Tom Graff, attorney extraordinaire for the Stanislaus River

Tom Graff, Jerry Meral, and Mike Palmer opened the Environmental Defense Fund office in Berkeley in 1971.  Tom and Jerry very quickly decided to pursue a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) lawsuit against the Corps of Engineers regarding the New Melones Dam.  Tom was the attorney for the case.  As the attorney in the case, Tom prepared the briefs, called and cross-examined witnesses, and developed the legal strategy.  On his own time, Tom also helped develop the language for the initiative petition which became Proposition 17 and provided legal advice for the campaign. Listen to interviews with Jerry Meral and with water engineer Phil Williams about working with EDF and Tom in the 1970s. Tom passed away in 2009. Shortly thereafter, then-Congressman George Miller delivered a tribute to Tom on the House floor, including: “Tom Graff did an enormous amount of good for his fellow Californians–and for the planet and all its inhabitants. But Tom’s unique legacy may be the partnerships and friendships that he formed on the way to his many accomplishments.”