My Friend, Rob Caughlan: A Champion of California Rivers

Caption: Rob Caughlan by Don Montgomery 

By Jerry Meral 

Rob passed away recently at the age of 82, just four days after his wife Diane died. Rob played an instrumental role in the creation of Friends of the River, and in the campaign to pass Proposition 17 in 1974. Proposition 17 would have placed the Stanislaus River in the California Wild and Scenic River System, and was an attempt to stop construction of the New Melones Dam. 

In 1974, FOR took Jerry Brown (then-candidate for California Governor) on a trip down the Stanislaus River. Rob Caughlan is one of the front paddlers on this boat, which also contains Jerry Meral (author of this article), ARTA’s Larry Orman, LA Times reporter Bill Boyarsky, and Jerry Brown. Credit: David Kay, Stanislaus River Archives. 

The Fight to Save the Stanislaus River

 In 1973, I was a staff scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund, working on water issues. We brought a suit under the National Environmental Policy Act against the dam, but the court refused to stop construction. Then we organized a petition drive to President Nixon, and gathered more than 100,000 signatures, but Nixon refused to intervene. 

 The only remaining option was a statewide ballot initiative. The Environmental Defense Fund felt that as a tax-deductible organization, it could not be the sponsor of the initiative, so it was necessary to form a new organization, and hire campaign and signature consultants to run the campaign. (Whether or not the copying machine at EDF worked overtime in the dark of the night during that time is a mystery that will never be solved.)  

Roanoke Company and Proposition 17

Some activists in Palo Alto recommended that we retain Roanoke Company to manage the campaign. Roanoke was a new company formed by Rob and David Oke (get it: Roanoke). Since they proposed to charge only a modest fee, we hired them. They helped in a myriad of ways: campaign strategy, designing ads and campaign materials, fundraising, and a little bit of everything else.  

Rob and Dave even rounded up Paul Newman to cut a radio ad for the campaign, among many other low-budget but effective campaign activities. Sadly, Proposition 17 was defeated by a narrow margin. Working with a variety of river activists, Rob helped Friends of the River continue in existence after the loss of Proposition 17 in 1974, and FOR went on to many other river victories. 

The first major rally at the State Capitol to save the Stanislaus in September 1975. Rob Caughlan (pink shirt) and State Senator Peter Behr are in the background on the bench at right. Credit: Bruce Raley, Stanislaus River Archives. 

Influencing National Politics

One of the worst members of Congress from 1993 to 2007 was Richard Pombo, a Republican from Tracy. Due to his seniority, he rose to become chair of the House Resources Committee, where he worked to open public lands to all kinds of development and exploitation, and sought to repeal the Endangered Species Act. 

Rob had worked on Congressman Pete McCloskey’s first campaign. As a progressive Republican representing the San Francisco Peninsula, McCloskey helped establish Point Reyes National Seashore, helped pass the Endangered Species Act, and was a true environmental champion. McCloskey had retired to the Capay Valley, but he was horrified at Pombo’s environmental record. 

Working closely with Rob, McCloskey sponsored the “revolt of the elders” and ran against Pombo in the Republican primary. Rob worked tirelessly to draw national attention to the race, successfully! Even though McCloskey lost the primary, Pombo was so weakened that he lost to now State Senator Jerry McNerney. Rob and Pete made a huge difference in the direction of Congress. 

A Life of Activism and Adventure

Rob Caughlan. Credit: Stanislaus River Archives. 

Just a word about Rob’s personality. He was a serial activist. A long-time surfer (surfer name: Birdlegs), he founded the Surfrider Foundation and served on the board for many years. He was also a solar activist and worked on Jimmy Carter’s presidential campaign. Carter then hired him to work on energy policy in the White House. Check out his book: “A Surfer in the White House.”  

Rob was always cheerful and optimistic. His personality can only be called sparkling. He closely valued his old environmental friends, and I often consulted with him for advice on a wide variety of environmental issues and ballot measures. 

He even drove up to Inverness from Menlo Park last year just to visit me and enjoy a walk in Point Reyes National Seashore. He will be greatly missed. Friends of the River is largely his legacy.