Elliott Watts

May Petrea Theilgaard Watts (1 May 1893 – 20 August 1975) was an American naturalist, writer, poet, illustrator, and educator. She was a naturalist at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois, and author of Reading the Landscape of America. She is credited with proposing in 1963 what ultimately developed as a national rails-to-trails program. She argued for preservation of abandoned railroad rights-of-way for public use, and helped gain the development of the Illinois Prairie Path.