David W. Walker passed away peacefully on the evening of Wednesday, February 2, at the age of 90.  He was born in Oak Park, Illinois on July 15, 1931, but identified more closely with Baraboo, Wisconsin, where he spent his boyhood.   He moved to the Denver area with his two children in 1976.  After spending several years in Arnold, Nebraska, to be near his daughter and grandchildren, he returned to Colorado permanently in 2010.    

David and his brother, Bob grew up during the Depression and World War II, raised by his father, Jesse, and mother, Margaret.  His boyhood in Baraboo during those years impressed on him a sense of responsibility toward his community and the public generally and a deep and abiding respect and reverence for the natural world.  

After a stint in the Navy during the Korean War, David earned a bachelor’s degree in Zoology and a Master of Journalism at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and entered the Ph.D. program in conservation at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.  From there, he spent his professional career and much of private time in public service working to balance the demands of growth against the need to conserve natural resources and preserve wild places.  Over the course of his career, he worked for various organizations on various natural resource management, protection, and restoration projects spanning the country.  He finished his career as the Deputy Director and then the Director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board, retiring in 1992.

In retirement, David travelled liberally, park-hosting or just camping and fishing.  Apart from his travels, he spent his retirement years mainly between Colorado and Nebraska, having grandchildren to dote on in both states.  He settled finally in Indian Hills, Colorado, where he has been a central and beloved member of the community for the past decade.      

Throughout his life, David preferred to spend his free time in wilderness, camping and hiking, observing and interacting.  He was an avid birder (as all birders are) and an avid fly fisherman (as all fly fishermen are).  He knew the birds and the fish better than most—maybe even better than most of the birds and the fish themselves.  His knowledge of birds was factual and encyclopedic—he could spot their accents and tell you where they flew in from.  What he knew about the fish was where they were in the river and what they had on their minds, which allowed him to tie and cast the fly that would fool them.   Over the 90 years of his life, he fooled a lot of fish.

David is survived by his brother, Bob; his daughter, Sara Shearer, and son, Owen Walker; four grandchildren—Stephanie Unruh, Cole Rodgers, Tess Walker, and Tara Newsom; and by his great grandson Kayson Unruh.  He will be missed by us all and by anyone who had the good fortune to know him.