That was 45 years ago. Today Foy is still watching out for birds--and lots of other natural treasures too. He is a lawyer and president of the Conservation Law Foundation. His group uses the law to help preserve and protect New England's natural resources. When an individual or a group threatens those resources, Foy and his staff are on the case.

Cleaning Up with the Law
Foy's work as an environmental lawyer means that he spends more time indoors--usually in court or at his office--than outside in the parks and forests he is working to protect. But Foy says he is happy to make the sacrifice. "The law is a tool," he says. "Because it is so powerful and so effective, you can get a lot done."

In his 20 years with the Conservation Law Foundation, Foy has done plenty. He has filed lawsuits to force companies to stop polluting. He has helped state agencies create rules for disposing of solid waste in a safe way. And he has helped educate the public about the environment. Foy says he sees the law as "a way to clean things up."

Foy's proudest cleanup job is Boston Harbor. For years, the water off of Boston, Massachusetts, was so filthy from pollution that no one could safely swim or fish there.

In 1983, Foy and a team of lawyers took the harbor's case to court. They filed a lawsuit against the city's sewage district, which was responsible for the pollution. They also sued the state and national government agencies that are supposed to make sure the harbor is kept clean. Three years later, Foy's team won the case and the cleanup began. Today the harbor is one of the cleanest in the country.

When Foy took on the harbor case, his goal was to clean it up in time for his daughter's high school graduation in 2000. Now he is looking forward to a wet graduation party: "I'm hoping we'll take thousands of kids down, and everyone will dive in the water."