Scholar, National Parks Advocate and Environmentalist

Charlotte Gail H.

Nevada Test Site | 1952-1957 | Postal Clerk, Field Secretary & Draftsman

Cold War Patriots is delighted to introduce you to our December 2021 Everyday Patriot, Charlotte Gail H.!


Charlotte, who goes by Gail, was an avid learner from a young age. Following her years working at the Nevada Test Site, she went back to school and received her degree in Language and Linguistics. Gail taught the visually impaired as she earned her Real Estate Brokers License specializing in Land and Water Rights, which she is still actively involved into this day!

Gail used her involvement and observation of the bomb detonations and testing activities in the forward area to make her convincing arguments before Congress, which maintained the protection of the National Forests of Nevada from mining and lumbering. She later testified again before Congress in the mid-1980s. This time she successfully advocated for the Wilderness Protection Areas and the designation of the first National Park in Nevada, the Great Basin National Park, officially established in 1986.

“One person, however inconsequential we may feel we are, can in fact, make a difference and change the course of history,” Gail told us. Fighting to protect the earth has been a lifelong mission for Gail.

Nature is still something that Gail holds near and dear to her heart. Today, she enjoys keeping up her outdoor gardens at her Las Vegas home, and her indoor collection of orchids.