[1][2] He was Assistant Secretary of Fish, Wildlife and Parks at the United States Department of the Interior who co-wrote the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and is credited with stopping the use of DDT.
[7] After brokering the sale of a gold mine for a fee of $2 million, Verner Reed moved his family to Europe where Joseph was raised.
[8] After college, he was a lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force for four years, serving in intelligence services in Europe, the Middle East, and north Africa through 1959.
"[7] Regardless, Reed was horrified by the population explosion and uncontrolled development that was taking place in Florida during his childhood; he joined The Nature Conservancy.
[7][11] After Kirk left office, Reed was asked to continue as a consultant to Governor Reuben Askew and the chair of Florida's Air and Water Pollution Control Board.
[15] During his confirmation hearings with the U.S. Senate, it was revealed that Reed owned $500,000 in Mobil Oil company stock; however, this was not enough of a conflict to stop his appointment.
[4][5] He stopped the Everglades Jetport and the Cross Florida Barge Canal, ended the use of DDT and Compound 1080, and co-wrote the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
[5][4] He also pushed to stop feeding the Yellowstone grizzly bears garbage, returning them to a natural lifestyle, and his efforts to end the poisoning of western wolves with Compound 1080 helped restore both wolf and wolverine populations.
[5] Passed over for promotions and disliking the newly appointed Secretary of the Interior, Reed left office in November 1976 when Ford was not reelected.
[18] Although a supporter of President Ronald Reagan, Reed noted that, "They are attempting to turn the clock back to the pre- [Theodore] Roosevelt era, when everyone supposed natural resources were inexhaustible.
"[18] He spoke out because, "I cannot sit idly by and watch lame-brained, outmoded philosophy take hold in stain my party's image.
[18] Reed also objected to Watts' belief in a Christian mandate "to occupy the land" and his description of the Grand Canyon river run as "boring.
[2] Reed had three brothers—they were a vice president of Chase Manhattan Bank, the owner of American Heritage magazine, and a cattle farmer in Maryland.
[2] Reed was associated with many nonprofit organizations, including being chair of the Natural Resources Defense Council, vice-chair of The Nature Conservancy, vice-chair of Audubon, chair of the Crystal River Manatee Sanctuary Committee, and served on the board of the American Rivers, Atlantic Salmon Federation, the Florida Audubon Society, Hope Rural High School, the National Geographic Society, and Yellowstone National Park.
[4][22][2] In 2018, Reed died in Quebec City, Canada at the age of 84 from a brain injury he received while fishing for salmon on the Grand Cascapédia River.