DAN SIMMONS Sportsman's Quest MORE COLUMNS Advertisement

We talked about our recent fishing expedition on the Amazon's Rio Negro and we also talked extensively about his life and what led him to start the Foundation. Phil is one of my heroes and this is his story.

Phil's childhood was spent on the Amazon where his parents served as missionaries, and the lodge's primary goal today is to serve the indigenous communities of the area.

The fishing lodge is a means to accomplish this goal. Sure, the fishing for peacock bass, piranha, and other exotic sport fish is world renowned, but it serves as Phil's means to an end.

I had the pleasure of fishing with Phil aboard his floating hotel, the Amazon Queen, and visiting his lodge with its school, medical and dental clinics, as well as the Amazon Research Facility he and his many devoted fishing friends sponsor.

This is not only a labor of his love, but an example of the dedication sportsmen around the world have to bettering the lives of the people in the communities they visit.

Here is an account, in Phil's words, of how he and, his friends are helping.

Rio Negro Foundation

I am committed to giving back to the wonderful people of the Amazon and through the nonprofit Rio Negro Foundation, have created a model for hands-on programs that address real needs.

When I came back to the place where I grew up as a missionary kid, to found Amazon Tours, I began to see an urgent need for help. It started with people asking for medical supplies from the Amazon Queen's first aid kit, but the donation of occasional medical supplies was only the first step in a journey to provide medical and dental services to the inhabitants of the middle Rio Negro.

In 1999, my wife, Ruth, and I formally established the Rio Negro Foundation to provide social services and fund research in the middle Rio Negro region.

The dream was to make a real difference that went beyond a handout and would change the lives of the local inhabitants for the better. This dream was first realized with the opening of the Clyde Gibson Medical Clinic on Sept. 20, 1999, but that was only the beginning.

Next came the Bob Borland Dental Clinic, which introduced dental care to many people who had, up to that point, never seen a dentist. There is also the Ron Pope Memorial School, which fills the challenge of education in a remote area.

In addition, the Rio Negro Foundation established a garden which provides jobs and training, as well as food, for those communities in need.

Gardens are such wonderful things, even more so when they not only benefit one's personal needs, but other's needs as well. Other examples of community out-reach services provided by the Foundation are monthly donations of diesel fuel to local villages to run generators.

Not only does the Rio Negro Foundation seek to help the local people, but also the environment by petitioning the state and Federal government to protect the local fisheries by banning large-scale commercial fishing which could vastly impact populations of peacock bass, a major resource for the indigenous people.

In addition, the Rio Negro Foundation has built research facilities used to conduct studies on the flora, fauna and aquatic ecosystems of the Rio Negro. A major research effort is currently under way studying peacock bass and how to best ensure their sustainable management.

Another research project we are currently working on is determining the factors in the Amazon that influence greenhouse gases and their effect on global warming.

These programs are the realization of a dream first laid out by Ruth and myself many years ago. None of these projects would be possible without the help and support of many who helped make this dream a reality.

For more information go to www.rionegrofoundation.org.

I consider myself fortunate to be able to help Phil and his Foundation's projects, as are many of my sportsman friends. If you would like to help or find out more about their many projects or the great fishing offered in this Amazon region let me know or go to the website listed above and check it out for yourself.

If you have a story or comment about this or other articles please contact me at dansimmons@usa.net or give me a call at 775-727-9777.

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It's time once again to take a break, travel, fish, hunt and collect a few more stories. So, starting in February, Sportsman's Quest will appear here only on the first Friday of each month. I hope you'll join us.

Events

The Grand Slam Club/OVIS 5th Annual Hunter and Outfitter Convention is Feb. 18-21 at Bally's Las Vegas. For more information, go to www.wildsheep.org.

Recipe of week

Here's Blondie's recipe which would be welcomed in any lodge, or in your kitchen at home.

If you don't have exotic peacock bass available, you can substitute piranha or fresh water barracuda. We're talking firm white-meat fish here. Does cod or halibut sound more familiar?

Bright colored clothing, lots of greenery and a little Brazilian music in the background and you'll imagine you're there. Perhaps one day you will be.

Amazon Lodge's Peacock Bass

Six 6 to 8 oz. fish fillets; 2 tsp salt; 2 tsp white pepper; 4 Tbsp olive oil; 3 small tomatoes, seeded, julienned; 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded, julienned; 1 small green bell pepper, seeded, julienned; 1 small white onion, sliced thin; 2 tsp. red curry paste; 3 Tbsp lime juice; 1 cups coconut milk; cup cilantro leaves, chopped;

Sprinkle fish fillets on both sides with salt and pepper, set aside; in large skillet over medium heat, cook bell pepper and onion in 3 Tbsp oil until soft; add tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, remove from pan; add remaining oil to pan and cook curry paste, stirring constantly until soft; add lime juice stirring to loosen ingredients in pan; add fish fillets cook for 3 minutes, turn and cook for another 3 minutes; remove from pan.

Add coconut milk cook stirring constantly until it begins to thicken; return fish and pepper mixture to pan cook for another 8 to 10 minutes; add cilantro and remove from heat; serve with white rice.