William Lovell Finley: Champion of Oregon’s Wildlife Refuges

This biography of the pioneer photographer and conservationist, William Finley, not only tells the astonishing story of his efforts to save Oregon wildlife in the early 1900s, but includes the original photographs of birds that made his work so successful. William Finley and Herman Bohlman climbed 150-foot trees, scaled cliffs, crawled through poison oak, and paddled on mosquito-infested lakes carrying heavy camera gear in search of wild birds to photograph. Finley worked for over 25 years to save the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Eastern Oregon. Finley fought to clean up the Willamette River. Possibly every wildlife refuge in Oregon — including the one named in his honor south of Corvallis — owes its existence to this man’s struggle to provide sanctuaries for wild animals.
(Paperback)
Joe R. Blakely