Tim Palmer, Wild and Scenic Rivers

For over 40 years, Tim’s writing and photography have combined with his love of rivers and nature with his drive for creative expression. Living for 22 years as a nomad in his van, Tim has canoed or rafted on more than 300 rivers. He is an award-winning author of 26 books and dozens of magazine articles, and his text and photos have been widely used for conservation campaigns, many of them successful. To commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, Tim created a sumptuous book, Wild and Scenic Rivers: An American Legacy. California ICAN, was proud to host a reception for Tim. Some fifty people crowded into the conference room at Earth Island Institute, as Tim talked about his adventures on rivers, in forests, and atop mountains. So captivating was his presentation that, as Claire Greensfelder, an environmental activist, would later observe, for the stretch of more than two hours not one person was seen checking their cell phone—the modern equivalent of a standing ovation, and well-deserved for the work Tim has done and the life he has led.