Who We Are

Founded on the shores of Boca Grande, Gulf Conservation Alliance is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with our roots deeply embedded in the commitment to safeguard the ecological integrity of Florida’s Gulf Coast. Our dedicated team works tirelessly to implement effective policies that protect these vital waters. We take pride in the accolades we have garnered, which reflect our unwavering dedication. Feel free to explore our journey through engaging visuals and stories.

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Our Story

The Gulf Conservation Alliance (GCA) was established in response to growing concerns about the health of the Charlotte Harbor fishery and ecosystem. Founded by a group of dedicated anglers, guides and concerned citizens, the organization emerged from the need to address issues like habitat degradation, fisheries management and the impacts of increasing human population in the region. The GCA's mission centers on protecting and restoring vital marine and coastal ecosystems through advocacy, research, and community engagement. Over time, it has expanded its efforts to include, public education, and collaborative projects with the local community and other organizations, striving to ensure the long-term health and resilience of Charlotte Harbor’s diverse and unique environments.

Our Mission

Our purpose is to protect and preserve the Charlotte Harbor/Pine Island Sound Estuary System. The culturally and economically important fishery that depends upon this ecosystem is under threat, and new conservation measures are urgently needed to arrest its rapid state of decline. Our goal is to recover this once quality fishery, and to protect a healthy estuary for our angling, economic and recreational future. The largest concentration of tarpon in the world gathers in and near Boca Grande Pass to feed and build strength before heading offshore to spawn. Our increasing presence in their migratory journey has raised the bar of our responsibilities. Our members will work diligently and unwaveringly for the best interests of our fishery and estuary system.

Our Executive Team

PARKER O’BANNON
President

Parker is a 6th generation Floridian born and raised in Boca Grande. He follows in the footsteps of 100 years of notable O’Bannon guides spanning a history of 4 generations, who have lived in the Charlotte Harbor, Pine Island Sound area. His passion for the fish and game he pursues and the environments of which they live clearly resonates through his work as a guide. Parker has been fishing for tarpon in Boca Grande beginning in his early childhood, catching his first on fly at the age of 12. As a graduate of the University of Florida, he has an unyielding respect for the environment and the outdoors. Growing up in Boca Grande, he has deeply felt the changes to the area and the fishing. As a response to these rapidly increasing changes he became one of founding members of the Gulf Conservation Alliance. He believes that it is not too late to reverse the negative impacts being put on the fishery and that it can be re-built piece by piece.

ZEKE SIEGLAFF
Vice President

Zeke grew up in Wilmington, Delaware and was educated at the Holderness School in Plymouth, New Hampshire and graduated with a BA in history from Denison University in Granville, Ohio. Annual vacations to Boca Grande began at the age of two. During a visit in 1992 to Boca Grande he caught his first saltwater fish on a fly on his first cast, a 125 pound Tarpon. Shortly thereafter Zeke relocated to Boca Grande and earned his real estate license, helping his father Peter open a real estate office on the Island. Zeke spent countless hours learning the waters of Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound with the goal of pursuing a guiding career. Mentored by Capt. Phil O’Bannon greatly aided the learning curve and he became a licensed captain in 1994, with a heavy focus on flyfishing. In 1997, Zeke and his wife Tory founded Boca Grande Outfitters and grew the business into an island institution. His son and daughter were born and raised on Boca Grande. Zeke and Tory have spent time on various boards, including the Boca Grande Child Care Center and the Boca Grande Chamber of Commerce. Zeke and Tory left the Island in 2007 to pursue a larger retail opportunity in Philadelphia. After a successful 10 year run, they sold the business and followed their hearts back to where it all began. Upon his return, Zeke returned to real estate, guiding for Tarpon, and for three years he managed two fly fishing mothership’s operating in Louisiana, the Everglades, Florida Keys and Andros, Bahamas. Witnessing the increased traffic on the water, combined with decreasing water quality and its’ subsequent effect on the fishery has inspired him to get involved and do whatever it takes to improve the current state of our watershed.

LAURENCE HALL
Treasurer

Laurence Hall, born in Tampa in 1949, is a fourth-generation Floridian. He graduated with a BS degree in Business from the University of Florida. In 1974, he went to work for Robbins Manufacturing, where he remains chairman today. He and his wife, Carol, split their time between the Tampa Bay Area and Boca Grande. At 7, he caught his first tarpon with his dad, Laurence “Red” Hall Sr., in Tampa Bay. He was immediately “hooked on fishing” and earned his captain’s license when he was 18. He charter fished while attending college and has fished the West Coast of Florida for the last 70 years, predominantly in Boca Grande. Laurence believes that protecting and preserving the future of Florida’s beautiful natural resources, which he grew up with and cares for so deeply, is crucial for their continuation for future generations.

HUNTER BROWN
Secretary

Capt. Hunter Brown was born and raised in Southwest Florida. At age 19, Hunter began his career as a fly fishing and light tackle guide in the Boca Grande/Charlotte Harbor area while also pursuing his education. Hunter attended Vanderbilt University, where he earned a BA in Economics and Anthropology. Upon graduation, Hunter continued guiding and, in 2021, founded Marquesa Marine, a marine components and advanced composites company.
Capt. Hunter is a passionate conservationist who strives to educate his clients on the challenges facing his fishery and the natural world of Southwest Florida. When Hunter is not on the water or in the shop, he can be found spot and stalk archery hunting in the fall and calling turkeys in the spring.

Board of Directors:

Director
Captain Philip O’Bannon was born in Fort Myers, Florida, and grew up on Matlacha Plantation, a shooting preserve his father managed for the Phipps family while also running their yacht. From an early age, he was drawn to the water, fishing alongside his grandfather, Lee Parker, who owned one of Naples’ first fish houses and later operated a fish house and small motel in Bonita Springs.
Philip spent his youth fishing for snook, redfish, and trout throughout Southwest Florida but quickly developed a lifelong passion for tarpon. After seeing his first tarpon take a fly in the Florida Keys in 1968, he became devoted to the pursuit of fly fishing for them.
After attending school in Fort Myers and Santa Fe Community College, Philip captained sportfishing boats through the Keys and the Bahamas before building his own guiding business. By 1985, he was guiding full time for tarpon on fly and later competed in ESPN Redfish Tournaments from the Florida Keys to South Padre Island, Texas.
Over his decades on the water, Captain O’Bannon has witnessed firsthand the profound changes to Southwest Florida’s estuaries and fisheries. His lifelong experience fuels his dedication to the Gulf Conservation Alliance’s mission to protect and preserve Florida’s coastal ecosystems for future generations.
Director
Director
Charlie Madden, a lifelong Floridian, has been fishing Florida’s Gulf Coast since he could walk. He got his start on the Venice jetties and has spent the past 40 years fishing the waters of Boca Grande. Over that time, he has witnessed the decline of the fishery and has become deeply committed to promoting its recovery through conservation efforts. As a father and grandfather, Charlie is driven by a desire to leave a lasting legacy—protecting the natural resources of Southwest Florida so future generations can experience the remarkable fishery he has known and loved.
Director
Thomas McGuane is a 4th generation Irish American, novelist, screenwriter and director. He received a BA in English Literature from Michigan State University, and MFA from Yale and was a Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford. Author of 18 books, he is a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. McGuane has fished his entire life and caught his first tarpon in Boca Grande in 1951 with his dad and Captain Bob Brauner who also commercially fished. Captain Bob lived over the Post Office. McGuane spent many long hours in his boyhood sitting under the shark at The Pink while his dad, friends and tarpon guides lied to each other at the bar.
Director
Wick Sollers grew up on a small island in Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay fishing for rockfish (stripers) and has a deep appreciation for nature and the environment. He has recently become an Honorary Trustee of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, having served for 11 years as an active trustee and Board Chair of CBF’s Litigation Committee. Wick attended Princeton University, where he was the Captain and a three-time All American and All Ivy lacrosse player and then the University of Maryland Law School. He recently retired from a 40 plus year legal career, the last 35 with the law firm of King & Spalding, where he was the Managing Partner of the DC office and the Chair of a 300 lawyer practice group. Among his clients were President George H. W. Bush, whom he represented in two Independent Counsel investigations, and Penn State Coach Joe Paterno and his family in litigation against the NCAA relating to the Sandusky scandal. Prior to private practice, he was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Maryland and then a U.S. Senate Special Counsel leading a broad investigation into fraud in American Indian programs. He and his family are relatively recent residents of Boca Grande, having moved into their house just days prior to Hurricane Ian’s arrival, and have fallen in love with every aspect of this beautiful island except, of course, for the hurricanes. Wick and his wife, Magge, now also spend a few summer months at their place on the Yellowstone River in Montana. Wick is learning the hard way that trout tactics don’t necessarily translate easily to tarpon fishing but is enjoying the experience. The Gulf Conservation Alliance is pursuing a wonderful cause, and he is honored to be a participant.
Director
Capt. Parker Blalock is a third-generation Floridian who grew up fishing the surrounding waters of Boca Grande. His deep-rooted connection to these waters and Florida’s coastlines continues to guide both his passion on the water and his career with Galati Yacht Sales. As a graduate of Florida Gulf Coast University, Parker has a deep respect for the environment, and a dedication to sustainability. Committed to the well-being of the Charlotte Harbor fishery and ecosystem, Parker strives to protect and preserve Southwest Florida’s unique character. He believes that together we can make a meaningful impact to safeguard this region for future generations.