Phil Pister – Finding An Internal Compass

“As Professionals, Nothing Would Be Worse Than To Leave As Our Legacy Boxcar Loaded With Reprints Concerning Recently Extinct Species.”

When asked what he learned from his career, Phil’s energetic mind immediately finds voice in compelling stories about epiphany, confrontation, and legacy as a fish biologist. 

A career fishery biologist with the California Department of Fish and Game, Phil actively ducked promotions as a career goal. Instead, his 38-year career was a search for purpose and meaning as a natural resource manager in an environment he loves. 

Phil was a seminal influence in the formation of the Desert Fishes Council and served as its first chairman. And Phil was responsible for preventing the extinction of the Owens pupfish, a life-changing experience he documents in the famous paper, Species in a Bucket, Natural History 102(1):14—18.