Ike Livermore

Ike Livermore played baseball for the USA at the 1936 Olympics but it was a small part of an interesting life. Born in San Francisco, he attended Stanford University, where he captained the baseball team, and then studied at Harvard Business School before finishing his MBA at Stanford. After business school he rode up and down the Sierra Nevada Range on a motorcycle and worked in pack stations and eventually bought two pack stations, becoming the largest wilderness outfitter in the Sierra Nevadas for a time.

Livermore was a lieutenant in the US Navy during World War II, and served in amphibious landings on Sicily, Iwo Jima, Palau, and Okinawa. He had joined the Sierra Club in the 1930 and served on their board of directors from 1941-49. He started the Biennial Wilderness Conference, which began in 1949 and were held for more than 20 years.

Livermore was treasurer of the Pacific Lumber Company from 1952-67. In 1966 he was chosen by Governor Ronald Reagan to serve as California’s Secretary of Resources, which he did from 1967-75. He was the only member of Reagan’s cabinet (as a governor) to serve the entire eight years of his administration. During those eight years he worked with Reagan on a number of important environmental issues, and was completely pro-environment. After Reagan was elected President in 1980, Livermore headed his transition team for the Environmental Protection Agency.

During his career, Livermore served on many boards, usually with environmental interests. He was on the board of the National Audubon Society, the Save the Redwoods League, the Thacher School, the Sierra Club, The Peregrine Fund, and the Stanford Business School Advisory Council. He served as treasurer of the Commonwealth Club, and chaired the Bureau of Land Management Wild Horse and Burro Commission. Livermore was a long-time member of the California Fish and Game Commission, serving as its president in 1982-83.