Conservationist November 2026

Our speaker for November is Beau Beasley. He will be presenting on his book - Healing Waters: Veterans’ Stories of Recovery in Their Own Words - which chronicles the work of Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing. Beau’s book recounts 32 real life narratives from our brave men and women in uniform and tells their story in their own words about their personal struggles and victories as they adjust to their new lives when they return from military service.

Beau has served as the Mid-Atlantic states field editor for Eastern Fly Fishing, a contributing editor for Fly Fish America, and former editor-at-large for Southern Trout. His work has also appeared in Fly Fisherman, American Angler, Fly Tyer, Mid-Atlantic Fly Fishing Guide, Virginia Wildlife, Flyfisher, Virginia Living, Blue Ridge Outdoors, Virginia Sportsman, Distinction, and Fly Rod & Reel. Some of his articles on menhaden, as well as his work on public access and use issues, have appeared in the Baltimore Sun, Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, and Roanoke Times. Beau became involved in the sport relatively late in life. Bob Guess, one of the best-known popping bug makers in the country, introduced him to fly fishing in his late 20s, taking Beau fishing for bluegill in Fairfax County’s Burke Lake. That trip changed the direction of his life.

In 2005, the Mason-Dixon Outdoor Writers Association honored Beau with the Talbot Denmead Memorial Award for Best Environmental Writing for his work on the Chesapeake Bay. His first book, Fly Fishing Virginia: A No Nonsense Guide to Top Waters, won the M-DOWA Book Award as well as the prestigious Excellence-in-Craft Award in 2009. In 2011 the M-DOWA honored Beau again by awarding him the Talbot Denmead Memorial Award for the Best Article on Conservation and/or the Environment for “Where Have All the Menhaden Gone?” The Fly Fish America cover story chronicled the challenges of managing this very important baitfish.

In 2016, his investigative piece titled “Battling Over Bonefish” was an in-depth look at the challenges of the first national attempt at managing bonefish and recreational anglers on the island nation of the Bahamas. The article remains one of MidCurrent’s most widely read pieces ever. It was so popular, in fact, that two Bahamian newspapers picked up the series and ran it in its entirety. Beau is a retired firefighter from Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, where he worked for 30 years. He is also the Director for the Virginia Fly Fishing & Wine Festival, held in Doswell, Virginia each January.