David Simpson

David Simpson helped initiate efforts to restore salmon runs in the Mattole starting in l976. He was a founder of the Mattole Salmon Group and served as its Executive Director during much of the 1990’s. He has been on the MSG Board for most of the Group’s existence. He has also served as President of the Board of the Institute for Sustainable Forestry and on the Board of Directors of the Redwood Forest Foundation.

David and his wife, Jane Lapiner, are principals in Human Nature, a touring theater company that produces comedy and musical comedy about crucial environmental and social issues. The company produced Queen Salmon, a musical comedy based on the experience in the Mattole in which a community overcame polarization to rescue their salmon runs. The show toured three times throughout the Pacific Northwest from l990-l995. David was the play’s author.