Remembering Robert Redford’s 1985 visit to Morro Bay
– Robert Redford’s career took him to exotic movie locations all over the world, but his environmental activism brought him to San Luis Obispo County.
In August 1985, Robert Redford helped organize a low-profile meeting at the Inn at Morro Bay between environmentalists and leaders in the oil industry. Among them were the Mayor of Salt Lake City and at least one congressman.
The Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations also attended. The event was organized by the Institute for Resource Management. The IRM received financial backing from Redford’s Sundance Corporation. At the time, oil drilling off the California coast was an issue.
About twenty oil industry and environmental leaders met clandestinely at the Inn at Morro Bay. Each individual wore a name tag with only his or her first name. There was no other identification. The dress was informal. Redford and the IRM believed that having the two groups meet casually to discuss environmental regulations and issues would facilitate a better working relationship.
For three days, the group met in a conference room at the Inn at Morro Bay. Two national reporters followed the discussion. No local media were invited, although a local radio station, US98fm, recorded the entire meeting for use by the participants after the event’s conclusion. Very few people knew that Robert Redford was in Morro Bay or what he was doing there.
A spokeswoman for the Institute of Resource Management told local reporters that Redford would not be attending. The manager of the radio station, Dick Mason, encountered Redford when the actor left a back door of the hotel’s kitchen to go jogging through the Morro Bay State Park. Mason said, “Redford looked fit in white shorts and a white t-shirt. He didn’t say much before he left on his run, but he was friendly.”
One evening, the group went out on the 115-foot Wendy Star for a dinner cruise on the ocean. Unfortunately, heavy swells confined the cruise to Morro Bay itself.
Sheriff Ian Parkinson was a 19-year-old Morro Bay police officer when Redford visited Morro Bay. He told a local newspaper that he provided security for the actor. Parkinson said he worked security for the actor for a couple of days. The sheriff reportedly walked Redford from his hotel room to his meeting room several times a day.
Robert Redford campaigned for a Republican running for Governor of Utah in 1990, but he worked on environmental issues for many years. Like President Theodore Roosevelt and Oregon Governor Tom McCall, Redford shared a strong concern for the environment along with his conservative values.
Robert Redford died Tuesday at the age of 89.
