Talk NERRdy to Me: Paul Dest

Dolores: Paul, let’s start with the question on everybody’s mind: Is it true you’re retiring from the Wells Reserve because of Nik Charov? 

Paul: I’ve been trying to get away from that man since he started in 2012! No one has suffered more in the System than Paul Dest because he’s right across the hall from me … No, in all seriousness, it’s been an absolutely fantastic working relationship with Nik. He’s a tremendously creative person who truly loves the Reserve System, what NERRA does, our science, our conservation, and our education. 

Dolores: We’ll assume his check is in the mail. You have been at the Wells Reserve for 25 years, which in Reserve time is roughly how many real lifetimes?

Paul: Let’s see, I plan to live until I’m 95 so that’s about 1/4 of my life. It’s been quite a ride. I was no stranger to the Reserve System when I took this job. As soon as I moved back to Maine in 1989, I became a member of Laudholm Trust. In the late 1990s, I became very active as a volunteer, chaired the Education Advisory Committee, and led a number of wildlife walks. I still lead wildlife-related programs, not a whole lot of them, but enough to get me out of this office and “into the wild,” so to speak.

Dolores: That tracks. You are semi-famous for spending as much time as possible outside. Is that something you do to get out of meetings? Where does it come from? 

Paul: I just truly love the outdoors, and I think that stems from when I was a young boy. My parents would bring the family—I was one of nine kids—on trips to Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont and Baxter State Park in Maine. That really stayed with me because I’m from suburban Connecticut. Baxter is where I saw my first moose and crystal-clear water and a brook trout swimming under our canoe. It just latched on to me, that love of nature and the outdoors and wanting to be part of it. That love of nature merged with my professional life when I was in my 30s and I became acquainted with the NERRS in 1991, when I worked for the Great Bay Reserve’s state partner, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department.

Dolores: Once a NERRd, always a NERRd. 

Paul: Always and forever, Dolores. 

Dolores: We both come from families of nine. Where were you in the pecking order? 

Paul: Number three. You have all brothers, right? 

Dolores: Yes, they’re all older than me. I think that’s why I’m comfortable speaking up loudly in forums where I really don’t really know what I’m talking about. Do you sometimes feel that way? 

Paul: Well, you’ve got to speak up. The competition really became fierce at the dinner table. 

Dolores: There and everywhere. My brother used to say it was “survival of the loudest.” When you first showed up at the Reserve, the lands had been saved, but it wasn’t quite built as a Reserve. Did you have any idea of what you were getting into?

Paul: Somewhat, but you never know what something is going to look like in 25 years. As you grow and needs arise, you find ways to adapt and make everything work. When I came here, almost all the land had been protected, but there were key parcels that were still developable. Conserving them became job number one, something we had to do to protect the ecological and landscape integrity of the Reserve. Also, I think there have been 20 construction projects since I’ve been here. We didn’t have a current management plan, but we knew we needed more and better facilities if we wanted to operate at a certain level. The research staff was stuck in this old dairy creamery, so now we have the Maine Coastal Ecology Center. We needed a dormitory, so we built Alheim Commons. We have always valued the history of our site and I have been interested in seeing older buildings converted to new purposes. We renovated a 100-year-old earthen floor garden shed that eventually became the NERRA office. We purchased a 19th century farmhouse that will be an education center someday, and converted a chicken coop into a seasonal research lab. I love historic buildings, and renovating these buildings for our science-based mission has been very gratifying.

Dolores: You didn’t mention that along the way the Reserve became 100% solar powered. When you put that alongside all of the construction, protection, and restoration, that is quite an opus. Which of these kept you up at night? 

Paul: We didn’t know we would achieve full solar in four or five years, but we did, thanks to the Laudholm Trust and NERRS PAC grants. But of all the projects, the creation of the Alheim Commons Dormitory was the most challenging and fascinating. Everything that could go wrong, did. We found out that we weren’t zoned for a dormitory and needed a town vote to get it rezoned. We discovered the building was structurally unsound and had to be rebuilt. A NOAA grant that disappeared due to congressional appropriations, only to reappear later. There was a deed restriction that rendered the property valueless. I don’t know how it all came together in three years.

Dolores: Thank you on behalf of the many NERRds, scientists, graduate students, and everybody else who enjoys spending time at Wells and needs a bunk. 

Paul: When we took the building down, because we couldn’t use it, we salvaged it to create furniture for the new building and the NERRA headquarters. 

Dolores: Doing more with less. That’s the Reserve motto, right? 

Paul: Yes, absolutely.

Dolores: You role model keeping relationships front and center. That’s part of your brand. Is it a core value for you? Did you learn that on the job? 

Paul: I learned a lot on this job, there’s no doubt. I learned to be a better person and manager by observing others. A core value for me is not only what you do, but how you go about doing it. How do you interact with people along the way of getting things done? You have to treat people with respect while knowing that you have a job to do. I always keep that in mind. Personality is important.

Dolores: Speaking of personalities, the staff at Wells tripled during your tenure. Is that because you can’t fire people? 

Paul: We’ve grown in numbers and in programs like the rest of the System. For example, we have the Davidson Fellowship, which is absolutely spectacular and the Training and Engagement Program. Another reason we have the staff we have now is we are open to partnerships and working at a regional scale. For example, our New England Cottontail Habitat Restoration Coordinator is a shared position with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We’re also fortunate to have the American Lobster Initiative through the National Sea Grant Program. And NOAA and other institutions have been very supportive, via resilience and restoration grants, of providing funds for staff time. Afterall, you deliver science, education, community engagement, and stewardship programs WITH people.

Dolores: You are famously good at giving tours. When did you realize how much you enjoy explaining something like the courtship of woodcocks to people who hadn’t realized they wanted to learn about it? 

Paul: There are certain wildlife species I love, and I like sharing my knowledge about them, so I developed some programs for the Reserve when I was a volunteer. A few years ago, I took a Maine Master Naturalist course to improve my skills and knowledge around wildlife and landscapes. The North American beaver is a favorite, so I’ve done a number of beaver programs that also talk about landscapes, the importance of protecting them, and the need for organizations like the Reserve if we want to have stable and growing populations of wildlife over time. You know, if I had listened to myself when I was younger …

Dolores: None of us do.

Paul: I would have been kind of perfect for a job with the National Park Service or the National Forest Service. I would have been one of their interpreters, someone working with nature and history and interfacing with the public. But I did not listen to myself and I took a circuitous path to get to where I am today. 

Dolores: You took an estuarine path. I read the nation’s oldest park ranger died at 104, after retiring at 100, so no time like the present! An unreliable source [Nik Charov] tells me you always say that “science happens here” about the Wells Reserve. Why is that important to you, and why did the cow weather vane violate that principle? 

Paul: We are a beautiful site. People become enamored with the landscape and they aren’t aware of our research or science education. I always threaten to put up a big billboard that flashes “Science Happens Here” at the people driving in, to drill home the point that there’s really cool research happening here.

Dolores: So they see the cow, and they think … ice cream? 

Paul: When the Ecology Center was being built, some decisions were made before I came in. One was to have a cow-shaped weather vane. I can understand that, because it’s a barn-like structure. But I’ve come to feel we need something aquatic up there, particularly a fish, because we’re all about estuaries. Rather than looking back at the past, we need to look forward, and that’s why a fish will replace the cow.

Dolores: On a scale of one to 10, where 10 is your proudest accomplishment, where does replacing that cow rank? Is it higher than hosting a president?

Paul: Everything’s a priority! We had President Bush, his staff, and his mother here. Senator King came for our solar celebration. Senator Collins was here, she even helped to hold a saltmarsh sparrow while a scientist took a sample. Chellie Pingree’s been here. John Baldacci was here. Tom Allen’s been here a couple of times. I highly value Maine’s delegation for their enthusiasm and support for the Reserve and the Reserve System.

Dolores: Now that we’re getting into NERRA territory, I would be remiss not to ask about your years as treasurer. Now that you have passed the baton, can you share the password to the Cayman Islands account? 

Paul: That’s top secret. You know, I’ve had a number of projects over the years that I’m really very proud of. But I really so value my time with NERRA and working with Rebecca, Cindy, and Scott. By the way, I’m keeping this NERRA treasure name tent.

Dolores: Or you can bid on it in a future auction! How did you get trapped by involved with NERRA in the first place? 

Paul: I hadn’t been at the Reserve for more than two years, and I was down in Washington, DC in 2002 or 2003. Peter Wellenberger [former Great Bay manager] was stepping aside as president and Chuck Neider [former Hudson River research coordinator] was coming in. They were searching around for a vice president. Terry Stevens [former Padilla Bay manager] invited me for a drink with some other managers. They shut the door, sat me down, gave me some whiskey or bourbon, turned this light on, and said, “Paul, we want you to be one of the next presidents of NERRA. We want you.” That was such a wonderful vote of confidence in me … and I said no.

Dolores: As most sane people do when they first get the question.

Paul: A year later when we hosted the NERRA meeting in Maine in 2004, I agreed that I would be Chuck Neider’s vice president, then became president, and so on. I served on the Executive Committee for 19 years—14 as treasurer. It was a time when NERRA was really growing; we hired the versatile and talented Rebecca Roth, we had all of these grants, we moved NERRA’s business operations from Washington, DC to the Wells Reserve in 2008, and closed the DC office a couple of years later. I’m glad I was able to help our national nonprofit. We have such an extraordinary staff now. You included, Dolores. Your communications have made us shine.

Dolores: Pshaw, it’s easy to make Reserves shine. [Editor’s note: But not to find pictures of NERRds smiling at the camera!] They do tremendous work in beautiful places. Next question is about retirement. We assume it will include fishing. Are there any undisclosed hobbies we should be concerned about? 

Paul: Not concerned. I like to bicycle, but I am not a 20-40 MPH cyclist. I’m a counterculture cyclist. I stop and look at the countryside and historic signs. I like to cross country ski, snowshoe, ice skate, hike, kayak. My kids have properties. One is a farmer, so I help with that. My wife Deborah and I are going to do some traveling. I’m on the Kennebunk Land Trust Acquisition Committee and the Kennebunk Library Building Expansion Committee. I’ll probably stay involved with a project that is very special to me, the York River Wild and Scenic River Designation. 

And I’m going back to being a volunteer at the Reserve. I always say that I was a volunteer here and then I was demoted to staff. Now I’m ending my professional career and I’m being promoted to volunteer again. I know my age. I know it’s 70. I’ve slowed down a little bit, but only a little bit. 

Dolores: It’s a good thing you like to wake up early, Paul Dest. 

Paul: Why waste the day? I’m here by 5:30 am every work day. I love early mornings. 

Dolores: If you had one piece of advice to give to the next generation of Reserve and NERRA leaders, what would it be? 

Paul: Cultivate joy and enthusiasm for the mission of the Reserves and our uniqueness in being a constellation of protected areas that also promote scientific research, science education, stewardship, and restoration. Maintaining that love of our mission will result in us continuing to do great things.

Dolores: Anything else you want to share with our devoted readership?

Paul: It sounds like a cliche, but just being part of this national System of soon-to-be 32 Reserves has been extraordinary. Also, being a partner with NOAA—one of the top science and monitoring institutions in the world—has been very meaningful. Having access to the expertise, knowledge, and commitment of our NOAA colleagues is rewarding. I want all citizens of the United States to realize just how important and valuable the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is to all of us.

Dolores: Amen.