Former banker dedicated life to conservation

CHARLESTON -- Dana Beach was 28 when he quit his job as a New York investment banker, got married and went to Africa on his honeymoon.

What he found changed his life.

Beach and his wife were hiking through a Rwandan jungle one day, when their guide stopped, told them to be quiet and pointed through the rainforest.

Staring back at them was a young gorilla. As they crouched behind a shrub, the curious primate inched in their direction, extended a muscular arm and laid a finger on the knee of Beach's wife.

"We were absolutely entranced," said Beach, recalling how the encounter inspired his career in conservation. "As much as anything, that was one of those transcendental moments, where I just knew 'This is what I want to do.'"

Today, the Columbia native is South Carolina's most visible and influential environmentalist.

Since founding the S.C. Coastal Conservation League in 1989, Beach has systematically built an eco-political machine that dwarfs other environmental groups in the state. As the state's population has expanded into once pristine rural areas - particularly along the coast - Beach's group has been on the front lines of virtually every big environmental issue.

The Conservation League, headquartered in Charleston, has 28 full-time staff members, $9 million in assets and offices in four cities. Major supporters include wealthy Lowcountry landowners and celebrities such as billionaire Ted Turner, singer Jesse Colin Young and author Anne Rivers Siddons.

Beach and his troops have led successful campaigns against a coal-fired power plant near Florence, mega hog farms in the Pee Dee and giant garbage dumps across the state, while also helping to protect thousands of acres of coastal land.

These days, the Conservation League is seeking to limit cruise ships in Charleston, clean up air pollution in North Charleston and stop a huge apartment complex near a landmark live oak tree on Johns Island. And as the league enters its third decade, Beach has launched initiatives to bolster rural communities and to promote energy efficiency.

Beach has been recognized in national publications, such as The New York Times and Time magazine, and his successes with the league have inspired others to form conservation groups.

Not everyone likes what Beach does - particularly industrialists, who say he's trying to stifle growth.

But Beach, a preppy 54-year-old, doesn't apologize for putting the environment first. His message is simple: protect the air, water and landscape that make South Carolina a special place.

"If we compromise that, we compromise our economic future," he said.

Beach background

Beach grew up in Forest Acres, the son of a Millwood Avenue garage owner and a homemaker whose family had lived in Columbia for generations.

As a child in the 1960s, Dana Beach had an appreciation for the outdoors, but his closest encounters with nature typically were family vacations to Edisto Beach or the mountains of western North Carolina.

"I wasn't one of these young bird watchers," he said. "I didn't really know much about nature."

Dana Beach attended public school at what is now Crayton Middle, but his parents later sent him to Hammond Academy.

Upon his graduation from Hammond, Beach went to Davidson College, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1977. He then earned a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania's prestigious Wharton School before launching a career in banking and finance. He came home to Columbia in 1979 to work, but grew restless. In 1981, he moved to New York and began dating Virginia Christian, a former resident of Richmond, Va., who had an interest in nature. The couple began watching birds in Central Park and volunteering with environmental groups in the city.

They married in 1983 and decided they would return South, choosing Charleston as their new home. But first, a trip to Africa beckoned.

Virginia Beach said she may have played a role in her husband's interest in nature. But seeing the gorilla in 1983 solidified his commitment.

Green and polite

That Beach has built an influential conservation group in South Carolina is nothing short of remarkable, his supporters say.

Business and government leaders have long been suspicious of environmentalists, who are viewed as outsiders and threats to job creation in an historically poor state.

But Beach appeals to many people with a calm, down-to-earth style that makes folks think he's their friend.

His polite but passionate manner has been instrumental in raising money and winning battles for the league, observers say.

"Dana doesn't appear to be a threatening person; he looks like a businessman and his demeanor is like that also," former S.C. Sierra Club director Dell Isham said.

The Conservation League won't hesitate to file a legal appeal against an environmental permit or sue to stop a project. The league has more than a dozen suits and appeals outstanding now.

Still, Beach is a realist. He'll settle a legal action if he thinks it will help the environment overall. In the 1990s, his group was instrumental in brokering a deal that stopped a bridge from the mainland to unspoiled Sandy Island in Georgetown County. In exchange, Beach didn't oppose letting the state fill wetlands to build a freeway near Myrtle Beach.

"This is not about articulating an ideology, it's about getting something done," he said.

Isham said Beach's business background has helped the league become financially stable.

Of the Conservation League's $9 million in assets, about $6 million is an endowment. The investment returns on that provide the league with a stable source of income, rather than having to rely solely on annual donations to keep afloat. The league also has a $1 million fund for use in case of an emergency.

Busy beach

On a typical day, Beach rises early, runs 2.5 miles, then bikes from his house off South Battery Street to the league's main office on East Bay Street.

His office is in a converted antebellum home with wide porches that the league uses rent-free, courtesy of a major donor. The small parking lot is filled with the bikes and energy efficient cars of his enthusiastic staff.

Once at work, Beach might phone a board member about a business matter, meet with an attorney to settle a lawsuit or huddle with staff members on the league's latest strategy.

As a boss, Beach can be demanding, and by his own admission, tends to micro-manage. But he's inspirational and fun to work for, some current and former staff members say.

To keep morale high, Beach makes it a point to do things for his staff. That might mean sailing together along the coast or throwing a party downtown. Earlier this month, Beach hosted "Pickin on the Porch," an evening jam session for league supporters.

"I had a great experience working for the league - it was like a family," former league lobbyist Christie McGregor said.

Beach bashers

Not everyone is enthralled with Beach.

Conservationist Bob Wislinski, a Columbia public relations specialist, said Beach's success sometimes makes him hard to work with. The two clashed several years ago over the direction of a campaign against the coal plant near Florence.

"He is used to doing stuff himself," Wislinski said. "He's not a team guy."

Beach's group was instrumental in defeating the "Global Gateway," a massive port expansion planned for Charleston's Daniel Island about 10 years ago. After the Ports Authority backed off and agreed to expand the port at the old Charleston Navy base, Beach's organization filed legal challenges over that site, too.

Now, the Conservation League is pushing to limit the number of big cruise ships that dock in Charleston. The idling ships burn fuel that releases harmful air pollution, the league says.

Whitemarsh Smith, a neighbor of Beach's and a member of the Ports Authority board, said Beach's organization does many good things, but he questioned the Conservation League's motives on ports issues.

"It almost seems like when it comes to the port, they approach it like a fundraising effort, rather than 'Let's roll up our sleeves and meet in the middle,'" Smith said.

Beach says he's willing to negotiate but that the Ports Authority doesn't want to make any changes in the way it does business. He said he's not trying to raise money off the port's back.