George Henderson, an outspoken advocate for Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, passed away peacefully on Aug. 21. Although he had retired several times, he was a fixture at meetings where his 50 years of experience were enormously valuable as the region continues to face the dual pressures of development and climate change.
““When I remember George, I’m reminded of the Lorax — He always spoke for the trees. He will be sorely missed, and his legacy of speaking out for nature, no matter the issue or consequences, should be a lesson that the next generation of resource managers should take to heart, said said Ed Sherwood, executive director of the Tampa Bay Estuary Program (TBEP). “George never hesitated in providing a very direct, and oftentimes to the point perspective, on the overall protection of the natural habitats and wildlife that make our region and the entire state of Florida unique.”
Henderson moved to Florida from New Jersey in 1973 to become an environmental scientist for what was then Florida’s Department of Natural Resources. He held multiple positions over the years before retiring as director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) Marine Research Lab.
While his professional life focused on protecting Tampa Bay and marine ecosystems across the Gulf of Mexico, Henderson was also a committed volunteer focused on long-range planning and protecting environmentally sensitive lands. Shortly after moving to St. Petersburg, he became a member of the city’s planning commission and was involved in the city’s first comprehensive plan, as well as the map that accompanied it.
“The map was the most controversial part of that because there’s a real acknowledgment that if you say ‘these are the areas we’re going to preserve’ then you run into the risk and reality of either increasing or decreasing property values,” Henderson told Ann Hodgson in an interview recorded as part of the University of South Florida Libraries’ special collection on Florida Environment and Natural History.
After formally retiring from FWC, he was called back into service to help preserve Florida’s beaches and marine ecology following the massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. There, he demonstrated his expertise in emergency management and oil spill response projects that had been developed, in part, after the 1993 oil spill at the mouth of Tampa Bay.
“It was an environmental disaster but we’d really escaped the big one,” Henderson told Hodgson. “If the tide had been coming in, instead of going out, we would have had thousands of gallons of oil coming up the (shipping) channel and spreading out all over the bay – it probably would have gotten as far north as the port and we’d still be cleaning up the residues. We were lucky and we learned a lot.”
Henderson also shared his knowledge with generations of resource managers. “He was a mentor and sage advisor to me,” says Suzanne Cooper, retired staff of the TBRPC’s ACBM. “George led the Agency’s Natural Resources committee for many years, supporting the Agency’s credibility and reliability as a clear advocate for the Tampa Bay environs.”
He not only shared his knowledge, he continued to speak up for the bay long after he formally retired. “George was one of the people who always spoke his mind,” said Ann Paul, who worked for Audubon Florida’s Coastal Islands Sanctuaries.“Lately, when we attended meetings like the ABCM (Agency on Bay and Coastal Management) or TBEP TAC (Technical Advisory Committee), George and I had both retired so we were among the few people in the room not formally associated with any organization. It gave us both great latitude to bring up topics that needed to be discussed without concern for our agency’s positions. He will be sorely missed.”
A memorial service will be held on November 2nd at 2 p.m. at the St. Petersburg Friends Meeting (Quakers), 130 19th Ave Southeast. In lieu of flowers, donations in his name can be made to the Tampa Bay Estuary Program.
To listen to his entire discussion with Hodgson, visit https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/tb_estuary_ohp/11/. His family’s obituary is posted at https://www.afterall.com/obituaries/GeorgeHenderson
Originally published Oct. 25, 2024