COMMISSIONER - BOATING-AT-LARGE

Richard Lewis

COUNTIES: At-large

Richard Lewis of Gettysburg, Adams County, is one of two boating-at-large Commissioners of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. He was appointed in July 2017.

Mr. Lewis is a graduate forester and former President and CEO of the Forest Resources Association (FRA), a national organization that represents the forestry interests of forest owners, timber harvesters, wood consuming mills and forestry equipment manufacturers. Improved safety, sustainable forestry as well as efficiency in on-the-ground wood supply operations are important parts of FRA efforts to retain forestry operations and facilities in the US.

Before joining FRA in 1982 Lewis served for ten years as Director of Forest Resources for the American Forest Council. While there he managed the American Tree Farm System, a nationwide program that today recognizes more than 74,000 Certified Tree Farmers who have pledged to manage their 19 million acres of private woodlands under a sustainable multiple use forestry philosophy. From 1965 to 1972, Lewis served as a Senior Area Forester with the New Jersey Bureau of Forestry helping forest owners manage their woodlots for wood, water, wildlife and recreation.

Lewis has an AAS degree in Forestry from Paul Smith’s College, a BS in Forestry from the State University of NY and a BS from Syracuse University. He has also completed a Master’s Level Certificate from the American University School of Business Administration in Washington, D.C. He is a member of the Society of American Foresters, The Pennsylvania Society of Association Executives, and a he is a Certified Association Executive (CAE Ret.).

Although Lewis has “paper” from four different Colleges and Universities he calls Paul Smith’s College his alma mater. He is currently serving on the PA Smitties Core Leadership Alumni Group as a way of “giving back” to the College that launched his forestry career.

Lewis is also a life member of the Pennsylvania Forestry Association (where he currently serves on the Board of Directors), as well as a life member of Trout Unlimited, the Ruffed Grouse Society, the Virginia Forestry Association, Izaak Walton League of America and the Maryland Forests Association. He is also a member of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, PA Parks and Forests Foundation, Friends of Michaux State Forest, PA Federation of Sportsmen and Conservation, and Yellow Breeches Anglers and Conservation Association. He is a Board Member of the Adams County Trout Unlimited Chapter and a former Regional VP of the PA Council of Trout Unlimited.

Lewis and his wife Jakie live four miles west of Gettysburg in the Adams County, PA countryside where they enjoy growing fields of wild flowers, and taking their grandchildren and dogs on hikes to see the song birds, deer, fox, racoons, possums, mink, wild turkeys, muskrats, beavers, owls, Kingfishers, Bald Eagles, and other wildlife in the riparian zone along Marsh Creek that flows 75 yards from their front doorstep.