Bruce Bowler papers

Attorney and pioneer conservationist Bruce Bowler was born in Shoshone, Idaho, March 24, 1911, the son of Albert and Martha Garlock Bowler. He was educated in Shoshone and Gooding public schools; he attended the University of Idaho and received a Bachelor of Law (LLB degree) in 1938. He opened a general law practice in Boise in that year and immediately began volunteer work as an environmental activist. He practiced law for fifty years and pioneered in Idaho the field of environmental law. Bruce Bowler died at the age of 91 in Boise, Idaho on May 2, 2002.

On August 24, 1940, Bowler married Beth Bothwell of Twin Falls whom he had met at the University of Idaho. They had three sons, Bill, Edd, and Bert.

Bowler developed his lifelong passion for the environment while hunting and fishing as a boy around Shoshone, Gooding, and the Sawtooth Mountains. Throughout his life, he donated thousands of hours for the conservation of wildlife and wilderness. Early in his career, he was active in the Ada County Fish and Game League and the Idaho Wildlife Federation. He helped put the 1938 initiative on the ballot to create the Idaho Fish and Game Commission. As chairman of the Pollution Committee of the Idaho Wildlife Federation, he was instrumental in writing legislation that resulted in Idaho voters approving an initiative to regulate dredge mining in 1954.

In 1960, Bowler was counsel for the Idaho Wildlife Federation when it successfully challenged the construction of two different proposed federal dams on the Snake River. The first was the Nez Perce dam and then the High Mountain Sheep dam. The latter case went to the United States Supreme Court, where Justice William O. Douglas, writing for the majority, ruled in 1967 that the Federal Power Commission must consider environmental concerns in dam projects.

He was an active supporter of the National Wilderness Act (1964), Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (1968) and the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area (1975).

Bowler was a leader in efforts to save the White Cloud Mountains from mining and to establish the Sawtooth National Recreation Area (1972). In the 1970s, Bowler worked with other conservationists in crafting the 2.3 million acre River of No Return Wilderness bill that Idaho Senator Frank Church introduced in Congress; it passed in 1980.

Bowler's record of community service is extensive. He was a member of the Idaho State Bar, American Judicature Society and the American Trial Lawyers Association. He served on the National Advisory Board of the Bureau of Land Management (1964-1972); Idaho Water Pollution Control Advisory Council (1952-1971); Bonneville Power Administration Regional Advisory Council (1968-1980) (State of Idaho) Central District Board of Health (1970-1975); Idaho Advisory Board of the Bureau of Land Management (1964-1973) (Idaho) Roadless Area Task Force (1975-1977) (University of Idaho) Idaho Research Advisory Council (1955-1965); and the UI College of Forestry, Quest for Excellence program (1985).

Besides the Idaho Wildlife Federation, Bowler belonged to many local and national conservation organizations. He served on the boards of the Ada County Fish and Game League (1940-1985); River of No Return Wilderness Council (1973-1985); Save Our Public Lands (1980-1985); Idaho Chapter of the Nature Conservancy (1963-1973), and others.

Bowler received numerous awards throughout his life for his conservation work including the American Motors Non-Professional Conservation award for 1961. This national award was presented to ten individuals for their voluntary conservation efforts. He was active in politics as a lifelong Democrat. His hobbies included fishing, hunting, hiking, and photography.