We are thrilled to announce that President Jimmy Carter will receive this year’s Hightower Award at our annual Party for the Park on Tuesday, March 25th. A lifelong advocate for conservation, President Carter’s dedication to protecting our natural spaces has left a lasting impact on our park and beyond.

Join us as we celebrate his legacy and raise crucial funds for Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.

The efforts of Governor and President Jimmy Carter were crucial to saving the Chattahoochee River and purchasing lands within the metropolitan Atlanta corridor.

During the early 1970s, development was encroaching on the Chattahoochee River in metro Atlanta, including two proposed sewer lines that would have damaged much of the river corridor. Jimmy Carter loved the Chattahoochee River and, with the help of River Rats and Junior Leaguers, advocated for its protection.

A native Georgian and past Governor, President Carter signed Public Law 95-344 on August 15, 1978, establishing the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (CRNRA), a unit of the National Park Service created for the purpose of recreation and protection or the watershed for Atlanta’s primary water source.

 Remarking at the time, President Carter said “If I've ever seen a project that was initiated from the local level in a very unselfish way, it's this one. We came a long way in Georgia in preserving this valuable national asset on our own.” While surrounded by many “friends of the river” at the signing ceremony in the Rose Garden, President Carter further commented:

“The President of the United States has many pleasant duties to perform. But I don't know of any legislation that I have signed since I've been in the White House, nor will sign while I'm here, that brings me more personal pleasure than does this. Several years of my life have been spent, even before I became Governor of Georgia, developing an acute interest in, and a love for, the Chattahoochee River.

It's one of the most beautiful places in our country, extremely valuable to all those who know it, who live near it, and who appreciate the quiet and seclusion and the beauty and the value of this river to our people. It's a rare occasion when within the city limits of one of our major cities, one can find pure water and trout and free canoeing and rapids and the seclusion of the Earth the way God made it. But the Chattahoochee River is this kind of place.”

Authorizing the national park was the first hurdle. Acquiring land for the park was the second hurdle. With 48 miles of the Chattahoochee River from Buford Dam to Peachtree Creek secured as the “heartblood” of the CRNRA, over time the park has added 15 land units along its course, creating a “string of pearls” preserved for our enjoyment.

President Carter's legacy is woven into the very essence of CRNRA. His dedication, along with countless volunteers and organizations, have created a sanctuary where thousands of acres of preserved land can be enjoyed within Atlanta's city limits. Without it, much of this land would have been lost to development, depriving future generations of its natural beauty. We owe a deep gratitude to President Carter for his dedication to the Chattahoochee River, and his memory will always be cherished in our park.