Alabama’s only Treasured Lake was designated as such because of the efforts of one man, Col. (Ret.) Richard Marshall Bronson (Dick), who passed away in Montgomery June 10 at 90 years of age. Born in Gaines, Michigan, in 1933, Bronson retired to Lake Martin in 1984 after a 28-year career in the U.S. Army. As soon as he’d settled in, Bronson and his wife, Mary Ann, became known for their advocacy of the environment and especially for Lake Martin.

He founded Lake Watch of Lake Martin in 1989 with the goal of protecting the lake’s water quality for future generations. When he learned that Lake Martin, as a man-made reservoir, was not eligible for Alabama Department of Environmental Management protection under existing statutes that applied only to natural bodies of water in the state, Bronson suggested parameters be defined for such reservoirs. Then, he worked with ADEM officials to write them.