Frank B. Smoot was an environmentalist before most people even knew what that meant.

"I was accused of being a bird watcher when that was the insult of the day," says the pipe-smoking Smoot. "Today, that would be a tree hugger."

The state recently honored the 95-year-old Pikesville man twice for lifetime achievements in conservation, an interest that began in 1928.

In the last month, Smoot has received a Governor's Award as one of the most respected conservationists. In addition, the Maryland Department of the Environment chose Smoot as runner-up for its annual Tawes Award for a Clean Environment.

An avid hunter and fisherman, Smoot views outdoor sports enthusiasts as the stewards of the environment.

"I had a selfish interest in protecting the fish and game I hunted," Smoot says, nestled in a lounge chair at his home. "But I realized protecting the environment was much more than protecting the game and fish."

Born in Baltimore, he spent the first 10 years of his life in Northern Virginia near the Rappahannock River. He returned to Baltimore and later dropped out of high school but taught himself to draw, a talent that would help him preach conservation. He worked for 25 years as an art director for the News American in Baltimore.

His first big conservation project came in 1928 when he helped lobby the federal government to pass the Migratory Bird Act, making it illegal to sell migratory fowl.

In 1938, he became director of the Maryland chapter of the Brotherhood of the Jungle Cock, a sportsman's group, which teaches boys from age 5 to 15 about fly fishing and "stream courtesy."

Although he lost his right leg below the knee two years ago, Smoot continues to be a member of the group, attending gatherings called campfires.

Smoot is famous at the events for drawing animals and teaching children about them. He could draw more than 100 sketches at one sitting, friends said. He also taught 4-H skills to boys and girls clubs, where his nickname was "The Old Gray Wolf."

"He may give these talks on conservation and all the time he's talking, he's drawing a trout or a squirrel," says Nimrod Davis, a longtime friend. "The kids don't take their eyes off him while he's talking."

Jerrett Peake, 16, of Westminster remembers Smoot recently drawing a bass for him.

"I thought it was really cool - even though he was as old as he was - that he was still drawing pictures for the kids," Peake says.

Carl Miller, 31, of Eldersburg recalls Smoot's fly fishing lessons and the drawings.

"Frank's a great artist," Miller says. "He would draw pictures for kids, anything they wanted."

Smoot views children as the key to protecting the environment.

"I'm more interested in the kids," Smoot says. "Most adults have already made up their minds [about the environment]. My means of spreading the gospel, so to say, is to draw pictures for the children."

In 1962, Smoot helped form the Maryland Wildlife Federation, an affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation. Two years later, he helped lobby Congress to pass a bill that would allow the U.S. Department of the Interior to purchase Assateague Island for $32 million, protecting it from development.

"People said, 'Who would go to Assateague Island?'" Smoot recalls. "Today, millions of people go there."

In 1965, he won the Maryland Wildlife Federation's Conservationist of the Year Award. He has belonged to 24 different nature or sportsmen's groups.

A decade ago, the state Department of Natural Resources honored Smoot by carving his name in a huge rock on Hunting Creek in Frederick County, naming it Frank Smoot Pond.

He has been married to his wife, Dorothy, for 64 years. His chief vice continues to be smoking a long pipe.

"I buried two doctors who said I'd be dead right now," Smoot says.

In submitting Smoot's nomination for the Tawes Award, Davis included a commendation letter, newspaper clippings, a four-page biography stretching back to 1928, wildlife paintings and letters from children.

"It's just a fabulous list of what he's worked on and done," Davis says.

Smoot doesn't take all the credit.

"One of the things I constantly remind people is that I didn't do all these things myself," Smoot says. "I outlived everybody, so I get the credit."