Editor:

Timber companies hated Tim McKay because he took offense to the widescale mowing down of the forests and the collateral damage visited upon wildlife habitat, water quality and soils. Loggers and mill workers hated Tim because they saw him as a threat to their means of making a living and their way of life, a view the timber industry was all to happy to promulgate even as they were automating the majority of mill jobs. 

The California Department of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service hated Tim because he would frequently and persistently point out they were not following their own rules and laws. They hated that they would actually have to do their jobs. They hated when he showed up at all the public meetings — and Tim went to all the meetings — because he would ask questions they would have to answer. And if they didn't, Tim called them on it.

The late Sid Dominitz, longtime editor of EcoNews, didn't hate Tim ("Sidney Dominitz: 1941-2015," posted Sept. 17, 2015). But he hated when Tim couldn't get his monthly contributions to that august publication in on time, thereby delaying getting the newsletter to the printer. Sid also would become quite aggravated with Tim when he couldn't remember what game was being played or what the bet was at Sid's Wednesday night poker games.

But we can still love Tim for all he did for the bioregion, for steering the NEC for three decades, for trying to keep the greed-heads and ne'er-do-wells honest. I hate that he's gone.

Mark Dondero, Orleans