Robert H. Boyle, the father of environmental activism on the Hudson River,
will speak on “Ecology and Stewardship of the Hudson River” on Wednesday, Jan. 31,
at 7 p.m. in the Nott Memorial.
His talk opens the six-part seminar series, “The Hudson River: From the Wilderness to
the Sea,” sponsored by Environmental Studies and the Association for the Protection of
the Adirondacks.
The topic was planned to coincide with the dredging issue and the EPA decision, said John
Garver, director of environmental studies. “It was clear that the EPA decision would precede
the series, but the debate and public comment period would coincide with it,” he said.
“We want to highlight current environmental issues in a broad-based seminar series that
address the scientific, political, and cultural aspects of a particular environmental issue,
” he said. Previous seminars have focused on lakes and environmental change, global warming
and the Adirondacks.
Boyle's efforts on behalf of the Hudson River Fishermen's Association (which he founded in
1966) led to the first prosecutions ever of industrial polluters in the United States. In
1980, he originated the idea of an independent Hudson River Foundation for science research.
He demanded that utilities abusing the river endow it before he would agree to a settlement
of lawsuits brought by the Hudson River Fishermen's Association. As a result, the Hudson is
the only river in the world with its own endowment, now grown to almost $40 million.
As president of the Hudson Riverkeeper Fund (the successor to the Fishermen's Association),
Mr. Boyle has continued these efforts to use the legal system to stop pollution and bring
polluters to justice and has helped in starting other Keeper programs across the nation.
As a staff writer for 34 years at Sports Illustrated, Mr. Boyle authored numerous articles
on environmental issues. His articles exposed the discovery of PCBs in Hudson River striped
bass and his testimony and other efforts halted the development of Westway, a New York City superhighway/real estate project.
His journalistic excellence has won him numerous awards, including the Evinrude Award in 1971, the Outdoor Life Conservationist
of the Year Award in 1976, the 1981 Conservation Communication Award from the National Wildlife Federation, and the American Fisheries Society 1998 William E. Ricker Resource Conservation Award.
He is the author, co-author and editor of more than eight books on major environmental issues of concern, including The Hudson River: A Natural and Unnatural History, now in revision for an updated edition.
Other lectures in the series, all on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. in the Nott Memorial, are:
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Feb. 7
– “The Historical Importance of the Hudson River on the Development of the Capital Region” with John J. McEneny, NY State Assemblyman, 104th District; -
Feb. 14 – “The Real Story of Contaminants in the Hudson from Sewage to PCBs” with Richard Bopp, RPI professor of earth and environmental sciences;
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Feb. 21 – “Adirondack Guides from the Hudson's Headwaters: A Short Season, Hard Work, Low Pay” with Chuck Brumley, author and licensed guide;
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Feb. 28 – “The Hudson River School Painters” with Robert T. McLean, art gallery proprietor;
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March 7 – “Folk Music Along the Hudson” with George Ward, singer and folk historian.