North Coast Enviro Advocate Tim McKay Dies
By Mike Geniella, Press Democrat
August 1, 2006

North Coast environmentalists and political leaders Monday mourned the sudden death of Tim McKay, the longtime executive director of the Northcoast Environmental Center in Arcata.

McKay, 59, died Sunday of an apparent heart attack while birding at Stone Lagoon, an ocean-front wildlife haven along Highway 101 south of Orick in Del Norte County.

McKay for nearly 35 years directed the nonprofit environmental center, which specializes in timber-harvest issues and the cumulative effects of logging on North Coast rivers, especially the Klamath and Smith rivers.

Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, Monday described McKay as a "passionate and respected conservationist."

"Tim was my friend. I'll miss him," Thompson said.

McKay for three decades played a key role in major environmental issues, from the Redwood National Park expansion in 1978 to Thompson's ongoing efforts in Congress to designate nearly 275,000 acres of new wilderness areas on the North Coast.

Ruskin Hartley, conservation director for the San Francisco-based Save the Redwoods League, most recently worked with McKay on efforts to protect Big Lagoon in southern Del Norte County.

"Tim was a wonderful advocate and a voice for the redwoods of the North Coast. He will be missed," said Hartley.

Other friends and associates Monday described McKay as a man of warmth and wit, with a steely determination to advance the environmental center's causes.

Even before a dramatic fish kill in 2002 along the Klamath River, McKay was pushing for serious revisions in federal water policies that affect the river's fisheries.

Beginning years earlier, McKay worked to build a coalition of salmon fishermen, tribal leaders and river advocates. The coalition has since drawn national attention to the state of the Klamath fishery.

McKay was a native of Northern California, having been born in Stockton and raised in Benicia. McKay's ties to the North Coast stem from his days as a student at Humboldt State University in Arcata, where he served as student body vice-president.

After working briefly for the U.S. Forest Service in 1971, McKay helped launch a pioneer environmental group called "Save Our Siskiyous."

Later McKay became co-director and then eventually executive director and sole employee of the center, which is largely staffed by volunteers.

McKay over the years served as mentor to younger environmental leaders.

Mark Lovelace, president of the Humboldt Watershed Council, recalled Monday how McKay cautioned him not to expect "easy, overnight solutions."

"Tim helped me recognize that people on different sides of an issue are first and foremost people. They should be treated with common courtesy and respect," said Lovelace.

Lovelace said McKay drove home the point by adding, "Besides, you limit your effectiveness if nobody will take your calls."

Center staff said a celebration of McKay's life is being planned for later this month.

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