For thirty years, the work of the Estuary Program has helped to protect and restore the Morro Bay estuary and watershed, and we have Dave Paradies to thank for making all of this possible. Dave, who passed away early last year, was one of the forces behind the establishment of the Morro Bay National Estuary Program (Estuary Program). He helped secure the program’s federal recognition, establish its major funding streams, and led its first years of staffing and science. Through all his incredible work, he never sought the spotlight. As his longtime colleague and friend, Gary Ruggerone, puts it, “Without Dave, I don’t think we would have the Estuary Program that you see today.”
Dave entered the conservation field in an unusual way. Before he ever set foot in Los Osos, he led lives in various industries, the first being music, where he worked with artists like Michael Jackson and Herb Alpert. He also did early development work at Apple, explored computer graphics, and worked on robotics projects with General Motors and Lucasfilm.
Early Work to Protect Morro Bay
When Dave moved to Los Osos to a home overlooking Morro Bay, he became deeply attached to the water he could see from his property. In the early 1980s, he helped residents set up pumps to protect homes during flooding, which demonstrates the hands-on problem-solving that would define his life’s work. Soon after, he helped found the Bay Foundation, the nonprofit that provides the financial infrastructure that makes the Estuary Program possible. In this role, Dave led and supported efforts involving water rights battles, habitat protection, and community organizing to protect the bay and our local creeks.
Joining the National Estuary Program
Dave then led the effort to secure Morro Bay’s state estuary designation, and later, federal recognition as a National Estuary Program. The federal designation brought with it stable funding to support the organization, and Dave served as the program’s first Executive Director.
He went on to lead the Bay Foundation nonprofit board and maximize every dollar for on-the-ground work. He was instrumental in establishing a partnership between the Water Board and the Bay Foundation. The nonprofit board could manage Water Board funds much more efficiently than the government, thus directing funds to projects instead of overhead. That funding helped the Estuary Program get established and build the partnerships that continue to this day.
Colleagues remember Dave as someone who was always working and always thinking about the bay. Karen Worcester, who worked closely with Dave and served alongside him on the Bay Foundation board, shared: “He was brilliant at taking a stack of numbers and turning them into something that made sense. He was great at making the science speak.” She also spoke about Dave’s gift of calming a room full of stakeholders and convincing them that hard problems were solvable. “More than once,” she said, “he pulled off projects that seemed impossible right up until the moment they weren’t.”
The Legacy Lives On
Away from his desk, Dave’s love of the water never faded. He spent years living aboard a 52-foot boat, surfed as a young man, and could always be found near the waters he spent his life protecting.
Dave Paradies helped build the funding and science behind the Estuary Program we have today. Thirty years later, the Morro Bay estuary is healthier, better understood, and better funded because he propelled the program from an idea into an organization with the resources to make a difference. This legacy continues in every project the Estuary Program undertakes today.