10/20/21 - W - 5:30 to 7 pm Virtual ZOOM! Meeting
11/15 to 19/21 - (Virtual) National Wilderness Workshop
Wilderness Protection
The purpose of the Sierra Club when it first came into being in 1892 (Ref #1): "To explore, enjoy, and render accessible the mountain regions of the Pacific Coast, to publish authentic information concerning them, and to enlist the support and cooperation of the people and government in preserving the forests and other natural features of the Sierra Nevada Mountains."
The purpose of the Sierra Club, as stated in the Angeles Chapter's Leader's Reference Book (1977):
To explore, enjoy and preserve the Sierra Nevada
And other scenic resources of the United States
And its forests, waters, wildlife, and wilderness;
To understand and to publish scientific, literary,
And educational studies concerning them;
To educate the people with regard to
National and state forests, parks, monuments
And other natural resources of especial scenic beauty and
To enlist public interest and cooperation in protecting them.
The Club is still actively involved in protecting, exploring and climbing in the Sierra - most notably through the efforts of our own Sierra Peaks Section (SPS), established in 1955. (Ref #2) The SPS maintains a list of peaks in the Sierra and encourages members to climb the peaks. This has resulted in a large number of people with knowledge of the Sierra Nevada and an appreciation of its wilderness areas. Whether fighting development of ski areas in the 1970s or some future plan, such knowledge can be very useful in protection of wilderness areas.
References:
#1 - Sierra Club - 100 Years of Protecting Nature
by Tom Turner, published by Henry N Abrams, Inc. 1991, p48
#2 - A Brief History of the Sierra Peaks Section - by Bill Oliver, 2001
Additional references may be found in History of the Sierra Nevada by Francis Farquahar, University of California Press in collaboration with the Sierra Club, 1965, especially at the end of chapter XX: The Sierra Club and the High Sierra.
10/20/21 - W - 5:30 to 7 pm Virtual ZOOM! Meeting
Subject: Nature Needs Half - Our Sierra Club CA/NV Wilderness Committee, chaired by Anne Henry, is hosting a ZOOM! meeting which will show how the global movement known as "Nature Needs Half" connects with California's 30 by 30 effort. Connect to the global “Nature Needs Half” movement and on-the-ground actions to protect 30 percent of lands and waters by 2030. AND get a sneak peak of this year’s Nov. 15-19 virtual National Wilderness Workshop.
National wilderness experts from the WILD Foundation will share exciting news and insights on how local conservation is critical to preservation of nature on a planetary scale. Just last month, international scientists with the IUCN (the International Union for the Conservation of Nature) proclaimed for the first time that we must protect at least half of nature, and 30% in the next ten years--known as 30x30--to keep the life-sustaining biodiversity of the Earth functioning for the future. Join us to hear how we can achieve these urgent goals. We must mobilize to press elected leaders in California, Nevada and in Washington DC who support 30x30 in concept to take tangible steps forward. Leaders in Sierra Club and partners are taking charge to activate and expand the local and global movements to achieve critical conservation and environmental justice gains.
For over 12 years, the WILD Foundation has been at the leading edge of the movement to protect Half of Earth’s land and seas. Vance Martin, President of the WILD Foundation, and Amy Lewis, WILD’s Vice-President of Policy and Communications, will join us to highlight lessons learned since the start of the Nature Needs Half movement, the state of play for large-scale conservation both internationally and within North America, and how organizations like Sierra Club must connect the dots between wilderness-level protections and other conservation actions to advance biodiversity, climate, and social equity goals together.
Register HERE to join this important discussion.
Our guests:
Vance Martin, WILD Foundation President - Vance joined WILD as president in 1984 after 15 years in international business and non-profit management. An innovative leader known for bridging the interests of people and nature, he has lived extensively overseas, worked in over 55 countries, and helped to establish many non-profit organizations. An acknowledged expert in international nature conservation and wilderness protection, including strong friendships and working partnerships with traditional and indigenous community leaders, he is the founder/Co-chair of the Wilderness Specialist Group (part of the World Commission on Protected Areas, within the International Union for the Conservation of Nature).
Amy Lewis, WILD Foundation Vice President, Policy & Communications - Amy Lewis has spent the last 15 years researching the building blocks of collective action. She has brought this knowledge to bear in her own work as an award-winning nonprofit leader and as a scholar of environmental policy focusing on the relationship between democratic decision-making and policies that benefit the environment. She recently directed the successful global campaign in support of IUCN Motion 101, recognizing that to survive, humanity needs at least Half of Earth’s land and seas protected.
11/15 to 19/21 - (Virtual) National Wilderness Workshop
The 2021 National Wilderness Workshop, originally planned to be held in Roanoke, VA, will be held virtually from November 15-19, 2021. The program lineup focuses on advocacy for wilderness and wilderness stewardship oand will have themes covering wilderness science, management issues, culture, and partnerships. The Workshop is a gathering of more than 200 wilderness stewardship organizations, federal land managers, wilderness researchers, and advocacy groups to learn and discuss current wilderness issues, network, and seek solutions to pressing wilderness problems. It is co-hosted by National Wilderness Stewardship Alliance (NWSA) and the Society of Wilderness Stewardship (SWS).
Building on last year’s successful scholarship program funded by a Grassroots Network grant, the Sierra Club CA/NV Wilderness Committee is offering to cover the registration fee for Sierra Club members and others interested in learning about wilderness stewardship and advocacy. We especially welcome people who have often been underrepresented in wilderness access, education and organizations. We encourage Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, those who are other-abled, or who feel marginalized or excluded for economic or other reasons, to take advantage of this scholarship opportunity.
Scholarships for the National Wilderness Workshop may be available for Sierra Club members through the Sierra Club Scholarship Participant Registration link at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2021NWW_SierraClub This link may not say anything about registration being "free" but I believe it is for Sierra Club participants. (Wording slightly revised 10/10/21 at 8:25 PDT.)