The life and times of Dr. Robert J. Behnke

Authors: Kevin R. Bestgen

Year: 2013 (xlv)

Abstract

This presentation details the life and accomplishments of long-standing Desert Fishes Council member Dr. Robert J. Behnke. At an early age Doc Behnke was an avid angler and keen observer of the natural world, detailing his findings in his personal journal ‘Piscatorial’. He later served in the Korean War, toting rifle and flyrod at various duty stations. After being honorably discharged, Doc earned three degrees, culminating in the Ph.D. at University of California, Berkeley, and matriculated with revered colleagues including our Executive Secretary, Phil Pister. His many professional contributions were mainly to the literature on taxonomy and systematics of trout and salmon across the globe, but particularly those in North America. He was at least as proud of his communications with a much larger and influential lay audience via a monthly column ‘About Trout’ , which was published in the popular magazine ‘Trout’ , the main written forum for the 147,000 member strong national organization, Trout Unlimited. A main aim of his, especially later in life, was promoting actions needed to conserve the diversity of coldwater fishes and their habitat, especially those in arid regions. He had a deep and exhaustive interest in all that was fishery and aquatic science, which was assisted by a well-known and prodigious memory capacity likely larger than the Cloud storage system, and he freely shared his knowledge and wisdom with students and colleagues, sometimes whether you wanted it or not. The annual gathering of the Council was his favorite professional meeting and although we miss his front and center presence, his scholarship and philosophy lives through teachings and writings, and his spirit through the many memories we share. Doc was a mentor, colleague, friend, and polymath, who influenced and enriched many and we are all grateful to have known him.