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.
