November 2023 Newsletter

 
Photograph by Timothy C. Mayo.  
 
Dear Supporter, 

This time of year is distinct for many reasons – the holidays are approaching, winter is setting in, and 2023 is winding to a close. For me, it’s a time of reflection, giving, and gratitude. I’d like to open this month’s newsletter with a quote from Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer, scientist and author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. On gratitude, she writes,

“Gratitude is our first, but not our only gift. We are storytellers, music makers, devisers of ingenious machines, healers, scientists, and lovers of an Earth who ask that we give our own unique gifts on behalf of life. Let us live in a way that Earth will be grateful for us.”

During this season of gratitude and giving, I am especially grateful for the Sierra Club Wyoming community and the work we have accomplished together. Read on to learn about what we’re up to this month, and how you can get involved. 
 
Chapter Elections
 
​​​​​​All Sierra Club Wyoming Chapter members are invited to vote in our 2023 Chapter Board Election. This year we have five excellent candidates running for five open seats on the Board. You can learn more about our candidates and cast your vote using the button below. Voting will remain open until December 8th. Thank you for helping us build a strong Wyoming Chapter! 

 
Vote Here

2024 Budget Session 

The 2024 Wyoming State Legislature’s budget session is still a couple months out, but we are closely tracking interim committees as they prepare draft legislation. The session will open January 10th and as always, we will do our best to help our members and supporters across the state keep up with legislative activities and know when and how to participate. Please sign up for our legislative updates by clicking here or contact Conor Mullen if you would like to get involved with planning events and other legislative volunteer opportunities. 

Rock Springs RMP Event in Laramie

Join us for an unforgettable evening on November 30th as we host the WY Red Desert Protection Party at Sunshine Coffee! Your presence will help us protect and preserve this unique and precious landscape for generations to come. See you there! 

RSVP

Rate Case Update

Last week the Wyoming Public Service Commission wrapped up seven days of hearings on Rocky Mountain Power’s proposed rate increases. As an official intervening party in the case, the Sierra Club was there advocating for company accountability and fairer rates. The Commission will now review the case, including over 3000 public comments, and make a final decision later this month. We’ll share updates with you when that happens, and in the meantime, read this editorial from Sierra Club volunteer, Andrew Schneider, on why utility accountability matters. 
 
 

I hope to see you on the trail soon!


Cheers,
Rob Joyce

Legislative Wrap-up

March 20, 2024
The 2024 Wyoming State Legislature adjourned earlier this month and Governor Gordon is working his way through a small mountain of bills passed during the short, but jam-packed, twenty-day budget session. This year was unfortunately fraught from day...

A New Year, and a New (Urgent) Opportunity to Save Biodiversity

January 14, 2022
“Cultivating reverence for the simple wonders of life is, in our times, a powerful act of resistance. Choosing to step outside, to open our eyes, ears, and hearts to the presence of this beautiful planet takes courage and freedom. Society has...

WHY WE CAN’T WAIT TO ACT ON CLIMATE

August 18, 2021
Last week the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a new report outlining the root causes and disastrous future impacts of a warming world. Sierra Club volunteer and climate activist, Greg Findley, writes about why we have no time to...

Climate Change in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

May 4, 2021
The first major climate assessment focusing on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) forecasts rising temperatures for the entire ecosystem over the next 50 years. These climatic changes are predicted to shrink the snowpack and change the timing...

LTE: "It shouldn't be business as usual"

April 14, 2021
Sierra Club Wy Chapter Chapter Chair Debra Park, from Casper, WY, wrote a Letter to the Editor published in the Casper Star Tribune on April 4, 2021. She writes to express her disappointment in comments made by the director of the Wyoming Game and...

Blackrock Field Camp

April 14, 2021
Sierra Club member Kim Wilbert describes a spectacular day spent at the Blackrock Field Camp with 5th graders from the Wind River Indian Reservation in central Wyoming.

Debra Haaland Makes History Again

April 13, 2021
In 2019, Debra Haaland’s nomination to the House of Representatives gave Native American women representation within the U.S. legal system for the first time in 243 years. Now, Haaland is taking on another historic role, as the U.S. Secretary of the...