Tim McKay
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Timothy J. McKay (1947 - July 30, 2006) was born in Stockton, California and grew up in Benicia, California. He attended Humboldt State University where he served as student body vice-president. He lived in northern California for most of his life. He was dedicated to conservation, particularly endangered salmon species and old growth redwood forest land. McKay was the executive director of the non-profit Northcoast Environmental Center (NEC) in Arcata, California for virtually its entire 35-year existence. The NEC continues to operate under the directorship of Greg King. McKay was most passionate about timber-harvest issues and the cumulative effects of logging on California north coast rivers, especially the Klamath and Smith rivers.
He was strong minded, and because of it, or sometimes in spite of it, McKay was respected and considered a friend to politicans, activist, allies and opponents. Described by his peers, McKay was historian, documentarian, photographer, vastly knowledgeable, genius, stalwart community leader, environmental icon, modern pioneer, a rock: an institution. McKay's intelligence and perseverance was a great influence on the environmental community of California and the US.
McKay was instrumental in many issues over his career from the successful 1978 expansion of Redwood National Park to the 2006 acquisition of 275,000 acres of new wilderness areas on the North Coast. Some of the major issues McKay worked on were the Gasquet-Orleans Road (GO Road), the Northern Spotted Owl, the Siskiyou Wilderness, Headwaters Forest preserve, Palco and Maxxam corporate logging, and the Klamath River restoration. Much of his efforts were spent on federal projects with ramifications for Northern California, and chronicled the issues in the advocacy newspaper EcoNews and on the longest-running radio show to-date on KHSU. He also salvaged the NEC after a fire burned it down in 2001. When asked, "haven't you finished saving the environment yet?" he'd reply, "Almost, I might have to work a little late today."
Tim was a Registered Professional Forester and a member of the Bayside, California Grange for 33 years. He was a long time resident of Trinidad, California and an avid poker player. He was posthumously awarded a Resolution of Honor for his lifetime of work from the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors on September 26, 2006.
