Sad News: Rusty Harvey has Died

The Middletown Transcript has an obituary for Rusty Harvey today. I didn't know him personally, but I knew of him and I know enough about him to say that this is sad news. According to the paper, he died on Monday, at age 69.

Rusty Harvey was a leader of Delaware Wild Lands, "a private, non-profit tax-exempt organization dedicated to the conservation and preservation of natural areas through the acquisition and management of strategic parcels of land."

In my career in state government in Delaware, I've been involved in several agencies concerned with land preservation. "Rusty Harvey" is a name I heard from the very first. He was so established as a "name" in land preservation that I thought he was already long dead and simply being honored posthumously with tracts named for him as far back as the early 90s. I was a bit surprised when he was pointed out to me one day.

I'm sure there will be many more memorials and testaments in his memory as word gets around. But I thought I would note his passing for those of you who aren't from around these parts and might otherwise have missed the news.