The San Francisco Bay Area abounds in natural beauty. Despite a burgeoning population of 6.7 million, the region is blessed with incomparable open space: vibrant hills, seashores, forests, wetlands, and the shimmering expanse of San Francisco Bay. This legacy thrives, in most cases, not because benevolent governments have provided for it, but because certain stubborn citizens felt called upon to work for its preservation, often against great odds.

Legacy celebrates fifty of these extraordinary individuals with inspiring profiles by acclaimed Bay Area writer John Hart and superb duotone portraits by local photographer Nancy Kittle. The book offers glimpses into the lives of a generation of environmental leaders—including David Brower, Ike Livermore, Margaret Owings, and Edgar and Peggy Wayburn—who were born before World War II and who had made their commitment to the conservation cause well before the first Earth Day in 1970. From stopping bay fill to blocking the construction of freeways through Golden Gate Park to the creation of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, these elders’ environmental activism has been a model for the world. Legacy reveals why and how each elder became passionate in the cause of conservation and offers lessons for shaping our environmental future.