1998: The lands for the Cross Florida Barge Canal right-of-way is renamed the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway 1989: Marjorie Harris Carr, John Hankinson, and Florida Defenders of the Environment. Restoring the Ocklawaha River Ecosystem. 1992: Edits and writes the foreword to republication of Archie Carr's High Jungles and Low. 1992: Edits "The Case for Restoring the Free-Flowing Ocklawaha River" with David Godfrey, Jack Kaufmann, and Jeanne Marie Zokovitch. 1993: Edits republication of Archie Carr's Ulendo: Travels of a Naturalist In and Out of Africa. 1994: Edits a collection of essays by her late husband entitled, A naturalist in Florida: a celebration of Eden.