the outdoors from an early age. With his father, he camped all over Southern California, and in both high school and college he studied environmental science.

When he finished law school, he dreamed of one day becoming a district attorney. But three years ago, an opportunity came along to develop a new “eco-lawyer” division at attorney John Gomez’s personal injury law firm in downtown San Diego. Fiske now represents, among other clients, numerous California cities that are suing the chemical-maker Monsanto over the cost of cleaning up polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in public waterways.

Although Fiske said he had long been dedicated to saving the environment, his interest in saving animals wasn’t awakened until he started seeing a woman who is a dedicated vegetarian. During the two years they dated, sheshared her vision with him of creating a sanctuary for farm animals.

A year ago, he purchased the ranch in Elfin Forest and has spent every weekend working to transform it into a sustainable habitat for himself and his menagerie of animals. Although he and his girlfriend are no longer together, he said his newfound passion for animal rights has led him to carry on with her vision.

As a lawyer, Fiske said he’s inherently skeptical, but he couldn’t argue with the facts and figures laid out in a documentary he saw a year ago called “Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret.” Produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, the film details the toll that raising beef cattle and pigs takes on global water consumption, water pollution, rainforest destruction, climate change, land use, world hunger