Renowned fisheries biologist Wayne Hadley dies

DUNCAN ADAMS

Wayne Hadley retired in 2005 from his regional post as a fisheries biologist for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. But he never stopped caring about the Clark Fork River, Georgetown Lake and other lakes and streams within his expansive territory.

Hadley’s field research helped jumpstart Superfund cleanup of the upper Clark Fork River by pinpointing pollution from historic mining and smelting pollution as the source for fish kills in the river.

He tangled sometimes with the Atlantic Richfield Co., deemed responsible for remediation, with his bosses at FWP, the EPA and occasional others. He could be cantankerous and stubborn but won many admirers through the years who recognized his commitment to the resources he managed, his agile intelligence and lively wit.

Hadley died early Saturday at age 82. He had been in hospice care for a few days after cardiologists in Boise concluded there was nothing they could do to improve cardiac function.

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After he and his wife, Kathy, retired, they lived part of the year at their home in Anaconda-Deer Lodge County near the Clark Fork River. They wintered in Boise with their older son, Erik,

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