The Sierra Club
- Protecting Nature America’s premier grassroots
environmental organization
Barry Wulff, Ph. D.
Vice President, International Affairs
The stimulus for founding the Sierra Club
The battle to save the
Yosemite valley and
federal legislation
making it a National
Park in 1890, all due to
the lobbying efforts of
John Muir and Robert
Underwood Johnson.
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The Original Purposes of the Sierra Club
(founded in 1892)

To explore, enjoy, and render accessible the
mountain regions of the American Pacific Coast;
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to publish authentic information about their
beauty and biodiversity;
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to enlist the support and cooperation of the people
and the government in preserving the forests and
other natural features of the Sierra Nevada
Mountains.
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Sierra Club Timeline - the early years

1892: Our first conservation effort was to defeat a
proposed reduction in the boundaries of Yosemite
National Park.
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1899: Worked with Congress to establish Mt. Rainier
National Park by legislation based on a statement
prepared by the Sierra Club and other organizations.
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1907: Sierra Club submits resolution to Secretary of
the Interior opposing the damming of Hetch Hetchy
Valley in Yosemite.
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Citizen Action at Work
John Muir wrote:
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"We held a Sierra Club meeting last Saturday-passed resolutions and fanned each other to a
fierce white Hetch Hetchy heat.
"I particularly urged that we must get everybody
to write to senators and the president keeping
letters flying all next month thick as storm snow
flakes, loaded with park pictures, short circulars,
etc. Stir up all other park and playground clubs,
women's clubs, etc. .. "
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Hetch Hetchy Valley Before 1914
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Hetch Hetchy: A Lost Campaign
 We lost the battle.
 Congress
approved the dam
in 1913, and Muir
died in 1914.
 Some say he died
from a broken heart
at the loss.
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An “outings” program was developed.
While battles over preservation
of the valleys took place, a
campaign to take people to the
mountains began.

Why? To instill within the
public an appreciation for the
beauty and value of the natural
world.
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Outings:
To Explore and Enjoy
“...If properly conducted [the
outing] will do an infinite amount
of good toward awakening the
proper kind of interest in the forests
and other natural features of our
mountains, and will also tend to
create a spirit of good fellowship
among our members.”
Will Colby
The 1905 Climb of Mt. Rainier
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Sierra Club Timeline - The middle years

1920: We successfully opposed dams proposed for Yellowstone
National Park.

1940: With the help of Ansel Adams, who became a famous American
landscape photographer, armed with photographs, our efforts led to the
establishment of Kings Canyon National Park.

1964: U.S. Congress passes Wilderness Act, first wilderness
protection in the world, after years of battle.

1968: Sierra Club succeeds in a campaign to stop the damming of the
Grand Canyon.
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Redwood National Park established after long fight.
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Sierra Club Timeline - recent years

1975: Sierra Club wins long-sought additions to Grand
Canyon National Park.
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1978: Sierra Club wins a 48,000 acre addition to Redwood
National Park, protecting the watershed of the world's
tallest trees.

1980: Congress passes Alaska National Interest Lands
Conservation Act, designating more than 103 million
acres of parks, wildlife refuges, and wilderness areas.
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Sierra Club Timeline - recent successes

1986: Sierra Club wins designation of 270,000 acre
Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area in Oregon and
Washington states.

1989: Sierra Club presses World Bank to withdraw $500
million loan to Brazil, which kills plans to build 147 dams
and flood large areas of Amazon.

1994: California Desert Protection Act signed into law,
after an 8-year effort led by the Club.

1996: Club's Utah Wilderness campaign helps pressure
President Clinton to create Grand Staircase-Escalante
National Monument, thereby protecting 1.7 million acres
in Utah.
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The Sierra Club Purposes Today

To explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of
the earth;

to practice and promote the responsible use of the
earth’s ecosystems and resources;

to educate and enlist humanity to protect and
restore the quality of the natural and human
environment; and

to use all lawful means to carry out these
objectives.
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How we do it:
The Sierra Club has over 200 staff and 5,000
volunteers working in every state and in Canada.
Our tools include:

public education,

lobbying to influence elected and appointed officials,
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litigation of government agencies and private companies,
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books and other publications, and
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participating in elections by endorsing candidates with
strong environmental records.
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A rally against toxins in our rivers
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Current Sierra Club Priorities:

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Stop sprawl: end runaway
growth,
Protect America's
wildlands,
End commercial logging
on public lands,
Protect water from factory
farms.
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Energy and global
warming,
Human Rights and the
environment,
Population stabilization,
Responsible trade; also
Ending the toxic threat.
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Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
America's National Treasure in Peril
A current campaign is to save the
Alaskan Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
from being drilled for oil.
Why?
 Threatens the integrity of the entire
Alaskan tundra ecosystem.
 Threatens the local caribou herds.
 Defeats the goal of energy conservation.
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Organization of the Sierra Club
National offices in San Francisco &
Washington, DC
 State and provincial chapters across North
America.
 Local groups throughout many communities.
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Sierra Club Chapters across North America
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Today, we offer more than 350 trips each
year to unique destinations around the
world for people of all ages.
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Printed membership application forms
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Raising funds and membership
through calendar sales
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Communicating with our members with
brochures, cards, newsletters and
automobile bumper stickers
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National Volunteer Committees
Presently 110 committees
Some examples:
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Global Warming & Clean Energy Program
Marine Wildlife & Habitat
Genetic Engineering
National Parks & Monuments
Group & Chapter Outings
Radiation
Toxins
International
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The International Committee
Mission: To protect and restore the
global environment through three main
grassroots-based thrusts:

Empower communities and individuals globally

Reduce the global environmental impact of US-based
activities

Promote environmental perspectives and protection in
international agreements and actions
http://www.sierraclub.org/international/committee/
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The Sierra Club
http://www.sierraclub.org/
85 Second Street, 2nd Floor
San Francisco, California 94105
Tel: 415-977-5500
FAX: 415-977-5799
A healthy environment will support a healthy economy.
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Golden Lake, Oregon Cascades
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Sequoia National Monument –
2000
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Wild Forests Campaign

As Americans, we treasure our National Forest heritage.
But over half of our National Forests have already been
scarred by logging, roadbuilding, mining, and oil and
gas drilling. This year, we have an historic opportunity
to protect 60 million acres of the last unspoiled
wildlands in our National Forests. Your help is needed!
Take Action to Protect Our Wild Forests:
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How to Get Involved:
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Tool kit for Wild Forest activists and organizers.
Off-Road Vehicles:
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Send an e-mail to President Clinton and Secretary of
Agriculture, Dan Glickman.
Damaging America's Threatened Wilderness
One Million Comments Delivered:
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An estimated one million comments in favor of increasing
protection for wild forests were delivered to the Forest Service
by the July 17th deadline!
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