Remembering Peter DeLuca: a longtime river advocate & former President of the IRU Board
Longtime river advocate and former President of the Board of Idaho Rivers United, Frank Peter “Pete” DeLuca, passed away on February 7, 2023. In his professional career, Pete was a successful labor attorney, Attorney General for the State of Oregon, and administrator of both the Labor Relations Division and OSHA for Oregon. Pete always stood up for what he believed in, and his personal life reflected that as much as his professional career.
Pete was an avid fisherman and outdoorsman, but what really showed through was his passion for conservation. In Oregon, Pete fought for protection of one of his prized steelhead rivers, ultimately becoming President of the North Umpqua Foundation. After moving back to Idaho in retirement, Pete’s passion for river conservation continued, and he had more time to devote to this endeavor – especially his fervor to see the Lower Snake River dams removed and salmon and steelhead recovered to Idaho.
Ultimately, Pete became President of the Board of Idaho Rivers United, and it’s in this capacity that I truly got to know Pete. Pete was more than just a Board President – he was a friend, a champion of conservation, and a mentor. Pete was a gregarious individual and his zeal for the work of IRU was always on display. A commanding presence in any room, Pete was also diplomatic and willing to listen to the opinion of others.
Like so many streams, memories can often be ephemeral. They become forgotten or distorted; here one moment, but gone the next. What is durable, though, is impact on the world. The legacy of Pete will endure, his land ethic unquestioned. Pete left the world a better place through his actions, which is the greatest measure of a life lived.
“Even the anatomy of a river was laid bare. Not far downstream was a dry channel where the river had run once, and part of the way to come to know a thing is through its death. But years ago I had known the river when it flowed through this now dry channel, so I could enliven its stony remains with the waters of memory.” – Norman Maclean
One of the channels of IRU has now run bare, but the indelible mark that Pete made on our organization will endure, and we will enliven those stony remains of the channel he cut not only with the waters of memory, but in our effort to accomplish what Pete fought so long and hard for.
