Jim Stratton and Colleen Burgh in Homer, Alaska. Photo courtesy Jim Stratton.

Colleen Burgh, BS ’79 (biology), and Jim Stratton, BS ’79 (leisure studies and services), had the kind of love-at-first-sight story that you see in the movies—that is, if the movie happened to be an environmental disaster film where the heroine steadfastly refused to marry the hero.

March 2019 marked the 30th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, one of the country’s most severe human-caused environmental disasters. On March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker struck a reef in Alaska’s Prince William Sound and polluted the environment with 11 million gallons of crude oil. While the effects of the spill are still felt today, people like Colleen ensured resources and expertise were dedicated to the clean-up from day one. Her life and career, along with Jim’s, is one of dedication, passion, and inspiration—and a way to mark the anniversary of a tragedy with a story of love and hope.

Jim, a Eugene native, originally went to Willamette University in Salem. However, he heard about the recreation and park management major at the UO, and in 1977 made the switch back to his hometown.

When he walked into the Erb Memorial Union, he saw a table set up for a course called Oregon Environmental Issues, sponsored by the university’s Survival Center. Now known as the Radical Organizing and Activism Resource (ROAR) Center, the Survival Center gave students the opportunity to work with local nongovernmental organizations and get involved in environmental issues. Stratton enrolled in the class, learned how to match his love of the outdoors with his interest in politics, and initiated a lifelong pursuit to spur his community to address environmental issues.

Colleen was a transfer student as well, and felt closely connected to the outdoors and wildlife after growing up in Alaska. But it wasn’t until her first college stint at Washington State University that she found the path to her future career.

“Colleen actually went to WSU to become a veterinarian,” Jim recounted. “That got derailed when she took a class based on the book Diet for a Small Planet. She became a vegetarian after that class and decided to devote her life to making the planet cleaner and more sustainable. It was that desire for a better planet that led her to the UO.”

Jim was later hired as the director of the Survival Center, and Colleen was hired as director of People and the Oregon Coast. Her office sat adjacent to his, and Jim remembers the first day he walked into work in the fall of 1978.

“Colleen was sitting at her desk, twirling her hair as she talked on the phone,” he said. “Her desk was right next to the door of the suite so I couldn’t miss seeing her. I was instantly smitten and we started dating that fall.”

After graduating, Colleen got a summer job with the US Forest Service in Alaska as a naturalist on the marine highway system. When Jim got an offer to be the executive director of the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council in Juneau, he piled everything he owned into his Ford sedan, rolled onto the state ferry in Seattle, and, three days later, was reunited with Colleen.

Later, Colleen joined the Department of Environmental Conservation, working in hazardous materials management and oil-spill prevention and cleanup. When the Exxon Valdez spill occurred, she already had seven years of training under her belt and was immediately onboarded at the spill site.

Workers attempt to clean a beach in Alaska following the Exxon Valdez spill.

Colleen was part of the management team that directed the overall spill response, and was in charge of prioritizing which beaches got cleanup crews. She spent three months working 16-hour days, eventually being hired as deputy on-scene coordinator, running day-to-day operations while her boss dealt with the press and politics surrounding the cleanup.

An otter rests and recovers after having crude oil removed.

While both Jim and Colleen had promising careers committed to helping the environment, Jim was having a hard time convincing Colleen to permanently commit herself to him.

“When we were in Juneau I asked her to marry me, but she said no,” said Jim. “I was crestfallen. She recovered quickly and said if she wanted to be married, she would marry me, but she just didn't want to be married. She was fiercely independent and focused on her career; marriage wasn't in her game plan.

“So, I stuck around figuring that someday she'd say yes. It became a bit of a joke. I asked her to marry me in some very exotic places, like in the middle of one of the pyramids in Cairo, or in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro with elephants walking by, or in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge under the midnight sun. She always laughed and said, ‘No.’ Then, one Thanksgiving, I was elbow-deep in stuffing the turkey and tossed out the question, ‘Don't you think we ought to really get married someday?’ To my surprise, she said, ‘Yes.’“

"She already had champagne chilling in the fridge!”

Thirteen years after the couple started living together, the two tied the knot in their living room in Anchorage. The next day, Jim graduated from the MBA program at Alaska Pacific University. His degree and work on Governor Tony Knowles’ campaign laid the groundwork for his role as director of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources' Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation. He was largely responsible for representing the division before the Alaska legislature, as well as being a cheerleader for his staff and managing such recreation programs as the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Jim helped to create the state trails program, a statewide snowmobile program, and a statewide boating safety program.

Following the Exxon Valdez spill, Colleen worked for CH2M Hill cleaning up military sites in Alaska, and then later went to BP. She worked in the hazardous material division, and ensured the company followed federal laws and regulations regarding the materials used to extract oil from Alaska’s North Slope.

A restaurant in Alaska indicates flags are being flown at half-mast due to the destruction caused by the Exxon Valdez spill.

In what was a tragic end to their love story, Colleen was diagnosed with brain cancer and died in 2014, Jim looked for ways to memorialize her love for the environment in a special way.

Some of Colleen’s first and best UO memories were at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology (OIMB), and their first road trips together were to the OIMB on the Oregon coast. In Colleen's honor, Jim made a significant donation to the UO and OIMB, helping to purchase a new research vessel. 

Thanks to their dedication to each other and to the environment, generations of UO students can turn their own passion for environmental stewardship into life-changing careers.

- by student writer Meredith Ledbetter

- Photos courtesy Alaska Resources Library and Information Services unless otherwise noted