from Tracy Davids – Executive Director

The fall winds have blown me back to Wild South from a glorious three-month sabbatical. I want to thank our board of directors for giving me an extended break to rest and rejuvenate after a challenging, yet rewarding, eleven years with the organization, eight of those at the helm.

I also want to thank our dedicated, hardworking staff who took on additional responsibilities, worked long hours, and made personal sacrifices to ensure that we didn’t skip a beat. Under the leadership of Ben Prater, Wild South staff advanced our work in a significant way.

It will take an equal amount of passion, dedication, sacrifice, courage, time, and money donated by many individuals to finally realize our vision of empowered communities, healthy intact ecosystems and wilderness in the Southeast. The Ken Burns documentary, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, recently drove this point home for me.

This awe inspiring story about the formation of our National Park system brought to light the remarkable people who did extraordinary things to create an invaluable legacy for our nation and the world. It put Wild South’s work into perspective and confirmed that, if we all just keep at it with the energy and fervor that has propelled us to this point, we will succeed in protecting those very special wild places we love and cherish.

Continuing into the new century we are confronted with unprecedented challenges that threaten our very life support systems here on Earth – our home. Our species is unique in many ways, but most striking is our ability to create meaning and to make sense of our lives and the world around us. We have fast approached a period in human history that requires us to take responsibility for our actions and reach a deeper understanding of our place in the world.

At Wild South we have faith in knowing that we can help achieve a vision for our bioregion that seeks a balance with the natural world that sustains us. When I speak of faith I’m not trying to evoke a religious connotation or even a spiritual understanding. Faith is simply knowing – it is moving forward, putting one foot out in front of the other when the fog may be too thick to see where our steps may land.

Faith is a wellspring of hope and is what provided so many before us with the ambition and drive to preserve a legacy of nature’s wonders into the future and beyond their own lifetimes.

We recognize the faith that you, our steadfast members, have in our work and in our organization as a whole. The money you donate, the time you volunteer, and the skills you so generously lend to the cause are a true testament to the importance you place on our work and your faith in our ability to get the job done.

Yes, we will face many uphill battles before we fully achieve our vision; but we are confident that we can get there – like the men and women who made America’s “best idea” a reality – if we continue working together.