Community Corner

State Parks' Suzanne Goode Honored With Urban Coast Environmental Hero Award

Others honored by the Bay Foundation include State Sen. Fran Pavley and former U.S. Rep. Mel Levine.

Suzanne Goode of California State Parks was honored this month with the first-ever Urban Coast Environmental Hero Award for her work to protect and restore the Santa Monica Bay watershed. 

Goode, who is a senior environmental scientist for California State Parks, received the award Thursday at the renamed Bay Foundation's 25th anniversary gala. Goode played a role in the Malibu Lagoon Restoration Project, which was concluded earlier this year. 

“Suzanne has used her ecology and wildlife expertise to manage very complex issues of wildlands on the urban fringe,” TBF’s Executive Director Shelley Luce said.

Others were also honored at the gala, including former U.S. Rep. Mel Levine for attaining recognition of the Santa Monica Bay in 1987 as a National Estuary Program and eligible for annual federal funds.

Sheila Kuehl emceed the program. Kuehl authored the legislation that created the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission (SMBRC) in 2002. TBF is the non-profit partner of the Commission. 
 
State Sen. Fran Pavley and David Nahai were honored. Pavley is a longtime member of TBF and serves as Chair of the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee.

“I have a lot of fond memories and a lot of good friends I’ve met because of the Santa Monica Bay,” Pavley said. Assemblyman Richard Bloom presented Senator Pavley with her award.
 
David Nahai, the former chair of the Los Angeles Regional Water Control Board and former head of the LADWP, said: “I realized…that if we are truly going to be citizens of Los Angeles, if we…want to enjoy all of the riches that living here offers, we have to start with the ocean” and do more to take care of it.


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