Generation to Generation

Kim MacColl's decades of service on the Oregon Wildlife Foundation Board of Directors started and ended with family invitations.

The passing of a torch cannot happen without the flame of passion. For Board member Kim MacColl, the call to wildlife conservation started and ended with family. 

“I was drawn to the Foundation by my father-in-law, Mort Bishop, who was one of the founding members of the Oregon Wildlife (Heritage) Foundation,” said MacColl. “He was a close friend and confidant of Victor Atiyeh, Oregon’s governor in 1980-81, who spearheaded a campaign to head off the privatization of the lower Deschutes River. Mort knew I loved the Deschutes and he also took me to Forks, Washington for many winter steelhead trips,” continued MacColl. “Mort invited me to join the board and I eagerly accepted the invitation.”

Kim joined the Board of the Foundation in 1992 and has over thirty years of dedicated service to our organization’s fish and wildlife conservation work. Kim served on the Projects, Board Development, and Fundraising Committees and spent almost two decades as President of the Board of Directors. 

“Probably the most challenging and rewarding [project] was the restoration of Diamond Lake, which took place almost twenty years ago,” said MacColl. “ It took three years to complete a project that saved the world-class trout fishery in Diamond Lake from probable extinction due to a population explosion of tui chub in the lake. [Editor’s note: tui chub is a fish, illegally introduced to Diamond Lake as bait, whose population grew quickly, negatively affecting the ecology of the lake] Of course, I have also loved and supported any project or Fund that helps the Deschutes River summer steelhead run and the surrounding habitat and vegetation.”

Kim, a retired attorney, is an avid fly angler and loves spending time on the Deschutes River, one of his favorite spots to fish. During his tenure at the Foundation, Kim was an outspoken advocate for the protection and restoration of the Deschutes. Additionally, he was a major proponent of salmon habitat recovery projects along the Oregon Coast which led to a broadscale effort from the mid 1990s to the mid 2000s to try to recover coastal salmon species. 

“My advice to fellow Board members has always been to invite friends/relatives to get involved in outdoor adventures/experiences including fishing, hiking, upland bird hunting, etc.,” said MacColl. “Then, invite them to join the Foundation and be a contributor to  Oregon’s premier wildlife Foundation. Bringing on younger generations, including children and grandchildren, as I did with my son E.K., is the only way to perpetuate the future health and well-being of the Oregon Wildlife Foundation.” MacColl continued, “As I look back on my years of leadership and participation with the Foundation, I am so very proud of the way it has evolved, grown, become more financially stable, and successfully brought on younger Board members and outstanding staff members to lead the Foundation for the coming years.”

MacColl’s generous and steadfast support of the Oregon Wildlife Foundation has made a long-lasting impact on the important work we do.

“It has been my honor and a true privilege to work with Kim,” said Executive Director, Tim Greseth. “He’s a generous supporter and has helped me tremendously in my role. We’re extremely fortunate for his involvement, and now for that of his son, E.K., in the governance and further development of the Oregon Wildlife Foundation.”