Richard Barish is an attorney in private practice in Albuquerque.  He is a long-time volunteer for the Sierra Club.  He has been Bosque Issues Chair of the Central New Mexico Group of the Sierra Club for over 25 years and has been actively involved in efforts to restore the Rio Grande.  He has been involved in open space issues and was a primary proponent of the quarter cent gross receipts tax for the acquisition of open space that Albuquerque voters passed in the 1990s.  He has been involved in fair trade issues, serving on the national Sierra Club responsible trade program committee, and he served several stints as the Political Chair of Central Group.