ECONOTES : He Leads the Way for a Cleaner Bay

In the air, on land, and--most importantly--at sea, Terry Tamminen is now patrolling the Santa Monica Bay.

Tamminen is the official “aqua cop” for a new environmental watch-dog group, the Santa Monica BayKeeper, which was launched in recent ceremonies at its Marina del Rey houseboat. His job is to monitor the health of the bay and its watersheds. “If Santa Monica Bay were a park, it would have a park ranger,” says Tamminen. “That’s how I think of myself.” He lives on a 30-foot trawler that he uses for bay patrol. As a licensed pilot, he can also use a light plane or helicopter to survey the 50 miles of coastline.

BayKeeper spokesman Robb Rice describes its role as “citizen monitoring.”

“There are lots of good environmental groups, but they are standing on the shore,” he says. “Having someone out on the water provides a supplemental service that’s especially important in these times of budget cuts.”

The organization, patterned after successful BayKeeper programs on both coasts, hopes to build a large volunteer corps, says Tamminen. “Our job is to identify polluters and get the evidence from photographs, videotape or eyewitnesses, then turn it over to the appropriate authorities.”

And they hope to get citizen tips on their 24-hour pollution hot line: (800)-HELPBAY.