In his white painter's pants, Jack Carter Fisher carries tools to observe the world up-close and from afar while on long walks in Lands End and the Presidio. With hand-held microscopes, a jeweler's loupe, and a monoscope, Jack examines delicate leaves, petals, and insects. Jack even carries a bottle of hand sanitizer to protect himself from germs from the countless objects he picks up and examines on his walks. Spending time in nature is more than a pastime for Jack. It's an indelible part of who he is, a source of mental and physical healing, and a connection to a lifelong passion for science.
On a recent outing to the Marin Headlands Native Plant Nursery with the Wellness and Recovery Incorporating Outdoor Recreation (W.A.R.I.O.R.) Program—an initiative developed by the San Francisco VA Health Care System, the National Park Service, and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy—Jack put his tools and naturalist knowledge to use. Since 2016, the W.A.R.I.O.R. program has brought groups of military veterans to Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) parks on monthly trips, providing them with an opportunity to get fresh air and experience the healing power of nature, socialize, and learn first-hand from experts about the abundance of life contained within the parks.
When Jack first joined the W.A.R.I.O.R. program two years ago, he caught the attention of the program’s manager Mark Smith for his unusually observant eye toward the natural world. The program's "resident naturalist" (as Mark calls him) quickly earned his title once we boarded the bus to the nursery. As the bus passed Mountain Lake, Jack wondered aloud, "What type of fish are in there?" On the Golden Gate Bridge, he gazed towards Hawk Hill with admiration for both its prominence and for the scientific research conducted by the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory. "This is so, so cool," he repeated with wide-eyed delight as we wound through Rodeo Valley, the steep chaparral ridges lit by the mid-morning sun.
At the nursery, Jack immediately took to identifying native species sprouting outside, rattling off Latin names for species he knew and taking pictures of those he didn’t. In the shadehouse, Jack moved through the aisles, admiring the native sages and the impressive growth of California buckeye saplings.
Jack is remarkable not only for the man he is today—sharp, deeply curious, and sincere—but also for the many lives he has lived and profound challenges he has overcome. An anthology of Jack’s life would fill volumes: he exchanged letters with Jan Kerouac (Jack Kerouac’s daughter), went AWOL from the Army to marry his first love, and has been writing imaginative poetry reminiscent of the Beats since the 1980s under the name "(verbal fish)."
He has lived in dozens of places across the United States, holding jobs at a potato chip factory in Pennsylvania, as a server at a family colonial-reenactment restaurant in Virginia, and at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. When speaking with Jack, one never knows what fascinating, unexpected tales he will unfurl from his memory.
Jack was born and raised in the town of York, Pa., about 50 miles north of Baltimore. One of four siblings, he spent his youth stomping around creek beds, hitchhiking to school, and visiting Baltimore and Washington on long weekends. At a young age, Jack developed a deep appreciation for the fish, plants, and critters of the Northeast. He also developed a penchant for getting up-close: "I always had to look at things under the microscope."
When it came time for Jack to go to college to further his interests, he felt he had no other option than to enlist in the military on the G.I. Bill, acting against his scruples about the Vietnam War. "I was in D.C. protesting the war on a weekend, and that Monday I was in the recruiting office." In the Army, Jack served as an advanced blood bank technician in San Antonio, spending his days in one of his favorite places, the lab, where he ran blood tests and explored the microscopic world.
After three years in the Army, Jack enrolled at York College, intending to study medicine or anthropology. Soon, however, he discovered an even stronger passion: ichthyology. "I was angry about the environment, but my professor challenged me to do something with that feeling. So, I started collecting and identifying fish and larvae."
Jack spent long days over the next three years wading in streams, creeks, and rivulets of the Susquehanna River watershed. Some of the resulting research was published in the Estuaries journal. Jack, however, never finished college. A promising naturalist, Jack nonetheless had more pressing priorities. To support his wife and child, he took zeroes in his classes his senior year and dropped out.
In the years ahead, Jack confronted deep personal tragedies. He struggled with substance-use disorder, turning to drugs and alcohol after the deeply painful loss of close family and friends, and deteriorating and eventually broken marriages. His road to recovery and stability was long, with remarkable accomplishments he marks nonchalantly: "…the year I kicked methadone" or "when I stopped drinking."
When speaking about his past, Jack is forthright and regretful. However, Jack is also an overwhelmingly hopeful and earnest person today. He instinctively extends his left hand when shaking hands to be "closer to the heart" and follows a life mantra to "be positive—also my blood type. Be a better being. Be the best being I can be."
Reconnecting with nature and science played an important role in Jack’s recovery. For him, nature is "the most comfortable place. It's where we came from. Now I choose to be there." In 2022, Jack began going on W.A.R.I.O.R. trips every month, visiting GGNRA sites like Muir Woods and Rancho Corral de Tierra.
On a trip to Mori Point, Jack learned from a park ranger about the fisheries restoration work within the parks. Through this connection, Jack volunteered with the Redwood Creek Salmon Habitat Enhancement Project in July 2023. Similar to work he conducted nearly 50 years ago on the Susquehanna River as an undergraduate, Jack helped with ongoing studies of endangered coho salmon and other wildlife in Redwood Creek. His voice swells with pride when discussing it: "I just love being in a creek and contributing to science."
As we drove through Rodeo Valley on our way back to the city, Jack's awe at our surroundings hadn't diminished. "This is so cool," he repeated as we left the Marin Headlands. When we parted ways at the VA, Jack extended his left hand to shake hands goodbye.
A few weeks later, Jack called about a remarkable discovery he made at Lands End. He found a plant teeming with galls (abnormal growths often resulting from infection) and used a table at the VA as a dissection lab. After carefully slicing open a leaf and observing it under a microscope, he found the specimen filled with hundreds of insect eggs. It was just another day of learning, observing, and healing in nature for Jack Carter Fisher.
