President Jimmy Carter: A champion of the Chattahoochee

President Jimmy Carter was a visionary leader who made advocacy for our nation’s lands and waters a cornerstone of his long career of public service. A Georgia native, Carter loved and championed rivers. He also understood early on that metro Atlanta would experience rapid growth, so he worked proactively to address future threats to our waterways.

As Georgia governor, Carter signed the 1972 Metropolitan River Protection Act (MRPA), which established a 2,000-foot buffer with land use restrictions along the banks of the Chattahoochee around Atlanta. In short, the act saved the Chattahoochee from harmful, unchecked development, and the legislation remains an important tool more than 50 years later. CRK regularly cites MRPA when new developments are proposed along the river.

Carter didn’t forget about the Hooch during his presidency. When he signed legislation establishing the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (CRNRA) in 1978, he helped protect 48 miles of the river and thousands of acres of adjacent park land in metro Atlanta. Today, the CRNRA remains one of the most-visited areas within the National Park System, and its many units are beloved by locals and tourists alike.

Carter’s environmental legacy is sprawling, from the Okefenokee Swamp to the Alaskan wilderness and beyond. CRK is grateful for his many years of meaningful advocacy for our natural resources and we join people around world in mourning his passing.

Photo: President Carter canoes along the Chattahoochee River through the CRNRA Palisades unit during his term as Governor of Georgia. Photo courtesy of NPS Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.

This article originally appeared in the Winter/Spring 2025 issue of RiverCHAT.