A fond farewell

Re “Bill Stall, 1937-2008,” Obituary, Nov. 3

I did not get the chance to say goodbye to The Times’ Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial writer, Bill Stall. I hope you will honor his singular role in California’s environment and politics, and the convergence of the two. In 1977, shortly after both of us had left the service of Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration, Bill was reporting on the drought and the Inyo-Los Angeles water war. I was Inyo’s attorney. Bill reported on the landmark decisions rejecting the DWP’s environmental assessments and refusal to install mandatory conservation -- decisions that laid the groundwork for our present well-being.

After a few weeks, I got a call from him that opened only with these words: “You have an interesting way of celebrating legal victories.” On July 7, 1977, I had made a solo ascent of Mt. Agassiz and had entered celebratory words in the peak log.

Bill, it turned out, made the same ascent just a bit later. Thus, we discovered a mutual passion not only for governing the waters and mountains but relishing in them.

I extend to The Times sympathy at the loss of a great colleague.

Tony Rossmann

San Francisco

The writer is a lecturer in Water Resources Law at UC Berkeley Boalt Hall.