The water community in California recently lost a gem and a vitally important viewpoint. Alex Hildebrand had many attributes. He was a farmer in San Joaquin County, the President of the Sierra Club in the mid-1950s, a very accomplished collegiate skier, a champion for good water policy in California and a true gentleman.
For the past twenty years my life intersected with Alex in a variety of his capacities—Bay-Delta water policy advisory bodies, farmland preservation issues and the need for more reliable water supplies throughout California. I was always intrigued by Alex’s past, particularly his tenure as Sierra Club President and his days as a competitive skier at Badger Pass in Yosemite National Park. I also think of Alex during California football games in Berkeley when walking by Hildebrand Hall, named after his father. Alex was calm-mannered and polite; yet he had many strongly held views and he was tenacious and impeccably prepared for any discussion, always bringing his important views to any discussion in a very thoughtful manner.
As his friends and the water community reflect on Alex’s life and his many contributions, I cannot help feel there is a large void in California that needs to be filled. Many people remember his perspectives on the Bay-Delta, but in my view the void is Alex’s long-view to the importance of effective food production for the world and the important role California plays in feeding the world. Long before it became fashionable to think about world hunger, Alex understood the international landscape with respect to food, and while Californians and its policy-makers took food for granted, he recognized and advocated the importance of California agriculture on the world stage. After living through several wars, Alex also remembered Herbert Hoover’s proclamation during World War II that “food will win the war” and thus the importance of food to national security.
With our world population crossing 7 billion people late last year, the attention to how we can most effectively feed the world is an increasingly important policy discussion in California and the United States. As the most efficient and productive agricultural state in the world, Californians and policy makers should think about Alex and focus on how we can help farmers and ranchers be more competitive in world markets while continually improving their stewardship of the valuable resources necessary for them to be competitive.
California needs leaders to emerge in Alex’s wake. Thank you Alex for your wonderful legacy!
February 7, 2012 at 3:27 pm
David –
A fitting tribute to Alex. Thank you for speaking for many of us who will fondly remember Alex and his contributions to the Bay-Delta discussions and actions.
Eugenia Laychak
E J L & Associates
February 8, 2012 at 10:48 am
Wonderful editorial, honoring someone who continued to “think different” with personal and professional integrity. I agree with David that while Alex continued to be a force in California water issues and protection of the Delta, the support of long-term production of food and fiber was at the core of his beliefs. At times he was the only major voice championing this, but changed a lot of minds. He changed mine.
February 8, 2012 at 11:07 am
The Snowflake Room at the Badger Pass Ski Resort in Yosemite National Park had an old black and white picture on the wall a few years ago (it’s probably still there) of Alex on a ski slope and his name on the picture caption. Having gotten to know Alex as part of the California Water Plan when he was in his 90s, I was quite impressed to see this picture of him as a young man still on the wall at this historic ski resort.
February 8, 2012 at 11:26 am
Thanks for your thoughtful reminiscence, David. I had the pleasure of getting to know Alex when I helped staff the Bay Delta Oversight Council almost two decades ago now. I too remember his passion for the issues and his admonishment that we have to be able to continue to produce safe and affordable food for a growing California, the nation and the world. The consummate, “old school” gentleman, I fondly recall a visit I made to his living room in Manteca, hearing his stories, concerns, and ideas. He will be missed.
February 8, 2012 at 11:57 am
Thanks David for this nice tribute to Alex. Alex filled a number of important voids in the policy discussions over how California uses its water. He was patient and generous with his time to others involved in those discussions. I imagine it must have been frustrating for him to explain the realities of farming to those who affect it’s future in this State, but who’ve never had to deal with the challenges facing farmers. I too hope that someone steps in to fill the void. Resource allocation decisions are never easy, but it helps put things in perspective to remember that we can only survive 5 days without water and five weeks without food (if we’re “lucky”), especially when considering how much grief disputes over oil (a want as opposed to a need) have caused. Thank you Alex for grounding us.
February 8, 2012 at 12:13 pm
David – You’ve written a very nice and altogether beautiful tribute to the most decent of men.
February 8, 2012 at 1:01 pm
David – A nice tribute to a very nice guy. Alex will also be known for being an engineer well grounded in reality. In the 1980′s we were working on San Joaquin River Drainage issues and USGS had built a very complex model of groundwater inflow to the San Joaquin River. Alex was debating the results of the PhDs from out-of-state and it was getting pretty heated. I finally asked Alex why he felt so strongly about why the USGS folks were wrong. Alex turned to me and said “I know the flows are higher than that because I can fell the water coming up between my toes when I swim in the river”. Taken back a bit, the guys from USGS revised their model based in part of Alex’s experience and some more field data. We will all miss Alex’s ability to make a point.
February 8, 2012 at 1:42 pm
David – thanks for sharing.
We will all miss Alex. Straight talk, smart, fun.
He is right about food of course. And I look at his picture in the Sierra Club’s Yosemite Room every time I meet there.
-Spreck
February 8, 2012 at 3:40 pm
The most valued compliment I ever recieved came one afternoon in Stockton when Alex told those at a public meeting that I was the only one in the room he trusted. I worked with Alex for 30 years. He was always well prepared to provide professional advice and comments. ” He knew how many tons of salt” came down the San Joaquin each year. I’m sure his daughter Mary will carry on.
February 8, 2012 at 5:07 pm
Thank you for this lovely remembrance. I always appreciated a chance to work with Alex. We had a Water Plan meeting the day of his 90th and brought in a cake. No one could believe he was actually 90. We wisely limited the candles in fear of the fire alarm. He was incredibly effective in making a point and was the model of integrity.