The Elakha Alliance has lost a friend. Renowned ecologist Jim Estes succumbed on the morning of May 20, 2025, to injuries sustained as the result of a horrific hit-and-run event more than two years ago that left him broken. The world of science has lost a giant who figured out, almost by accident, that sea otters are a keystone species, a finding supported in study after study for more than 50 years. Although he was a world-renowned scientist, the title of his book tells it all: Serendipity. He was a young man who took advantage of being in the right place at the right time.
I first met Jim at a sea otter science conference in March 2019. He was at every session in his trademark leather jacket and jeans, sitting casually but attentively in the crowd with many young enough to be his grandchildren, asking provocative questions and offering bits of information. When I introduced myself and sketched our hopes for the Elakha Alliance, he instantly understood what we were trying to do and was adamant that not only could it be done but that it should be done. Subsequently, he was a keynote speaker at the 2020 Elakha Sea Otter Science Symposium and in 2022 was a contributing author to our Feasibility Study. We talked occasionally by telephone when he offered advice, information, and friendship. I will always be grateful to him for joining our effort and his encouragement that Elakha is on the right path.
