BIO BACKGROUNDER -- Franny Reese

Green before it was trendy

The Hudson Valley would be a far different place today if it were not for the four decades of Francis “Franny” Reese’s vision and unceasing dedication. Long before it was fashionable, she saw intrinsic value in the myriad people and places that make our valley a touchstone for our national heritage. She viewed the whole fabric of our region as one piece and understood that like the delicate ecosystem of our river, the Hudson Valley’s treasures are inextricably intertwined.

Ms. Reese was one of the early leaders of Scenic Hudson. Starting in 1964 she joined a small group of Scenic Hudson founders in a campaign to protect Storm King Mountain, an iconic landmark in the Hudson Highlands. While she had no experience fighting major corporations or working with government agencies that ruled on such proposals, she was spurred by her passion. She took resolve from her love of a river that had seen so many dramatic moments in our country’s history and that had sparked the imaginations of leading artists and writers. With calm dignity and a large dose of common sense and decency, she went into action.

A pioneer with boundless energy

With a handful of other citizens, she battled Con Ed and its plans to build a huge power plant into the side of a mountain that creates a magnificent gateway to the Hudson Valley. After a 17-year crusade, Franny Reese was instrumental in producing a victory we all savor today. One of the organization’s first victories, the Scenic Hudson Decision, first established the right of citizens to bring lawsuits to protect their environment. The case became the cornerstone of a generation of environmental law in the U.S.

Ever forward-looking, Ms. Reese helped Scenic Hudson move beyond its first struggle, to provide leadership in meeting new challenges. In the 1970s, she helped Scenic Hudson establish programs that dealt with air and water-quality issues and community planning needs. During the early 1980s, she helped move the organization to initiate land and historic preservation projects and to intervene alongside citizens who were opposing inappropriate developments.

As Scenic Hudson’s chairwoman for nearly 20 years, she led the organization’s drive to clean up the Hudson River. This included a decades-long campaign to get GE to remove health-threatening PCBs it dumped in the river north of Albany. She remained committed to seeing the company clean up its industrial mess. More recently she supported Scenic Hudson’s efforts to halt harmful proposals such as a massive coal-fired St. Lawrence Cement plant proposed for the City of Hudson and Town of Greenport, practically on the doorstep of Olana, the home of Hudson River School painter Frederic Church.

Seeing the value of land and parks -- and their power to revitalize people and communities

A champion of Scenic Hudson’s land preservation efforts, she helped form the organization’s separately incorporated land trust during the early 1980s. Since that time the Scenic Hudson Land Trust has created or enhanced more than 40 parks and preserves up and down the Hudson River for the public to enjoy. A number of these were polluted former industrial sites that were reclaimed.

When asked about her hopes for the future, Franny once said, “I hope people will continue to care about where they live and how they live.”

She left us with a credo to carry on her ideals: “Care enough to take action. Do your research so you don’t have to backtrack from a position. And don’t give up!”

Those at Scenic Hudson fortunate to know her well are confident that she would be delighted that a park named in her honor overlooks another outstanding grass-roots victory -- Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park.

Deep, far-reaching impacts

In addition, Franny Reese was a key player in many of Scenic Hudson’s pioneering efforts to create:

• First-in-the-nation Acid Rain Control Bill
• First Environmental Bond Act
• New York State’s Bottle Bill
• Hudson River Valley Greenway
• National Heritage Area designation
• American Heritage River designation

A champion for other important valley organizations

In addition to her remarkable commitment to Scenic Hudson, Ms. Reese played a key role in other noted valley institutions, including Marist College; Locust Grove, the Samuel F.B. Morse Historic Site; and Boscobel Restoration, Inc.

Scenic Hudson works to protect and restore the Hudson River and its majestic landscape as an irreplaceable national treasure and a vital resource for residents and visitors. A crusader for the valley since 1963, we are credited with saving fabled Storm King Mountain from a destructive industrial project and launching the modern grass-roots environmental movement. Today with more than 25,000 ardent supporters, we are the largest environmental group focused on the Hudson River Valley. Our team of experts combines land acquisition, support for agriculture, citizen-based advocacy and sophisticated planning tools to create environmentally and economically healthy communities, open up riverfronts to the public and preserve the valley's inspiring beauty and natural resources.

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