A BUILTH Wells man is to receive the OBE for his services to the River Wye and Usk.
Dr Stephen Marsh-Smith, 60, of Builth, has been recognised for his work as chief executive of the Wye and Usk Foundation - a group which he has been involved with for the past 15 years.
There are more than 30 River Trust’s across the UK, but the Wye and Usk Foundation is the oldest and largest.
Dr Marsh-Smith said the group’s aim is to restore the ecology of the river so that stocks of native fish return to their previous levels.
He revealed that the Wye was home to over 6,000 salmon at one point but that number had been decimated with only 300 found at its lowest point.
Now the stocks are rising again and Dr Marsh-Smith said they are expecting (weather permitting) stocks to rise to 1,000 by the end of the year.
Dr Marsh-Smith said he was surprised but delighted at the recognition for not only himself but the Wye and Usk Foundation.
He said: “It arrived on the Saturday and we were a bit surprised actually, it just came out of the blue.
“This is the sort of recognition one hopes for for the organisation.
"When we started there were four rivers trusts and we had to start from scratch negotiating with everybody, the Environment Agency and the Countryside Council, people just weren’t willing to give money to rivers trusts because everything was new then.
"I think it’s more recognition for what we have done but it helps put us on the map.”