His Stories Graced Local Airwaves for 40+ Years
Published February 5, 2026
Midpen staff are fondly remembering our friend and partner in storytelling about the natural world, Doug McConnell, after learning of his passing last month. While working closely together during Midpen’s 50th anniversary in 2022, McConnell told staff that in his heart he had two long-held passions: nature and storytelling. These interests helped guide him through his storied career as a broadcast journalist.
McConnell produced and hosted multiple local and national specials, news reports and long-running series including Bay Area Backroads for 16 years, Mac and Mutley in the 1980s and 1990s and OpenRoad with Doug McConnell which is continued today by his friends and colleagues who are preparing to air its 12th season on NBC Bay Area.
In 2022, McConnell explained that, “Getting a chance to do what I have been now doing for so many decades, which is to go wander around, usually with a small camera team, and put the spotlight on great places and the wonderful people doing great things on our behalf, has really been a way for me to combine my two passions in life.”
McConnell’s interests in environmental protection and the natural world were instilled at an early age. He would travel up and down the state marveling at the serene landscapes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California deserts and redwood forests. His interest in journalism sprouted from his love of storytelling, passed down from his father and grandfather.
“I was always a kid who loved stories. I love to read them, but I also loved to hear people tell stories,” he said. “I fell in love with the diversity of the state. The beauty, the natural world...I spent a lot of my growing-up years at places like Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. I just fell in love with California; fell in love with nature. The ecological...and climatic diversity is huge and wonderful. It is just endlessly engaging and entertaining for me.”
His environmental journalism career took him across the globe from Eastern Europe, to Africa, South and Central America then to Alaska for many years. Following the birth of his first child, he and his wife settled down in the Bay Area, where he would spend more than four decades telling stories about nature and the outdoors over the local airwaves. McConnell always remained humble and credited the friends, organizations and agencies he worked with.
“It's really the people we feature who deserve the credit and they inspire me. If I can play a small role in bringing their voices into people's lives, that's terrific.”
See McConnell in his element on Midpen’s YouTube channel, where many episodes of Open Road with Doug McConnell filmed in Midpen preserves can be viewed.
A special tribute to Doug McConnell, put together by his OpenRoad friends and colleagues, will be aired this spring on NBC Bay Area.