A wildlife biologist, he realized the need for informing and teaching Arkansas residents about the outdoors. His pulpit was the information office of the Game and Fish Commission and his fishing and hunting television programs.

He won the first BASS Masters Classic in 1971 on Nevada’s Lake Mead. The victory propelled him into a career of professional fishing and marketing, and he repeated his Classic championship in 1978 in Mississippi.

During the Depression, he led a campaign for small donations that bought the land for the Game and Fish Commission's Centerton Hatchery. More recently, he was a strong supporter of the drive for the Conservation Sales Tax.

Larry began guiding fishermen before he was in high school. He joined the professional bass fishermen’s ranks, won a BASS Masters Classic and became fishing’s first million-dollar winner.

A professional baseball player in his youth, he fell in love with fishing in North Arkansas then talked about it before a television camera. Then he went behind the camera to prominence as a developer and producer of outdoor TV programs.

The rich wildlife habitat of the Cache River today is a legacy of the determination and energy of his monumental battle against channelization of the river. His campaign to preserve these duck wintering grounds was ultimately successful.

A former teacher, she took a pastime of treating injured birds of prey to an avocation of educating people about them. “Arkansas’s Eagle Lady” became familiar in schools statewide with her entertaining lectures on raptors.

He recognized the essential role of clean water long before it became a conservation byword. He was also a leader in wetlands protection, deer management, wild turkey restoration, endangered species protection and predator control.

A former White River and Bull Shoals Lake fishing guide, he developed the modern bass boat. Wood’s Ranger boat operation grew hand in hand with the emergence of tournament bass fishing and safe, efficient travel on the water.

Ducks throughout North America benefit from the enthusiastic activities of Ruth and Rollie. They are veterans of decades of fund raising for Ducks Unlimited, and their unique “Rollie Sticks” have been presented to special people worldwide. She and Rollie shared a love of nature that caused them to take on many conservation-related causes. Ducks Unlimited and the Nature Conservancy honored them for their dedication.