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Dick Smith

The life and legacy of Dick Smith, journalist, photographer, conservationist, naturalist and artisan, was the subject of a panel discussion on Sunday, October 22, 4 p.m. in Fleischmann Auditorium at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (SBMNH). The panel and reception following was co-sponsored with the Wildling Art Museum (WAM) in Los Olivos which has organized an exhibition, “Dick Smith and His Back Country Wilderness,” in honor of the 30th anniversary of his death.

Dick Smith had a multifaceted career. A reporter and photographer for the Santa Barbara News-Press for 29 years, he specialized in stories about nature, the Los Padres National Forest, and the California condor and its plight. He introduced many people to the joys of packing into the Santa Barbara back country, and fashioned all kinds of things with his hands including drawings, wood carvings, and even saddles made from scratch. He fought hard for the passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964 and for the San Rafael range to be included as the first federally designated wilderness area. When he died at the age of 56 in 1977, admirers lobbied successfully to have an area of 65,000 acres adjoining the San Rafael Wilderness named the Dick Smith Wilderness in his honor. He is one of only three Californians to have a wilderness named for him, the other two being John Muir and Ansel Adams.

The panel on October 22 was moderated by Barney Brantingham, a former colleague of Smith’s at the Santa Barbara News-Press and now a columnist at the Santa Barbara Independent. Panelists included Bud Bottoms, artist; Ray Ford, author of “A Hiker’s Guide to the Dick Smith Wilderness;” and Jim Mills, a friend of Smith’s and a member of the Trails Advisory Board for the Los Padres National Forest.

About the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History

One of Santa Barbara's cultural and environmental treasures, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History was founded in 1916. The mission of the Museum is to enlighten the public by developing and presenting fundamental knowledge of natural history research, so as to teach and inspire a lifelong passion and abiding respect for the natural world.