Mark Joel Abramson

Mark Joel Abramson passed away September 15th at the age of 56. Mark was a passionate landscape architect and restoration ecologist with a tremendous legacy in the Santa Monica Mountains and in Malibu. Mark was a larger than life figure with an irreverent sense of humor, a booming voice, infectious laugh, generous spirit, and tireless dedication to restoring and protecting Santa Monica Bay, the Santa Monica Mountains, and the Malibu Creek Watershed.

Mark dedicated 20 years of his life to the restoration of the Malibu Lagoon. There is no question that the Malibu Lagoon would not have been restored without his project management leadership, persistence, work ethic, and tremendous knowledge of native plants and the Malibu Creek watershed. Mark also led the restoration programs at several other environmental groups, including Heal the Bay, LA Waterkeeper, and The Bay Foundation.

Mark played an instrumental role in saving Ahmanson Ranch, the headwaters of the Malibu Creek watershed, which had been slated for a massive 10,000 person development and two golf courses. The data from the volunteer StreamTeam watershed monitoring and mapping program that he developed and ran identified numerous sensitive habitats and species (including the endangered red-legged frog) that would have been degraded or lost if the project went forward. Former LA Times journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner, Kenneth R. Weiss, stated in an article featuring Mark that, “Nothing seems to intimidate this espresso-guzzling, Marlboro-smoking, Altoid popping eco-cop in cargo shorts. Not the poison oak or stinging nettles that block his path to the creek. Not slogging through tainted water. Not accusations of trespassing (from the former Ahmanson Ranch development team) when he follows the creek to someone’s property.”

Other successful efforts included removal of barriers to endangered steelhead trout migration, from Malibu Creek State Park, Solstice Canyon, and Arroyo Sequit. Because of Mark’s success, big personality, and the laborious work of barrier removal, he was featured on a hilarious episode of the popular TV show, Dirty Jobs, which focused on the efforts of Mark and his team.

On stormy evenings, often throughout the night, Mark could be found collecting water samples across the LA metroplex to identify sources of pollution. The results of this work drove local, state, and federal policy to improve water quality along LA’s beaches and rivers. Mark also was a local pioneer in the use of nature based solutions to reduce stormwater pollution including projects in the Malibu Lagoon parking lot and along Ballona Creek. More recently, the successful underpass habitat restoration was used as a wildlife crossing underneath the 101 freeway near the Liberty Canyon Wildlife Crossing.

Mark grew up in Agoura Hills and earned a Bachelors in accounting from Pepperdine (not for him, so he started volunteering at Heal the Bay) and a Masters in landscape architecture (the creation of StreamTeam for Heal the Bay was their team student thesis) from Cal Poly Pomona. Mark was loved by his huge extended family (including 68 cousins from Ireland to California), who each felt his warm, protective, gregarious and giving heart during every moment they were fortunate enough to spend in his presence. He is survived by his wife of twenty-seven years, Margot Carlson; brother, Jeff Abramson; niece, Alicia Abramson; nephews, Max and Erik Abramson; aunt, Katherine Brown; cousin, Kevin Brown; and the best, most dependable group of friends anyone could have. Mark was a lifelong fan of the Los Angeles Kings and Los Angeles Dodgers and was just beginning to forgive the Rams.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.neptunesociety.com/location/sherman-oaks-crema for the Abramson family.