Supporter Spotlight: Larry Franks
This month, we’re honored to highlight longtime Issaquah community advocate Larry Franks, who shares how his lifelong passion for salmon conservation led him from steelhead fishing to decades of environmental advocacy, education, and stewardship throughout the Issaquah community.
All photos courtesy of Larry Franks.
By Larry Franks
My engagement with the environment started as a backsliding vegetarian. Medical advice to me in the early ‘70s suggested my metabolism in the Pacific Northwest (born and raised) needed concentrated sources of protein. Southern Cal would be acceptable to my metabolism, but I had already imprinted on the PNW. If I were going to consume animals, I needed to be the one who graciously accepted that gift of life, and so I started fishing—a much more efficient source of protein than mammals. After dipping lines in any watercourse in King County larger than a bucket, I got hooked on steelhead. These sea-going rainbow trout were exciting to pursue and more than met my protein needs for years. It did not take long, however, to realize that these magnificent fish (along with salmon and others) were imperiled—and I was compelled to do something about this. Driven by a desire to understand what could be done to preserve and restore these fish, I went back to school and got a B.S. in Fisheries (Salmonid Culture) in 1979. I have been volunteering in efforts benefiting these fish ever since.
Currently I serve on the Board for the Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery (FISH) and love sharing my knowledge and passion for salmon via tours and other educational activities. My favorite audiences are 3rd graders—just waking up to the scientific method—and adults interested in making good decisions in their lives that can benefit the fish. I also sit on our watershed’s Salmon Recovery Council, mostly consisting of city council members of the cities in our watersheds (Lakes Washington and Sammamish), because fish are not aware of political boundaries, and we must ally across those boundaries to care for them. Issues critical to fish (water quality, riparian habitat, and stormwater runoff) are also important to city decision-makers. Likewise, I participate in the Trout Unlimited Washington State Advocacy Committee, working with elected officials at the state level to benefit these fish. I also support the Sierra Club’s advocacy program.
It is very satisfying to see the wonder on someone’s face as they grasp the depth of beauty of the relationship between salmon, forests, and the ocean, but I get even more excited when people choose to be engaged—to *do* something to improve the fate of these fish. Issaquah is such a wonderful place to get engaged—the City of Issaquah organizes many activities that benefit my favorite fish. There were a slew of activities inspired by Arbor Day, ranging from replanting near Issaquah Creek to a Sustainability Fair, learning how to manage your footprint on this planet. My favorite spot within the City of Issaquah to remind me of these opportunities is Confluence Park. It is a microcosm of our area, with forests recovering from the bomb cyclone a couple years past to the living movement of Issaquah Creek, dropping trees into its flow, slowing water to provide refuges for my favorite fish, and providing overflow areas to mitigate flood impacts.
I challenge anyone reading this to pick an action that can benefit the fish or environment and commit to it. This can range from getting your hands dirty removing invasive plants to getting together with like-minded folks hiking our wonderful trails or learning the history of our area as a basis for moving in the right direction for the future. Pick something. Make a commitment.
