William Robert (Bob) Irvin
President
Department: Executive Services
Bob Irvin has been President and CEO of American Rivers since July 2011. As President, Bob leads American Rivers in its mission to protect and restore our nation’s rivers. He is responsible for management of the strategic, programmatic, and financial operations of American Rivers.
Before becoming President of American Rivers, Bob was Senior Vice President for Conservation Programs at Defenders of Wildlife.
Bob has also served as Director of U.S. Conservation for World Wildlife Fund; Vice President for Marine Wildlife Conservation and General Counsel for the Center for Marine Conservation; Senior Counsel for Fish and Wildlife on the Majority Staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works; Counsel and Director of the Fisheries and Wildlife Division, National Wildlife Federation; Trial Attorney in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice; and was in private legal practice in Portland, Oregon.
Bob is an expert in biodiversity conservation, wildlife law, and the Endangered Species Act. He has written and lectured extensively on biodiversity conservation issues. He is the co-editor, with Donald C. Baur, of the American Bar Association’s deskbook on the Endangered Species Act, ESA: Law, Policy, and Perspectives (2nd ed. 2011). He co-authored, with Michael J. Bean, the chapter on the Endangered Species Act and marine species in Ocean and Coastal Law and Policy (American Bar Association 2008). He was a member of the IUCN’s Red List Criteria Review Working Group which revised the standards for listing threatened species globally. He has taught Biodiversity Protection at Vermont Law School for nearly 20 years and has also taught at the University of Maryland School of Law.
Bob graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. degree in Forest Science from Utah State University in 1980. He earned a J.D., Order of the Coif, in 1983 from the University of Oregon School of Law. He has served as co-chair of the Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources Section of the District of Columbia Bar and on the board of directors of the Environmental Law Institute.
Blog Posts By This Author
Greening Milwaukee
July 19, 2012 | Water Pollution
I've spent the past two days at a Freshwater Forum convened by The Johnson Foundation at Wingspread, on the western shore of Lake Michigan outside Racine, Wisconsin. Wingspread is the home designed for the Johnson family in the 1930's by Frank Lloyd Wright. It provides an inspiring setting for this meeting of leaders from conservation, agriculture, utilities, health, government, foundations, and academia to look at how to meet our nation's needs for clean water in the 21st century.
Read more »Celebrating at the South Lawn of the White House
June 6, 2012
Yesterday I was fortunate to attend a reception on the South Lawn of the White House for the President’s political appointees and their guests. President Obama and Mrs. Obama greeted us and thanked those serving in the administration for their dedicated service on behalf of the nation.
Read more »Friday's White House Conference on Conservation
March 5, 2012 | Blue Trails, Water Pollution
On Friday, I had the privilege of attending the White House Conference on Conservation held at the Department of the Interior. It was an inspirational afternoon, with river restoration prominently featured. President Obama spoke about initiatives to promote stream restoration and provide opportunities for fishing and other outdoor recreation.
Read more »