About William P. Wharton
1880 - 1976
One of the more active and perceptive pioneers of his day, Mr. Wharton served on the board of the Massachusetts Forest and Park Association
from 1912 until 1970 and as its president from 1936 until 1960. He joined the National Parks Association in 1919 and was its president from 1935
until 1953. Mr. Wharton was an incorporator of the New England Forestry Foundation in 1944 and a director until his death. He was an officer
and board member of National Audubon from 1915 until 1943 and a director of the Massachusetts Audubon Society from 1912 to 1927.
Birding was one of Mr. Wharton’s great passions, and he was one of the first people to be granted a federal bird banding permit. He operated an active
banding station at his home in Groton, Massachusetts for many years.
Mr. Wharton's interests and accomplishments spanned the entire gamut of environmental concerns, from chairmanship of the
Town Forest Committee in Groton, to the presidency of the National Parks Association. His years of active service to these
organizations spanned almost three quarters of a century in an era when such causes were more often the subject of derision
than of popular support. Mr. Wharton was unusual in being keenly interested in the scientific management and production of timber
as well as its preservation, as manifested especially in his concern for the redwood forests of the west coast.