Family, friends, and colleagues were stunned and grief-stricken upon learning that Los Padres Wildlife, Range, and Botany Program Manager Patrick Lieske suffered a fatal injury while mountain biking April 15. Patrick had gone out for one of his grueling rides Monday evening and was reported missing early the next morning. Search and rescue teams from Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Kern counties located him on April 18 along the Santa Ynez River.
Patrick was a wildlife biologist who’d worked for U.S. Fish and Wildlife in Alaska, Hawai’i, and Oregon before joining Los Padres National Forest in 2012. Born in North Canton, Ohio, he’d enlisted in the Army for four years, then enrolled at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point to study biology, completing his graduate work at North Michigan University in 2004.
Patrick had a passion for putting nature first — the planet needs hard workers to heal. He had a strong sense of duty, and he never took shortcuts. No boiler-plate documents for Patrick; each was his own and flawless. He was unwaveringly honest and forthright. He said what he meant and meant what he said.
