Do you remember Joni Mitchel’s quote?

“You don’t always know what you’ve got ‘till its gone, 
they paved paradise and they put up a parking lot.”

If you do remember, you are likely one of the Boomers who make up the majority of Sierra Club Members.  Attracting the Millennials to join up is an ongoing challenge.  Our newest elected Executive Committee member is Samantha Miller and she is, among other things, a Millennial!

Regardless of age, we Sierra Club activists believe in the motto Explore, Enjoy and Protect the Wild Places on Earth. We often like to share our stories of what attracted us to the Sierra Club and led us to join. This is a good way to build camaraderie amongst a  group of people.  Indeed, finding common ground and sharing similar passions around the environment and the life it holds is a powerful means of forming a group, a chapter and a National organization that boasts the largest grassroots environmental organization in the world.

The Sierra Club has 3.8 million members and supporters.  Our Colorado Chapter has almost 34,000 and your Headwaters Group has 710 members and supporter's in Summit, Eagle and Grand counties. That makes our little group one of the biggest non-profits in the the three counties.  Unlike most other environmental organizations the Sierra Club is active politically on the local and National level.  Our Chapter was the first environmental organization to endorse Gov. Polis for his campaign to be Governor.  Beth Groundwater leads our Legislative action for our local group, assisted by Elise Lowe-Vaughn.

While the Headwaters group is one of the smaller groups in the Colorado Chapter, we  punch above our weight.

Since our revitalization in 2015, we have made some notable progress.

• We became the first Western Slope Community to adopt the Ready For 100 Campaign - county wide for Summit County, committing to 100% clean energy by 2050.
• We led a plastic free campaign that stopped indiscriminate use of plastic straws in Summit’s restaurant industry and were influential in current bans on plastic bags and the sales of single use plastic water bottles.
• For 10 years we have collected hundreds of bags of trash from our adopted highway along the Blue river in Breck.  We planted native seeds and pulled noxious weeds for Swan Mountain Restoration.
• Multiple educational programs including the film; Fracking the System to the the importance of Beavers to our ecosystems health. Programs that have provided both entertainment while  promoting awareness  around important issues.
• Wildlife, water, wilderness and wildflowers have been popular themes for our outings.
• The Headwaters Group was the most influential and active group in the State to get the wolf restoration on the ballot.  Despite the setbacks and the ongoing political interference three new wolf families are now on our public lands.

The wolf campaign turned out to be the Chapter’s most vibrant campaign in history!   With more volunteer hours, member engagement and donations and partnerships with other NGO’s and State Government than any other campaign!  By all measures!

The wolf campaign, more than any other, demonstrated the power of the grassroots.  Individual’s like Rose Pray, collected over 1200 signatures and recruited 15 petition gatherers for the Ballot Initiative.  Others built power by collaborating with other groups and organizations and securing the National Sierra Club’s endorsement .  The collective people power was truly a victory to celebrate. Like all grassroots efforts it begins with a passion for the cause.

Passion for all of our efforts over the years has been integral to our successes.   Equally important is our respect for each others view points and efforts.  We don’t always agree on where to focus our energy, time and dollars but we agree to abide by the decisions we make and support them and never undermine other’s efforts.

Sherie Sobke may have said it best. I have to paraphrase here:  Our group energizes me by empathizing with my care for the Earth and the life that it holds.  I too, get energy from others with their same compassion for the environment.  A welcoming group of people that bring their best intentions forward in an atmosphere of mutual respect and support is truly a blessing.

We have built trust, respect and friendships that endure. The Sierra Club made that possible.

We have twelve new members in July to acknowledge:

Welcome to the Headwaters!
Our group will be have our monthly meeting Thursday August 7th. At 5:45 pm till 7:30pm.  We will have food and beverages outside along the Blue River at Alpine Gardens.

No zoom for this meeting.  All must be present.  We will be setting our priorities and goals, facilitated by our newest Executive Committee Member, Samantha Miller.

For ten years the four W’s have guided our group.  Wildlife, Wilderness, Water and Weeds.

While we remain flexible enough to direct and redirect our energy to issues as they arise, it is a challenge to prioritize our efforts.   So many things pulling at us to make a better habitat for all, is a daunting task.  But know this, new members and old, your voice will be heard, respected and valued.  So too, will your presence.

We may not be able to stop every parking lot, but we do know what we got in the Headwaters Group.

As we deliberate, we will have the ripples flowing from the Blue River quietly renewing our spirits.  I hope you will join us.

Kent Abernethy - Chair

Our Executive Committee:

To learn more about us or to RSVP for our upcoming meeting visit our Webpage:https://www.sierraclub.org/colorado/headwaters