Joel Jackson's legacy can be seen in parks, preserves throughout the county.
Four decades ago, Joel Jackson was hard at work trying to save the 1,500-acre Bower tract on upper Tampa Bay from development when he came to a decision. Already a veteran of fights to restore the health of Tampa Bay and create more conservation parks and preserves, he decided Hillsborough County needed even more than the Parks Bond Program to help protect fragile lands from overdevelopment.
His efforts played a key role in the 1987 creation of Hillsborough County's visionary Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program, which has since preserved more than 65,000 acres of valuable wildlife habitat.
On Wednesday, Hillsborough County officials, members of the Florida Native Plant Society, local Audubon Society and many others gathered to dedicate the recently renamed Joel E. Jackson Nature Center at Lettuce Lake Conservation Park. They said naming the conservation center at Lettuce Lake, one of the most popular parks in the county, after Jackson was a small token of appreciation for his half-century - and counting - of work as a fierce environmental advocate.
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