Ep. 121 Dr. Bob McLandress on Building Early CWA

Save it for the Blind Podcast · Apr 27, 2026 · 59m

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…