I met Dick many times as a teenager shortly after he had his cabin built, late 60's and through the 70's. He was a piece of work. My dad had to confer with him about certain issues that eventually got worked out in Dicks favor. I for sure can tell you that indeed he had talent, but he was no friend of what he called 'consumptive' users of the land, namely hunters/outfitters. He devoted much of his time in getting 'his' wilderness designated as a National Park. The real reason he did all that filming was that he wanted to be THE person for the Dept of the Interior to 'bring the wilderness' to people like you and me. In short, he rallied to protect his wilderness, allowing only certain few to enter, namely him, and then he would bring the film to theatres for you and me to see our wilderness. He wanted no- one in it, even though he was squatting on public land and felt he now had more say in what would happen in the area. Talent, yes, for sure patience, but he tolerated few people that traditionally used the area for hunting. (There's a great salt lick near there that produced many sheep for us) I enjoy his films and have his books, and I think about how he succeeded in kicking the true conservationists out of 'his' wilderness. There were many camps in the Twin Lakes area, some used by outfitters, he hated that. That was his driving force, he couldn't stand someone making a meger living off 'his' wilderness.
