Harold Gilliam, environmental journalist and advocate, dies

Former Chronicle columnist Harold Gilliam, June 13, 1994 Former Chronicle columnist Harold Gilliam, June 13, 1994 Photo: Russell Yip, The Chronicle Photo: Russell Yip, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close Harold Gilliam, environmental journalist and advocate, dies 1 / 7 Back to Gallery

Harold Gilliam, one of the first environmental journalists in the country, author of newspaper columns and 11 books on the natural world of the Bay Area, died Wednesday in San Francisco after a long illness. He was 98.

Mr. Gilliam began his writing career at The Chronicle in 1948 and covered a host of environmental issues, from the famed San Francisco citizens revolt against more freeways to articles about the tides and the need for more open space.

“He pioneered and perfected the craft of environmental reporting,” the Bay Nature magazine wrote in 2011.

His work had widespread influence. His 1962 book “Island in Time,” for example, was presented to every member of Congress and had an important role in the creation of the Point Reyes National Seashore. He also wrote about the efforts to save San Francisco Bay and to prevent construction of a nuclear power plant at Bodega Bay.

Mr. Gilliam also served as a consultant to Stewart Udall, who was U.S. secretary of the interior under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, and helped influence federal conservation policy.

Mr. Gilliam received awards including recognition by the American Institute of Architects, the San Francisco Art Commission, and the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society, among others. The Bay Institute’s award for excellence in environmental writing is named in his honor.

Jonah Raskin, an author and emeritus professor at Sonoma State University, put it more simply. Mr. Gilliam, he said “is legendary.”

Harold Gilliam was born in Los Angeles in 1918 and grew up near the Hollywood Hills. As a boy he developed an appreciation for nature — and a wariness of uncontrolled development.

He graduated from UCLA, got a master’s degree at UC Berkeley in 1942 and served in the U.S. Army in the 11th Armored Division in Europe during World War II. After the war, he studied writing at Stanford under novelist Wallace Stegner, then got a job at The Chronicle.

Mr. Gilliam began as a copy boy and was soon promoted to reporter. He left The Chronicle in 1954 to work as a freelance writer and in 1960 began writing an environmental column in the San Francisco Examiner. He returned to The Chronicle after only a year there.

“I was a journalist who happened to have the luck to be the first environmental columnist, or the first I knew about,” he said later. “With the column I had a pulpit where I could state my opinion as well as others’ opinions and go into more depth than a daily reporter could do.”

His column in The Chronicle ran until he retired in 1995, though Mr. Gilliam continued to write occasional articles.

He was more than a newspaper journalist. His first book, “San Francisco Bay,” which he described as “an attempt to get the feeling of the landscape ... to help people enjoy the natural beauty of the area,” was a big hit. It spent 19 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.

He also wrote “Island in Time: The Point Reyes Peninsula,” “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Bay: The Struggle to Save San Francisco Bay,” “Weather of the San Francisco Bay Region,” and “For Better or for Worse: The Ecology of an Urban Area.” His wife, Ann, was his co-author on “Creating Carmel: The Enduring Vision.”

Though Mr. Gilliam fought — and sometimes lost — many battles over development, he remained optimistic. When he received an award in 2011, he spoke of what he called “the San Francisco psyche ... this frame of mind that says innovate, take risks, improvise. You won’t win every battle, but you’ll win the important ones.”

When asked for his advice to young people starting out as natural advocates, he said, “Don’t surrender. Never give up.”

Toward the end of his life, he was working on a piece about religion and spirituality, his sister, Barbara Borowiak, said. “He was a very reflective person,” she said.

He is also survived by another sister, Gloria Magee of Lafayette; and his son, David Gilliam, of San Francisco. His wife, Ann, died in 2001.

Carl Nolte is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cnolte@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @carlnoltesf