Ralph Abele and the Shad That Came Back
Near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
For fifteen years, from nineteen seventy-two to nineteen eighty-seven, Ralph Abele ran the Pennsylvania Fish Commission with a simple philosophy he called Resource First. Before Abele, the agency balanced fish stocking against political pressures. Under his leadership, it shifted toward protecting water quality, improving fish passage, and training a new generation of conservation officers.
His most visible legacy may be the American shad. Once numbering in the millions on the Susquehanna, shad had all but vanished by the mid-twentieth century due to dams and pollution. Abele championed a restoration effort that backed fish passage at Susquehanna dams and reintroduced young fish year after year.
Decades later, shad are returning to the river in numbers unimaginable when he took office. The fish he fought for are still running.
