Huey Johnson was awarded an honorary Doctor of Natural Resources Conservation from Utah State University, his master's degree alma mater, on May 2, 2009. He was awarded the degree as "a pioneering conservationist and environmental policymaker" and for "his life-long commitment to environmental affairs throughout the world." He spoke to the assembly about his concerns and recommendations for resource management in the face of climate change and diminishing resources such as water. The citation noted his numerous accomplishments including, as California Secretary of Resources, doubling salmon populations, strengthening forestry regulations, preserving millions of acres of California wilderness, and protecting more than 1,200 miles of wild rivers; as well as having founded organizations such as the Resource Renewal Institute, Aldo Leopold Society, the Grand Canyon Trust, the Trust for Public Land, and the Green Belt Movement International.

In revamping its climate strategy (CO2e cut of 34% by 2020) the UK is requiring the country's 26 million homes and millions of businesses in the country to have high technology meters installed by 2020, enabling remote readings that give customers accurate, real-time info on their energy consumption. The meters are a prerequisite for 'smart grids' to sell back on-site generated electricity. Savings are estimated between £2.5 billion and £3.6 billion over the next twenty years. RRI tracks the UK as a Green Plan nation.

Read Huey Johnson's position defending the integrity of Drakes Bay in Point Reyes National Seashore at http://tinyurl.com/o4d5ek

Brian was a fine friend and professional colleague. His passing leaves a hard-to-fill vacuum in the wonderful experiment of guiding the National Park Service into a large urban program.

I have a memory of a little known accomplishment that reflected his courage as a professional. I was on the Governor's cabinet at the time and decided to try and finish establishing 1200 miles of wild rivers in California to be added to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Then State Senator Peter Behr had carried legislation for the state side to passage. The Federal Wild and Scenic Rivers System had been passed for some time.

The problem was that California water interests had a lot of power in Washington, and any attempts to make the final connection between the two had always been blocked by those interests. The Senator asked me as a favor to try and break the knot. After considerable effort it became clear that we had to beat that Washington group. I had as staff person working in Washington and he concluded that we could quietly run some paperwork and surprise the opposition.

We needed to get a Washington Interior department official to carry things on that end, such as signing documents. Brian was with an agency called Heritage Conservation and Recreation service, which later became part of the Department of the Interior.

Our attorneys choked a bit and warned that maybe we should slow things up--we seemed to have skipped some hurdles and signed documents in speeding the process past the political obstacles. We finished the required steps and established the 1200 miles of California wild rivers amid the screams of the opposition. I doubt that it ever would have happened without Brian's courage.