News

A Conservation Giant’s Legacy of Water

August 14, 2013

By Jill Shirley, Outreach Coordinator
Central Valley Joint Venture

Dan Chapin was one of the great champions of the Central Valley Joint Venture and the waterfowl of the Pacific Flyway. Dan was a leader, mentor, advocate, and visionary in the history of wetlands conservation in California. He is still remembered by those whose lives are dedicated to the protection and restoration of Central Valley waterfowl.

While he had many achievements over his long and distinguished career in wetlands conservation, one of Dan Chapin’s greatest contributions was in the area of water. Dan worked tirelessly, and skillfully, behind the scenes in Sacramento, and in Washington DC, to ensure that private duck clubs and public waterfowl areas got water for their wetlands. The highpoint of those efforts was his work on the “Mitchell Bill” which ultimately became the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA), which was signed into law in 1992. Virtually everyone involved in that effort believes that Dan Chapin deserves most of the credit for the language in the CVPIA that carved out firm water supplies for federal refuges, state wildlife areas, and private wetlands within the Grassland Resource Conservation District. Former Grasslands General Manager, the late Dave Widell – himself a great champion of water for refuges – once recalled Dan’s contributions with genuine reverence. “We think of Dan each year when we begin to flood the Grasslands. If not for him and his ability to get refuge water supplies into the CVPIA, many of us might well be in other professions and would not have been given the water resources to make the incredible gains we have since Dan’s work back in the early 90’s.”

Dan Chapin was an indispensable partner of the CVJV. His energy and guidance helped build the CVJV into the respected and influential institution it is today. He was also a mentor, friend and inspiration to countless individuals who shared his passion for wetlands and waterfowl. Their memories of him, along with his profound and enduring influence on the landscape of California, will stand forever as a testament to a man committed to leaving the world a better place than when he found it.