David Yearsley, Advocate for Petaluma River, Dies

David Yearsley, executive director of Friends of the Petaluma River who was passionate about promoting river use and educating the community about the waterway died on Monday. He was 65.

Yearsley’s death was confirmed by an employee of the Old Adobe Funeral Home Monday night. According to friends, Yearsley had been fighting brain cancer, with which he had been recently diagnosed.

An avid boater and outdoorsman, Yearsley was the original chairman of the Petaluma Wetlands Alliance, a group that advocated for the creation of the Ellis Creek Water Recycling Facility and the surrounding wildlife sanctuary that today attracts visitors from all over the world.

“David was instrumental in convincing the city in buying the property where Ellis Creek is today and establishing 500 acres of publicly accessible wetlands,” said Gerald Moore, current chairman of the alliance.

In 2006, Yearsley founded Friends of the Petaluma River to promote appreciation and stewardship of the river through boating trips, cleanup days and other activities. Prior to founding the organization, Yearsley led a successful campaign to acquire Tolay Lake Regional Park, a 1,800 acre valley adjacent to the Petaluma River.

"David was always interested in conservation and an avid supporter and observer of nature," said Elizabeth Mori, a close friend and board member of Friends of the Petaluma River. 

Yearsley was also a founding member of the Petaluma Riverkeeper, a program that sought to advocate for the protection and revitalization of the river through partnerships with various local and regional nonprofit organizations.

“David had a great love for the river and that’s why he pushed the Ellis Creek project forward,” said Janice Cader-Thompson, a former member of the Petaluma Wetlands Alliance. “He will be greatly missed.”

Yearsley was born in Delaware and served in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War. He moved to California to attend university and fell in love with the river while living in the East Bay. He moved to Petaluma 14 years ago. Yearsley is survived by his wife Elizabeth, four children and three grandchildren.

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