Ep. 121 Dr. Bob McLandress on Building Early CWA

Mallard nesting at Grizzly Island, the story about CWA’s first biologist, and how research, banding, fundraising, and education all took shape

Jeff Smith and Carson Odegard sit down with Dr. Bob McLandress—past CWA president and one of the key figures in the organization’s early growth—for a look back at how California Waterfowl found its footing. Bob traces his path from Canada and Ducks Unlimited into graduate work under Dennis Raveling at UC Davis, then into CWA in 1985 as the organization’s first biologist—not its first employee, as the old story often goes. From there, the conversation moves through the early Grizzly Island mallard nesting work, the discovery of surprisingly high nest densities, the launch of CWA’s first major banding efforts, and the way one research project quickly snowballed into fundraising dinners, youth education, development work, and the broader conservation mission the organization carries today.

Episode highlights

• Bob’s path from Winnipeg into waterfowl biology, and how early work in Canada helped set the course for his career.
• The real story behind the long-running myth: Bob was CWA’s first biologist, but not its first employee.
• Why the early Grizzly Island nesting work changed the conversation around California mallards.
• How CWA’s first banding efforts got rolling—and how those early permits and projects helped build the program that followed.
• What early CWA really looked like: volunteer-driven, underfunded, chaotic, and full of people trying to build something that mattered.
• How one biologist’s job quickly turned into fundraising, education, development, and helping define CWA’s long-term role in California conservation.

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