James Watt Moorman

I just learned of Jim's passing. What a shock. Sandra joins me in expressing our condolences to Brenda. Jim and I go way back. He was running what was then the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund and I ran the environmental section of the California Attorney General's office, both in San Francisco in the early '70s. We collaborated regularly. Then both of us went to Washington to join the Carter Administration, Jim as the top environmental lawyer in the DOJ and I as General Counsel of the...

Jim was absolutely critical in the history of West Virginia environmental preservation. As a young lawyer, together with his friend Fred Anderson, he assisted the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy in establishing Otter Creek as a Wilderness Area and saving the Canaan Valley from being flooded for a power project. A huge contribution at a very key time! May his descendants know how he really lived a life of "saving the planet." Thank you, Jim.

As a grateful member of Jim's beloved short story reading group, I was honored to spend many hours that went from smiles to laughter to sometimes deep conversations about our life experiences, often graced by stories Jim told about his own family and about growing up. It wasn't until we lost Jim that I fully appreciated his skill in selecting stories which in turn reflected his reading range and interests. It was a privilege to spend that time with him, the third Tuesday of every month. He...