A Marshall resident has been named volunteer of the year by the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary for his contributions to habitat restoration and limiting the disturbance of wildlife around Tomales Bay. George Clyde, who said he was surprised and honored to be selected, helped develop a strategy to protect eelgrass beds and design a mooring program for the bay as a member of the Tomales Bay Vessel Management Plan working group. A passionate sailor who’s served as an advisor for several America’s Cup yacht racing teams, Mr. Clyde helped to designate specific zones in the bay where boaters should be prohibited from anchoring in order to protect eelgrass from the ravages of propellers. He helped tally existing moorings and remove illegal or dilapidated vessels and moorings. Dominique Richard, an Inverness resident who has been volunteering with Mr. Clyde since 2005, recalls testing moorings on Mr. Clyde’s boat, a Grady-White named Kingfisher. “George has always been really generous with his boat,” Mr. Richard said. “And he comes to every meeting, which I can’t say is the case for other people.” Recently, Mr. Clyde has held a seat on the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary’s advisory council, where he spearheaded the effort to address low overflights on sections of the Marin and Sonoma coastline. Over the last two years, Mr. Clyde organized a working group on the topic, comprised of marine biologists and pilots. “Honestly, this was like forming a working group on gun control with half of the members from N.R.A.,” he joked. “There was sometimes contention, but we produced a recommendation in the end that reflected the various views.” The retired lawyer sees his award as a reminder to the community of the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary efforts. “I think it’s very important [to highlight the sanctuary], particularly right now, as the Trump administration is looking at sanctuaries to consider cutting back for oil,” he said.
This story was corrected on July 23.