Randy Smith photo source: Facebook.
Rotary District 5160 honored Dr. Randy Smith of the Rotary Club of Redding with its Environmental Leadership Award during the District 5160 Awards and Installation Dinner at Hotel Winters on Saturday evening.
The award recognized Dr. Smith’s exceptional leadership, sustained commitment to environmental stewardship, and his ability to inspire volunteers, organizations, and fellow Rotarians to improve and protect Northern California’s natural resources through hands-on community service.
Throughout his years of Rotary service, Dr. Smith has demonstrated that meaningful environmental change begins at the local level. By bringing together community partners, public agencies, businesses, and volunteers, he has helped transform environmental stewardship into an opportunity for education, collaboration, and lasting community impact.
His work exemplifies Rotary’s belief that protecting the environment is an essential part of building healthier, stronger, and more resilient communities.
“Rotary is about people who see a need and take action,” said District Governor Joy Alaidarous.
“Dr. Randy Smith has shown what is possible when leadership, service, and a passion for the environment come together. His work has improved communities, inspired countless volunteers, and serves as a model for Rotary clubs throughout District 5160 in Northern California.”
Rotary International adopted Protecting the Environment as its seventh Area of Focus in 2020, recognizing that healthy communities depend on healthy ecosystems. Across Northern California, Rotary clubs are restoring habitats, improving waterways, planting trees, reducing waste, and engaging communities in projects that create lasting environmental benefits.
Dr. Smith’s leadership reflects those ideals through years of dedicated service and by demonstrating how local action can produce meaningful and lasting results.
During interviews with local media, Dr. Smith shared highlights of the environmental initiatives that led to this recognition, which he describes in more detail below.
The Rotary District 5160 Awards and Installation Dinner celebrates individuals and clubs whose leadership and service have strengthened Rotary’s mission of creating positive, lasting change in communities throughout Northern California and around the world.
About Rotary District 5160
Rotary District 5160 is made up of approximately 65 Rotary clubs serving communities across Northern California from the Oregon border to the East Bay. More than 3,000 Rotarians volunteer their time, talents, and resources to improve lives through projects that promote peace, support education, fight disease, provide clean water, grow local economies, protect the environment, and respond to humanitarian needs both locally and globally.
Randy Smith shares the back story
Randy Smith
Rotary District 5160’s Environmental Leadership Award recipient Randy Smith, a retired Redding anesthesiologist, provided the following summary of his North State environmental involvement:
“My membership in Rotary Club of Redding dates from 2 Feb 1999. I could never join before retirement as closing an operating room for two hours every week was impossible.
My choice was to serve, among others offered, on the Environment Committee under Community Projects. At that time the sole duty of this sub-committee was picking up litter along Kennedy Memorial Drive from the Visitor Center to Whiskeytown Dam. Within a year much more was offered to the community. I became a committee co-chair then Chair in 2001 and soon founded and administered to date the Allied Stream Team portion of today’s environment committee part of community projects committee.
We started with extending litter abatement to any and eventually all of Redding’s 35 named streams. It became readily apparent from our careful field study that water courses in the City of Redding and elsewhere had been seriously neglected.
Barriers to anadromous fish migration had been constructed. Non-native plants were everywhere, local ecology was badly damaged, fire danger was a real threat, access was denied on public rights of way and a host of other problems needed corrective action.
First we had to obtain and maintain a 1602 Stream Bed Alteration Permit from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. We were working under supervision of the Department, but our work exceeded the time available for supervision. By 2006 it was suggested that I study, be examined and maintain a Qualified Applicator Certificate from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. This was done and continues to the present.
In the meantime, we had established a reputation among agencies, authorities and local government for doing good works. We labeled 4000 City of Redding storm drains with help from elementary school children. Thirty two pairs of metal signs were placed to identify street crossings of Redding streams.
We fixed an almost century-old barrier in 2004 on Canyon Hollow Creek where the A.C.I.D. Canal blocked fish access to ancestral spawning. With CDFW, we fixed a barrier on Salt Creek at SR299. We had previously cleared trash there to the River. We began arduous Saturday sessions to remove 151 Arundo stands from waterways in Shasta County.
This morphed into a 10-year summer campaign to liberate 16 miles of Stillwater Creek from ruinous almost confluent Arundo. This was done in conjunction with the California Conservation Corps and Western Shasta Resource Conservation District by obtaining a $90K grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
We were asked by then-City of Redding Mayor Ken Murray to help lead the annual Community Creek Clean Up, which was successfully done for more than 10 years involving up to 500 annual volunteers. We also received assistance from former State Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa’s Office, with specific help from staff member Brenda Haynes.
We were heavily involved for a decade with Officer Bob Brannon and Warden Dan Fehr in treating and removal of unwanted vegetation, removing illegal campsites and reducing fire hazards in then-Henderson Open Space, now Nur Pon. We worked in many places with County Work release individuals, as well as Sugar Pine inmates.
After the 2018 Carr Fire, in conjunction with the Bureau of Land Management, Rotary treated returning non-native vegetation in Rock Creek from Iron Mountain Road to the River. And a few years ago we were allied with Bethel Church City Projects’ student volunteers.
The estimated value of Rotary’s volunteer time and expenses total in excess of $5 million. This number uses State of California values for volunteer time supplied by Community Services Department City of Redding.
Beginning in February 2020 to the present day in 434 separate sessions, we have prepared the historic floodplain for the advent of permitted heavy equipment coming this winter. This singular project can and should be replicated all the way to Rio Vista. By having an example proximate to I-5, visitors can gain the insight needed to help both adults and juveniles recover what was lost to building Shasta Dam.
After the Lincoln Day Snow Storm of 2019, the Allied Stream Team has devoted itself to the property at Riverview Golf and Country Club.
The effort once named the Redding Rotary Riverview Riparian Restoration Project attracted attention and is now called Riverview Salmonid Habitat Improvement Project. It is funded by the Central Valley Project Improvement Act, a federal source which has placed over $120 million into the Sacramento Valley Watershed since 2020.
This is not all inclusive as we have also done work to Oak Run, Cottonwood, Lakehead and Whiskeytown NRA to French Gulch.
Rotary’s six-year involvement with the Riverview Salmonid Habitat Improvement Project, is located at Riverview Country Club with a mile of Riverview frontage. Half of that distance was an island before Shasta Dam. The old channel as well as the main stem of the River will be contoured and lined with appropriate gravel for adults to finish their life cycle. And there will be quieter areas made and set into the inside of the island to allow newly hatched fish to escape predators, gain nutrients and strength to complete the journey to the ocean.
Some of the work completed at Riverview has been done by the “Doc Squad” comprised of retired Redding physicians — including Smith — Bob Maurer, and Jack Kimple, often on Monday mornings when the club is closed.”
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