Xposé. February, 2001
By Thomasina Gibson

[Selections from the complete article, used with permission.] As shooting for the fourth season of Stargate SG-1 was coming to a close, Richard Dean Anderson gave Thomasina Gibson a humorous glimpse of life on the set, and shared his passions for life beyond the set, including his daughter Wylie, and his work to preserve the environment.

"Most elements in my life have changed dramatically since the birth of my daughter. She's taken all really serious focus and all my serious attention and my passion is now for fatherhood. I want to be the best dad in the world."

One thing Wylie's doting dad will do to preserve that future is sound off at every opportunity about the individual's responsibility to preserve the Earth for following generations. A man keen on environmental issues since his boyhood days in Minnesota, Anderson has recently undertaken a pioneering journey down the Filer River in Central British Columbia in order to highlight the North American First Nations' right to protect their land from the logging industry. The trip received much critical acclaim when it featured on the National Geographic Channel in October.

"The whole thing came about because I was at a charity auction last winter that was benefiting the Waterkeeper Alliance, and one of the auction items at this fundraiser was a rafting trip. It was pretty special, not least because there was a cause involved, which is to help the First Nations find some kind of solution to the logging problem. There were about 20 of us altogether and we were a pretty heady group, consisting of Kathy Francis, chief of the Klahoose First Nation, Robert Kennedy Jr, whose late father is considered to be one of the founders of the modern conservation movement, members of the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Waterkeepers Alliance. We embarked on a rafting adventure that was fascinating in itself but which brought to the surface many, many emotional elements for all of us.

Aside from being privy to some of the most pristine and elegantly beautiful natural terrain, there was a lot of really poignant discussion about the issues at hand. What the trip has done for me is re-introduce the need for personal education on what issues are around and what people like me can do to promote awareness. I came back from that trip a very emotional person. Everything had so surfaced. It got right under my skin -- the elements of appreciation for the important things on this planet and this added re-awareness of what I have to do. Right now, because of my prominence in Stargate SG-1 and other projects I've been involved with, I'm in a position to have some public forum, I can be real mouthy about that kind of stuff and think of it as a privilege to do so. I don't mean to undermine my involvement or my love for what I'm doing at work, but the environmental issues that I hold dear to my heart are far more important than making little TV movies. Because if we don't take care of what we have, there isn't going to be anyone around to watch shows."

Before he gets too carried away, Anderson is persuaded to talk about less contentious matters, ie what he plans to do with his time in the next few months. "Definitely no work," is his immediate reply. "I'm going to do a lot of skiing. A buddy wants me to go to the Galapagos Islands on a scuba-diving trip but I haven't been diving for 15 years, so I'd have to re-educate myself that way. But definitely skiing. I'm a mountain sort of guy." Considering his affection for one Cheyenne Mountain, no one could argue with that.

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Gibson, Thomasina. "Father Figure." Xposé. February, 2001: p.32-36.