East Bay conservation champion dead at 71

Ted Radke, the longest-serving board member of the East Bay Regional Park District, died Sunday at age 71, according to a park district statement.

Radke, a longtime Martinez resident and community fixture, helped to double the park district’s land through aggressive advocacy in Sacramento and Washington, D.C.

Between 1978 and 1999, the park district’s acreage increased by 40,000 acres, fueled in part by Radke’s push to acquire land and funding.

“He grew up learning to hike, camp, fish and hunt, while hearing stories about Theodore Roosevelt’s and John Muir’s adventures as early conservationists,” said Rep. George Miller in a 2014 proclamation honoring Radke.

Miller worked closely with Radke during his time in Congress, helping to secure funding for projects in Ward 7 like the creation of Carquinez Strait Regional Shoreline.

“He spent his whole life teaching kids about political advocacy — he was an expert on the political process,” Doyle said.