Dr. John Osborn, Water Hero 2017

John was raised in Bellingham, WA, and Boise, ID. His mother Idaho’s first nurse practitioner—introduced him to medicine while his father and fishing partner introduced him to Puget Sound and the rivers of Idaho. Today, John is a physician at the Veterans Hospital in Spokane, Washington, where he has cared for military veterans since 1986. He also co-founded the Regional Ethics Network of Eastern Washington (RENEW) in 2013 which works to enhance patient care by strengthening clinical and organizational ethics capacity across regional partners.

Outside of his medical practice, John founded the Spokane-based Lands Council; served for 15 years on the boards of the Washington Wilderness Coalition, Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Wildlife Federation; and for 22 years as the Sierra Club’s conservation chair for eastern Washington and Idaho. John has served on the CELP Board since 2007. His current efforts include co-coordinating the Ethics & Treaty Project, which seeks to infuse principles of stewardship and justice into the re-negotiation of the Columbia River Treaty.

We are excited to have the opportunity to recognize John for the legendary environmental leader of the PNW he is. With a record of advocacy for the waters and forests of our region spanning more than three decades, he is the embodiment of the spirit of the Professor Ralph W. Johnson Water Hero Award.