Dick Amper got involved, becoming a megaphone LI needed
Richard Amper, executive director of the Long Island Pine Barrens Society, in January 2023. Credit: Barry Sloan
Death demands reflection and introspection. And so I found myself thinking quite a bit this past week about the passing of Richard Amper.
Dick, who was 81 when he died Monday, was one of Long Island's foremost environmentalists, a man who brought to his work a seemingly boundless energy. His long and admirable record of accomplishment was highlighted by his work to protect and preserve our precious pine barrens and his decades-long tenure as executive director of the Long Island Pine Barrens Society.
Every movement needs a megaphone. For our region's nature lovers and conservationists, that was Amper. When it came to the environment in general, and protecting open space and clean water in particular, he brooked no dissent. But one person's passion is another's abrasion, and some elected officials and real estate developers bristled under Amper's microscope. I knew Dick for a number of years, as a chronicler and champion of environmental causes throughout my career as a journalist. And still, Dick had no hesitation in letting me know bluntly if I missed some point or was not passionate enough in my efforts at persuasion. Usually, he was right.
His loud and relentless advocacy paired well with the efforts of some of his peers in the clean water fight, people like Adrienne Esposito of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Bob DeLuca of Group for the East End, Kevin McDonald of The Nature Conservancy, and John Turner, co-founder of the Pine Barrens Society. They were just as tireless but worked the corners, using nudges instead of elbows. It was an effective partnership, a riff on the good cop-bad cop routine, and our region is much the better for it.
But there is another, perhaps more critical, element to an appreciation of Amper's lifework. His passing should remind us that for all the attention we pay our political leaders and their undeniable importance in setting a tone, making sure things run correctly, and determining our quality of life, equally vital are the advocates and watchdogs who in a very real sense are our eyes and ears and voices.
Long Island, like many places, is a complex web. We elect representatives at various levels of government to take care of things, but then many of us simply trust that those things will get done and in a proper way. Of course, that doesn't always happen. Enter the advocates. They speak for those who cannot, push for change that is overdue, and make sure that promises are kept. They do what the rest of us cannot, or will not, or care not to do, even though we would be among the first people to notice the diminishment of life on Long Island if it were not for their efforts.
Their passion is our life's blood and our welfare is enhanced, and sometimes depends, on their work. That certainly was and still is true for Amper and his colleagues in the clean water fight, especially in Suffolk County with its vast unsewered spaces. But it is equally true for a host of other environmental issues; for people struggling with substance abuse and addiction, homelessness, or mental health issues; and for our veterans. In all of these cases, the work done by advocates is essential.
As the story goes, Amper was running a public relations firm in the 1980s when some environmentalists asked whether he could help them in their efforts to protect the pine barrens from development. He dipped his toes in those waters, then dove in for a lifetime.
If it is true, as Jean-Paul Sartre wrote, that a person is nothing else but the sum of their actions, people like Dick Amper and his colleagues are a blazing reminder of the importance of getting involved. They show us every day that the change we need is often up to us.
Columnist Michael Dobie is a retired member of the Newsday editorial board.
Michael Dobie is a retired member of the Newsday editorial board.
