Read the full article in Fly Fisherman Magazine. And keep reading below to learn more about the inspiration behind the article, from the article's author and CalTrout's field reporter, Michael Wier.
Written by Michael Wier, CalTrout Field Reporter
Very early in my career with California Trout, I had a chance to meet Richard May on a tour of Hat Creek and Rising River. CalTrout was just getting ready to embark on a new phase of restoration at Hat Creek and Richard was there to check it out. Afterwards, we went to the old Clearwater Lodge on Hat Creek to catch up with Dick Galland, who I had met many years prior at the Clearwater guide school he used to run there. At the time, I didn’t know much about Richard other than that he was a founding member of California Trout and a driving force in the original wild trout project at Hat Creek. I had seen him at the fly fishing shows when I was a young kid, but never really got a chance to talk with him. This time he had a nice bottle of wine with him, a big smile on his face, and he struck me as being a cool dude.
Over the next several years, the mystic of Richard’s character started to unravel. Every story I heard about him and his achievements was seemingly greater than the last. He was an avid angler, a conservationist, a doer, and a leader. The achievements Richard helped make possible in the early days of California Trout cannot be understated. The pioneering accomplishments that Richard and his fellow CalTrout crew were able to push through in the 60s, 70s, and 80s are still some of the greatest achievements in fisheries conservation to date. I hold him in stature to some of the greatest conservationists of our time, though he is a modest man and would never accept that title.
Now I consider Richard a friend, an inspiration, and a hero. So of course, when I was made aware of Fly-Fisherman Magazine and Simms’ Conservationist of the Year Award, I was quick to nominate him. It seemed very fitting given that 2021 was the 50th anniversary of the formation of California Trout.. the first regional fisheries conservation organization model of its kind. We started as a small group of anglers wanting better wild trout fishing, and today we are a 20 million-dollar-per-year cold water ecosystems restoration juggernaut with 35 employees and 50 years of ensuring resilient populations of wild fish thriving in healthy waters for a better California.
Read more of Richard’s story about his career and just some of the achievements he was a part of. It was an honor to help tell the story of a true hero in the fight to save California’s rivers and a pioneer in the movement toward catch and release angling, wild trout management, fisheries conservation, and ecotourism which has now spread worldwide.
I would also like to extend a huge thank you to Fly Fisherman magazine and Simms for this opportunity.
Read the full story in Fly Fisherman magazine here.
To honor Richard’s legacy and ensure the longevity of CalTrout for the benefit of future generations, consider joining our Richard May Legacy Circle of donors who have included CalTrout in their will or trust.
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Peter Moyle is the Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology and Associate Director of the Center for Watershed Sciences, at UC Davis. He is author or co-author of more than 240 publications, including the definitive Inland Fishes of California (2002). He is co-author of the 2017 book, Floodplains: Processes and Management for Ecosystem Services. His research interests include conservation of aquatic species, habitats, and ecosystems, including salmon; ecology of fishes of the San Francisco Estuary; ecology of California stream fishes; impact of introduced aquatic organisms; and use of floodplains by fish.
Robert Lusardi is the California Trout/UC Davis Wild and Coldwater Fish Researcher focused on establishing the basis for long-term science specific to California Trout’s wild and coldwater fish initiatives. His work bridges the widening gap between academic science and applied conservation policy, ensuring that rapidly developing science informs conservation projects throughout California. Dr. Lusardi resides at the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences and works closely with Dr. Peter Moyle on numerous projects to help inform California Trout conservation policy. His recent research interests include Coho salmon on the Shasta River, the ecology of volcanic spring-fed rivers, inland trout conservation and management, and policy implications of trap and haul programs for anadromous fishes in California.
Patrick Samuel is the Conservation Program Coordinator for California Trout, a position he has held for almost two years, where he coordinates special research projects for California Trout, including the State of the Salmonids report. Prior to joining CalTrout, he worked with the Fisheries Leadership & Sustainability Forum, a non-profit that supports the eight federal regional fishery management councils around the country. Patrick got his start in fisheries as an undergraduate intern with NOAA Fisheries Protected Resources Division in Sacramento, and in his first field job as a crew member of the California Department of Fish & Wildlife’s Wild and Heritage Trout Program.
1 Comment
We fished “near” Dick May on Hat Creek in the 1970s. He is a top fly fishman as well as an important person who has impacted California’s trout fisheries. Thanks for your great contributions.