Come hear a speech on April 19 by Sarah James, a powerful Gwich'in woman who has been a voice for indigenous rights, human rights, and environmental issues for over 10 years. Since 1988 she has been a leader in the fight to prevent oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Sarah's home is in Arctic Village, Alaska, the northernmost Native village in the United States. Gwich'in are caribou people, and much of their diet is based on wild caribou meat. The current proposal by the Bush administration to open up the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil corporations for exploration and drilling will have adverse impacts on her community, including threatening caribou breeding grounds. Ms. James is a Board Member of the Gwich'in Steering Committee and the International Indian Treaty Council, member of the Arctic Village Council.

She has continuously worked to educate Congress about maintaining ANWR’s protected status. In 2000, she traveled to the international climate change talks in the Netherlands to publicize the connection between global warming and the degradation of the Arctic. James is currently coordinating the efforts of various native peoples to develop sustainable sources of energy in the region. As a result of her work, solar power was recently installed in two Gwich’in villages. James also offers inspiration and guidance to the next generation of Gwich’in. This year, she helped organize the Gwich’in Young Peoples Gathering, a five-day assembly to celebrate and to strategize about ANWR conservation.

Ms. James will be speaking at Mt San Antonio College, April 19, from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm. She will be speaking in the auditorium building 26 B101, at 1100 North Grand Ave, Walnut CA 91789.

Clair Tappaan Lodge
by Susan Lucille

Would you like to stay at a ski resort that offered you the opportunity to meet interesting people from all over the world, eat three wonderful meals a day, enjoy some of the best cross-country skiing in the country, take a hike on the Pacific Crest Trail, then relax in a hot tub? All for $47 a night? If your answer is yes, then you need to get yourself up to Clair Tappaan Lodge before Carl Pope, the Sierra Club¹s Executive Director, sells it off.

In 1934 Sierra Club volunteers built the lodge in the Tahoe National Forest at Donner Summit. The lodge belongs to all members. Over the last decade or so, Clair Tappaan Lodge (CTL) has lost money; sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. Recently the loss has been on the order of $100,000 per year, and the lodge is projected to lose $111,000 this year. Two years ago, the Sierra Club Board of Directors set up a special task force to study CTL, and as a result of the task force and its recommendations, the Board directed that the management of CTL be turned over to an outside company; that the Club spend $250,000 on improvements at CTL; and that CTL should break even within three to five years.

The outside management firm, Miramar, has been hired, and the Club has spent $250,000 on improvements. Now, however, for various reasons as part of the 2005 budget, the Board passed a resolution requiring that by September 30, 2005, CTL supporters get the lodge well on the way to break-even operation and raise $100,000 in donations.

If we lose Clair Tappaan Lodge, do you think we can ever secure such a property again? Of course not. Yes, there are several other Sierra Club owned properties nearer our Los Angeles Chapter which also deserve your support through use or volunteerism, but none are as big, have a permanent staff, and provide such world-class range of winter and summer activities. Pope wants to sell the lodge immediately. Why didn't he have the Sierra Club staff send out information to all chapters telling them to inform members in local newspapers about the benefits and problems of this lodge? Why isn't there a colorful and full article about Clair Tappaan Lodge in our national magazine? All Sierra Club leaders should be encouraged to lead outings to the lodge throughout the week, especially in spring and fall.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

Donate. The Angeles Chapter's Gay and Lesbian Section donated $100 directly to the Save Clair Tappaan fund. If every Sierra Club section sent them the same or if every member sent them a few dollars, our lodge would not be sold off. Note that if you donate to the Sierra Club Foundation, which is tax deductible, your money can be used for several approved causes, not just CTL. If you send a check to strictly Save CTL, it is not considered tax deductible. Mail checks to: Save CTL, c/o Mary Bernstein, Treasurer, 1212 Byron St, Palo Alto CA 94301; or visit www.saveCTL.org/ to make credit card donations.

Stay at Clair Tappaan Lodge. Increasing the occupancy rate is the most painless way to increase revenue. The lodge is open all year long and there are always wonderful activities such as hiking, photography, wildflowers viewing, and biking.

To learn more visit the website or contact Kathy Wells at kathy.wells@sierraclub.org.

SOKA Will Become Public Parkland
by Mary Ann Webster, Sierra Club Angeles Chapter Santa Monica Mountains Task Force

On April 14, the final papers were signed to make SOKA public parkland forever. The California Coastal Conservancy and State Public Works Board gave the final two approvals needed to seal the deal on the $35 million dollar acquisition by the public of these beautiful 588 acres located in the heart of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. This remarkable accomplishment could not have happened without the broad community support that mobilized when SOKA suddenly became a willing seller. Voter-approved resource bond funds provided the majority of the money, supported by private donations from the cities of Agoura Hills and Calabasas. Thanks should also be extended to all the partners in this acquisition effort—Wildlife Conservation Board, State Parks, National Park Service, Coastal Conservancy, L.A. County, Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, and to the “Committee to Save SOKA", led by Mountains Restoration Trust. Several Sierra Club entities donated generous funds through the Committee, including the Backpacking Group, WLA Group, San Fernando Valley Group, and the Santa Monica Mountains Task Force. In addition, many individual Sierra Club members gave money.

The ultimate thanks should go to the Sierra Club, who (along with two other entities) brought suit against L.A. County and the faulty EIR re the SOKA property. The case, with attorney Frank Angel, went all the way to the State Court of Appeals, and the SC and friends won the case. This effectively meant that SOKA University could not expand its campus and was probably the most important factor in SOKA becoming a willing seller.

SOKA University, now likely to regain its historic name of the King Gillette Ranch, will remain in SOKA’s possession until the end of December 2007 to allow its current students to graduate. This will also allow the park agencies time to work on a joint management plan, which will include resource protection and visitor uses.

410 acres will be held by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, 102 acres by State Parks, and 76 acres by the National Park Service. Escrow will close on or before April 15, 2005.

Congratulations to everyone who held tight to the dream and helped make this happen!

Molehills Out of Mountains

Mountaintop removal mining, a destructive practice that involves clear-cutting native forests, blasting away more than 1000 feet of mountaintop and burying streams with waste, is kicking into high gear with looser regulations and a new coal boom. The Sierra Club-sponsored documentary film entitled The Appalachians offers a unique overview of the region's history, a sampling of its rich musical traditions — including the last filmed interview with the Man in Black, Johnny Cash — and an eye-opening look at the issues residents face today.

The series will air on public television stations nationwide. Find out when The Appalachians is airing in your hometown.

2005: Nature’s Crisis
by Dave Foreman, Chairman and Executive Director, The Rewilding Institute
www.rewilding.org March 24, 2005 Please spread widely.
Permission is granted to print in publications only in its entirety and credited.

In my 35 years as a conservationist, I have never beheld such a bleak and depressing situation as I see today. The evidence for my despair falls into three categories: the state of Nature, the power of anti-conservationists, and appeasement and weakness within the conservation and environmental movements. I fear that on some level we must recognize that this state of affairs may be inevitable and impossible to turn around. That is the coward’s way out, though. The bleakness we face is all the more reason to stand tall for our values and to not flinch in the good fight. It is important for us to understand the parts and pieces of our predicament, so we might find ways to do better.

The State of Nature

I’ve just authored a book, Rewilding North America, which goes into considerable detail describing and trying to understand the Seven Ecological Wounds that drive the Sixth Great Extinction, which is the fundamental fact and problem in the world today. Around the world, direct killing of wildlife, habitat destruction, habitat fragmentation, loss of ecological processes, invasion by exotic species and diseases, ecosystem pollution, and catastrophic climate change are worsening. We six-and-a-half-billion too-clever apes are solely to blame. Despite impressive successes here and there, the overall state of Nature continues to decline. This is simple reality, despite the scolding we hear not to be doom-and-gloomers.

Power of the Anti-Conservationists

In the United States, the federal government has become the sworn enemy of conservation. Not only has the radical-right Presidency and Congress stopped any progress in the conservation and restoration of Nature, they are dedicated to overthrowing the twentieth century’s legacy of conservation and environmental policy and programs. They are unabashedly trying to go back to the unfettered, uncaring era of the robber barons in the late nineteenth century. This revolution is both philosophical and practical. Bad as this is, the radical-right is also dedicated to shredding science, particularly biology, and time-traveling back to before the Enlightenment. While the United States is an extraordinary political case, elsewhere some of the supposedly most civilized nations on the planet, such as Canada, Norway, and Japan, are again waging nineteenth-century crusades against wild Nature: frontier-forest mining, slaughter of troublesome animals (such as seals, wolves, bears), and commercial whaling, just for starters. Japanese, European, Chinese, and American businesses are looting the last wild places for timber, pulp, wildlife, minerals, and oil; opening up such places to further habitat destruction and bushmeat hunting by local people.

Although the radical-right control of the US Presidency and Congress was gained by a very small margin in 2004 (no mandate), it is backed by powerful and popular forces and by a shocking descent into prescientific irrationality by large sections of the public.

Appeasement and Weakness in the Conservation and Environmental Movements

The efforts to protect wild Nature and to clean up pollution face internal subversion from the right and left that leads to deep compromises not only on issues but also on fundamental principles. We can stuff these calls to compromise into several boxes, including sustainable development, resourcism, Nature deconstruction, politically correct progressivism, and anthropocentric environmentalism. First, some brief definitions: conservation is the movement to protect and restore wildlands and wildlife (Nature for its own sake); resourcism or resource conservation is the resource extraction ideology of the US Forest Service and other agencies (multiple-use/sustained yield); environmentalism is the campaign to clean up pollution for human health and make cities livable. The radical right has been disciplined about thinking and acting for the long term; we have failed in part because we do not have a long-term strategy to which we stick.

Internationally since the 1980s, conservation efforts to protect wildlands and habitat by means of national parks, game reserves, and other protected areas have been severely compromised as financial-aid agencies and even some top international conservation groups have shifted to promoting so-called sustainable development and community-based conservation. Although these approaches are sometimes sound conservation tactics, in practice they have elbowed Nature into second place. This establishment undercutting of Nature conservation has been joined by the leftist passion of some anthropologists and other social engineers to reject protected areas in favor of indigenous extractive reserves. Shockingly, sustainable development is coming close to dominating the pages even of publications about conservation biology, and gains more and more adherents in resource management graduate schools and large “conservation” organizations. Some members of the academic left have become deconstructors of Nature, denying that it independently exists, proclaiming that we invent it; therefore there is no reason to protect it.

Pressured from the left and right during the last twenty-five years, conservation and environmental organizations worldwide have moved away from forthright calls for zero population growth, even though human overpopulation is the underlying cause of all conservation and environmental problems. We hear a growing drumbeat that there is a dearth of births and that developed nations face economic collapse because of fewer young people. We are essentially silent in response to this cornucopian madness. Similarly, the conservation and environmental movements in general shy away from acknowledging the reality of human-caused mass extinction. If we don’t even clearly state the problem, how can we do anything about it?

We can also see a shift in the US from conservation to resourcism among several prominent and influential entities. Once the preeminent conserver of biological diversity, The Nature Conservancy has been steadily moving to a resourcist approach. They talk now of “working landscapes,” a fancy euphemism for logging and livestock grazing, and demand that their employees talk about people instead of Nature. High County News, once a feisty voice for grassroots conservationists in the West, has steadily turned into a voice for resourcism: not the preservation of wilderness, but the preservation of happy little resource-extraction communities, and for negotiated settlements between conservationists and resource-extraction industries, which usually favor industry. Some consultants, foundations, and political realists are urging grassroots wilderness groups to compromise in order to pass wilderness legislation that may or may not adequately protect existing wilderness. This encouragement of appeasement is based on a desire to pass bills, and an overreaction to the narrow victory of the radical right in the 2004 election. Another source for this push to compromise is the fuzzyheaded wish that if people only talk together, everything can be worked out.

Several bright young men have gained a disturbing amount of attention with their recent speeches about the “death” of environmentalism. Insofar as they consider Nature protection at all, they demand that conservationists drop their priorities to focus on social justice and other anthropocentric progressive causes. Overall, they call on environmental organizations to essentially go out of business and just become part of the progressive wing within the Democratic Party. The overwhelming identification of environmentalism with the progressive movement and the Democratic Party is a key reason that it lacks credibility with much of the American public.

Just as there has been a disturbing shift in attitudes among large segments of the American public, so have there been problematic changes among members of the conservation public. To be blunt, many of the employees and activists with conservation groups are ignorant of our history and have not read the classic books of conservation. There is an appalling lack of intellectual curiosity in the movement. On the whole, the radical right and grassroots anticonservationists both read and think more than do conservationists and environmentalists. As far as outdoor recreation goes, young people, who once would have been hikers and backpackers, now seek thrills on mountain bikes and thus cut themselves off from experiencing Nature and from having self-interest in protecting roadless areas. I don’t see kids out messing around in little wild patches; they’re inside, plugged in to a virtual reality.

These are trends. Of course there are exceptions. Dwelling on the exceptions, though, keeps us from doing something about the real problems. I’m not doing “nuance” here. This sober, unapologetic cataloging of the array of problems Nature conservationists face is, I am convinced, the first step in developing a more effective strategy.

In December of 1776, the American Revolution was in its darkest hour. In response, Tom Paine wrote his first “Crisis” paper: These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.

General Washington had the paper read to his miserable, disheartened troops in their frozen winter camps. There was no surrender. Years of hard battle lay ahead but victory was gained.

We need Tom Paine conservationists in our dark hour. Let us not apologize for loving wild Nature, for caring about other species, for speaking the truth. Reach out to others. Make deals when they are good deals. But let us not be frightened and browbeaten into appeasement. Let us instead offer a bold, hopeful vision for how wilderness and civilization can live together

Global Warming Heats Up

Cinergy, one of the United States' largest energy producers, released its 2004 annual report today, which was entirely devoted to the problem of global warming. Cinergy had made a habit of denying that global warming is a problem, but its turn around fits with a current trend of auto manufacturers, state governments, and industrial leaders acknowledging the seriousness of the issue. Now it's time for our federal government to get its head out of the sand and do something to curb greenhouse gas pollution.

Press Survey

1. The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country.
2. The Washington Post is read by people who think they run the country.
3. The New York Times is read by people who think they should run the country and who are very good at crossword puzzles.
4. USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country but don't really understand the New York Times. They do, however, like their statistics shown in pie charts.
5. The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn't mind running the country—if they could find the time—and if they didn't have to leave Southern California to do it.
6. The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run the country and did a far superior job of it, thank you very much.
7. The New York Daily News is read by people who aren't too sure who's running the country and don't really care as long as they can get a seat on the train.
8. The New York Post is read by people who don't care who's running the country as long as they do something really scandalous, preferably while intoxicated.
9. The Miami Herald is read by people who are running another country but need the baseball scores.
10. The San Francisco Chronicle is read by people who aren't sure there is a country—or that anyone is running it; but if so, they oppose all that they stand for. There are occasional exceptions if the leaders are handicapped minority feminist atheist dwarfs who also happen to be illegal aliens from any other country or galaxy provided, of course, that they are not Republicans.
11. The National Enquirer is read by people trapped in line at the grocery store.
12. None of these are read by the guy who is running the country into the ground.

Water: Taking and Giving

What the Bush administration takes away, Congress can give right back. That's the logic behind a new bill to restore protections to thousands of acres of wetlands and hundreds of miles of small streams across the US The Bush administration had unilaterally removed these protections despite strong objections from state governments, sportsmen, and many in Congress. Now 127 Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives are taking matters into their own hands by introducing the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act.

Sierra Club Showcase

Description of Sierra Showcase

The Convention Steering Committee will reserve an area in the Exhibition Hall where Sierra Club entities can showcase their work. Summit attendees will be able to engage in informal, one-on-one conversations with Club leaders about their activities, share and celebrate successes.

The Sierra Showcase will have two primary purposes:

1. To provide a forum where activists can share and learn from each other's successes.
2. To give all attendees a sense of the breadth of the Sierra Club's work.

Participant Costs

There will be a $75 fee to participate in the Sierra Showcase in order to cover the costs of bulletin boards and tables. All costs associated with producing materials for the Sierra Showcase will be borne by the participating entities. Showcase presenters who are not registering for the Convention will receive passes allowing entrance into the Exhibition Hall on the days that their displays are present, but will not receive free entrance to other Sierra Summit activities.

2003 and 2004 California Coastal Commission Conservation Voting Charts online!!!
Tarren Collins, Chair, Sierra Club's Great Coastal Places Campaign

Hot off the presses! The 2003 & 2004 California Coastal Commission Conservation Voting Charts are finished and online for the world to see at http://www.sierraclub.org/ca/coasts/

The CCC Conservation Voting Charts area a joint enterprise of the Sierra Club Coastal Program, the Surfrider Foundation, League for Coastal Protection, and the California Coastkeeper Alliance. These essential records shine the spotlight on how our Coastal Commissioners and their alternates voted on key projects. Votes analyzed were selected in consultation with coastal conservation activists based on their likely impact on coastal resources and their potential to set important statewide precedents. These voting charts have been prepared for the last 18 years.

Many thanks to Sierra Club Coastal Program Director Mark Massara for his hard work on these important voting charts. Mark advocates for coastal protection at each monthly Coastal Commission meeting, and writes CoastWatcher — an informative and entertaining chronicle of each meeting.

You can subscribe to this newsletter at http://www.sierraclub.org/ca/coasts/

Convention Resolutions

Resolutions will be considered at the Sierra Club California Convention on June 4-5, 2005, under the provisions of the following standing rule. Any resolution from a Chapter must be submitted to the ExComm by its May 7, 2005 meeting.

CONVENTION RESOLUTIONS
(Standing Rule)

1. Under Sierra Club California Bylaws, the Annual Convention has the following powers and responsibilities related to resolutions

• It may advise the California Executive Committee about what the priorities of Sierra Club California should be.
• It may advise the California Executive Committee about the contents of any standing rule adopted or proposed for adoption by the California Executive Committee.
• It may advise the California Executive Committee about the amount of the dues allocations to chapters that should be used to support programs of Sierra Club California.
• It may adopt a resolution to approve a decision to support or oppose a candidate for California statewide office.
• It may act on any other matter referred to it by the California Executive Committee.

NOTE: Conservation resolutions should be directed to the California Conservation Committee and general Sierra Club policy resolutions may be directed to the individual chapters.

2. Any California Chapter or the California Conservation Committee may propose a resolution on the above topics for consideration at the annual convention under the following procedures:

• The resolution must be presented by email or in writing to the Executive Committee Chair prior to the last scheduled Executive Committee meeting before the Convention or May 1, whichever is later.
• The Executive Committee Chair will submit the resolution to the Executive Committee for its decision as to whether the resolution will be referred to the convention. The Executive Committee will make such a decision at least two weeks before the convention. If the decision is to present the resolution to the convention, it will be distributed by email to all delegates to the convention prior to the convention and be presented for consideration by the convention.

3. A resolution will be considered by the convention other than by the above procedure only on a motion to amend the agenda at the beginning of the convention passed a vote of majority of delegates or a motion to add to the agenda during the convention passed by a vote of two-thirds of the delegates.

Alan Carlton <carltonal@yahoo.com>
March 28, 2005

SCCal ExComm Election Procedure

At the June 2003 Sierra Club California Convention, there was perceived to be a problem with elections for ExComm members from the requirement that there be runoffs until all the ExComm members were elected by a majority. The runoffs took time to prepare new ballots and count repeated votes.

To remedy this perceived problem, the 2003 Convention passed a form of instant runoff voting. One feature of the change that was not made known at the 2003 Convention is that, because of the threshold requirement, a candidate who received merely 16 first place votes would be elected even if no one else voted for him or her at all. The procedure was used at the 2004 Convention, and no candidate was elected with just that few votes.

After the 2004 Convention, the Sierra Club California ExComm appointed a committee to examine further changes in election procedure. The committee consisted of Alan Carlton, Dan Sullivan, Richard Miller, Allen Bartleman, Kitty McLean, and Stan Haye. The Committee now proposes to change the election rule for ExComm to the rule used in all other Sierra Club elections: the top vote getters are elected even though some may not have a majority. There is only a run off in case of a tie for the last position. For the Chair election, the Committee proposes a simple form of instant run off voting that does not involve a threshold and assures that the Chair will be elected by a majority of voters.

The proposed change is set forth below followed by the text of the existing rule. To adopt the bylaw change, it must be initiated by a vote of two thirds of the ExComm and then passed by a vote of a majority of the Convention. The change must also be approved by the National Bylaws Committee. It is proposed to vote on the change at the May ExComm meeting to try to obtain advance approval of the National Bylaws Committee, to vote on the proposed change early in the June 2005 Convention, and, if it passes, to use the procedure for the June 2005 election.

PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO BYLAW

2.10B An Elections Committee consisting of at least three Sierra Club members shall be appointed by the California Executive Committee prior to the annual convention. No nominees may serve on the Elections Committee. Nominees shall be permitted to address the annual convention. Voting shall be by secret written ballot. The Elections Committee shall count the ballots and announce the results. Each nominee may observe or appoint a representative to observe the ballot counting process. AMENDED TEXT BEGINS HERE: The election for Chair will be held first, using an "instant runoff" procedure prescribed in a standing rule adopted by the California Executive Committee. The election for the other members of the California Executive Committee will then be held, and the nominees receiving the highest number of votes shall be elected. If there is a tie for the last position to be filled, a runoff election will be held among those tied to fill the vacancy. If there is a tie in the runoff, the winner will be chosen by lot. AMENDED TEXT ENDS. All ballots shall be retained by the Elections Committee until their destruction is authorized by the California Executive Committee.

ADD to current standing rule on Cal ExComm election procedure:

9. Each voter shall be allowed to rank nominees for Chair in order of preference. The ballot-counting shall follow the procedure described below.

Count the total number of ballots cast for Chair.
Count all first-choice votes for each candidate for Chair.

If the first-choice votes for any candidate are a majority of the total number of ballots cast for Chair, that candidate is elected. If no candidate is elected based on first-choice votes, the candidate with the lowest number of first-choice votes is eliminated, and the first-choice ballots for that candidate are redistributed to the second-choice candidates listed on those ballots.

If the first redistribution of votes gives any candidate a majority of the total number of ballots cast for Chair, that candidate is elected. If not, the candidate with the lowest number of first-choice and redistributed second-choice votes is eliminated, and the ballots for that candidate are redistributed to the next choice candidate (if any) who has not been eliminated in the first or second round of ballot-counting.

After the second redistribution, the candidate with the highest number of first-choice and redistributed votes is elected Chair, regardless of whether he or she has received a majority of the total votes cast. Ties shall be broken in favor of the candidate who had the most votes in the previous round of ballot-counting. If two candidates had the same number of votes in all previous rounds, the tie shall be broken by lot.

EXISTING RULE PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED

2.10B An Elections Committee consisting of at least three Sierra Club members shall be appointed by the California Executive Committee prior to the annual convention. No nominees may serve on the Elections Committee. Nominees shall be permitted to address the annual convention. Voting shall be by secret written ballot. The Elections Committee shall count the ballots and announce the results. Each nominee may observe or appoint a representative to observe the ballot counting process. The nominees with the most votes, and more than a majority, shall be elected. If there is a tie for the last position to be filled, runoff elections will be held among those tied to fill the vacancy. If too few attain a majority to fill all positions, the nominee (or, if tied, nominees) with the fewest votes shall be deleted and the Convention shall vote to fill the remaining positions. All ballots shall be retained by the Elections Committee until their destruction is authorized by the California Executive Committee.

2.10C Bylaw adopted by Sierra Club California Convention (June 8, 2003)

(Note: The book referred to in the bylaw language below is available online at http://www.aceproject.org/main/english/es/esf04.htm. A hard copy of the book can be ordered from the http://www.idea.int/, and a pdf of the book can be from http://www.idea.int/esd/publications.cfm)

Adopted Bylaw Language

Each voter shall be allowed to rank nominees in order of preference. Ballot shall be counted by choice voting using fractional transfers as described in “The International IDEA Handbook of Electoral System Design,” second edition, page 83.

Description of ballot counting (recommended for adoption as a standing rule)

1. Computer threshold for election equal to Votes
2. Count all first choice votes.
3. If any candidate has more votes than the threshold, he/she is elected, and all surplus votes are transferred to the voter’s next choice at a fractional value.
4. After transferring all surplus votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and each vote is transferred at full value to the voter’s next choice.

Repeat steps 3 and 4 until all seats are filled.

Ties shall be broken in favor of the candidate who had the most votes in the previous round of counting. If two candidates have the same number of votes in all previous rounds, the tie shall be broken by lot.

User Friendly Website
by Vicki Lee

I find this website incredibly user friendly: www.aroundthecapitol.com

It contains easily accessible information on legislation, candidates (and their contributors), legislators (and district demographics), and much more. It's easy to register, and easy to use

Are Off-Road Vehicles a Problem in Your Area?

Sierra Club's national Recreation Issues Committee (RIC) is offering assistance to Club leaders who are campaigning locally for better ORV management on public lands. We can provide both strategic advice and technical help. Monitoring ORV impacts is also a great way to get new volunteers involved and making a difference. For more information, contact Keren Murphy, keren.murphy@sierraclub.org and/or see our webpage www.sierraclub.org/recreationissues which has links to the Club's recreation-related policies.

Vicky Hoover <vicky.hoover@sierraclub.org>
Recreation Issues Committee, Member, and liaison to OAGC
(415) 977-5527

Pombo Attacks National Environmental Policy Act

Representative Pombo has created a task force on "improving" the National Environmental Policy Act. This Task Force is a select, bi-partisan group of Resource Committee members selected by Chairman Pombo and Ranking Member Rahall charged with reviewing and making recommendations on "improving" the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The goal is to ensure that the original intent of NEPA — that federal decisions are made in an appropriately environmentally sound manner, rather than being focused by litigation.

The NEPA Task Force will conduct up to 6 field hearings across the country to hear testimony on a range of issues in the parts of the country where those issues matter most.

SC California Nominations

At the Sierra Club California Convention on June 4-5, 2005, in San Luis Obispo, the delegates will elect a State Chair and four SCCal ExComm members.

If you want to propose a candidate or if you are interested yourself in running for Chair or the ExComm, please contact any of the Committee members as soon as possible.

The Nominating Committee will make its nominations prior to the end of April.

The Nominating Committee members are:

Ladd Seekins, Chair, San Gorgonio Chp, 909-825-4427, iwfladd@eee.org
Helen Burke, SFBay Chp, 510-527-0176 helenburke@earthlink.net
Vicki Lee, Mother Lode Chp, 916-447-3670. vickilee10@comcast.net
Ada Babine, Los Padres Chp, 805-962-2042. adamb130@cox.net
Karen Merriam, Santa Lucia Chp, 805-544-6628. kmerriam@digitalputty.com
Joan Jones Holtz, Angeles Chp, 626-443-0706, jholtzhln@aol.com
Robin Ives, CCC Rep, 909-624-5522, ivesico@earthlink.net

House Energy Bill Expands Role of Interior Department

A controversial provision in the energy bill from last Congress that dramatically expands the authority of the Department of Interior (DOI) to approve drilling rigs, liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities and other offshore energy projects has reemerged in a recently released House version of a draft energy bill. Critics say the proposal would undermine environmental reviews and other considerations by granting the DOI prime authority over such projects, while proponents say the move is necessary to streamline the federal permitting process and boost domestic production of energy supplies.

The provision, if enacted, vests the DOI with the authority to grant "lease, easement, or right-of-way on the Outer Continental Shelf" for energy and related purposes. The provision is a departure from last session's bill in that it grants DOI this authority for energy exploration in a more narrow area of the OCS instead of the vaster Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). While the OCS consists of submerged lands extending three nautical miles off the coastline, the EEZ reaches 200 nautical miles from the coastline. Congressional sources say the language was watered down to overcome opposition to granting DOI unilateral authority over offshore energy resources.

"The EEZ was too much of a lightning rod," says a source following the debate. The draft energy bill is being circulated in the hallways of Congress ahead of a House energy committee markup.

The provision, contained in Section 321 of the bill's oil and gas title, also allows the use of a so-called floating production, storage and offloading system for offshore oil production. The system consists of tankers that are moored out at sea and which store crude oil as it is produced. Smaller shuttle tankers are used to carry the oil ashore. The measure is sharply opposed by environmentalists who argue that these systems pose a greater risk of marine pollution than traditional offshore oil platforms that are anchored to the ocean floor. This provision was not included in last session's bill. The proposal added to the House energy bill last Congress by House energy and mineral resources subcommittee chairman, Rep. Barbara Cubin (R-WY), assigned DOI to be the prime federal agency within the 200-mile US EEZ. The measure gave DOI primacy over expedited approval of LNG processing facilities, conversion of offshore oil platforms to new uses, seabed petroleum pipelines, and offshore wind and wave energy installations. Currently, the authority is dispersed among various federal agencies, including Coast Guard for offshore LNG terminals and the the Army Corps of Engineers for offshore wind projects. DOI has permitting authority only over oil and gas exploration offshore.

Complementary language was included in the original GOP-backed Senate bill last Congress, but because of last-minute legislative maneuvering, the GOP bill was dropped in favor of the energy bill approved by the Democrat-controlled Senate in the 107th Congress, which did not include the language. The House language was included in the final bill developed by the
House-Senate conference committee. At the time, opponents of the provision did not threaten a Senate filibuster over the language.

Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) had included similar language in the chairman's mark of the Senate energy bill, which was never voted on. According to congressional sources, several prominent Democrats were expected to offer amendments to strip the language from the bill before negotiations on the comprehensive energy bill collapsed. It is unclear if the measure will be included in a Senate version of the energy bill this Congress, but congressional sources indicate it will be opposed by many coastal state lawmakers from both parties.

Environmentalists say that while they agree there is a need for a new licensing regime that would permit offshore energy projects, the Cubin language is a poor solution. "The lead role has to be [assumed] by an agency that has a lot of expertise in handling offshore activities," says one activist. Rep. William Delahunt (D-MA) proposed a bill last Congress that would have given the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration jurisdiction to develop regulations to authorize offshore energy projects.

The bill was referred to the House Resources Committee.

Coastal Commission Update
by Bill Allayaud, State Director

The President of the Senate, Don Perata "called for the list" on Wed, April 6, to allow him to consider appointing a new person to the South Coast slot on the Coastal Commission. This is great news and we owe him big thanks. The Senate Rules Committee, which he chairs, appoints four persons to the Commission. While the law says it the Rules Committee, this position is traditionally the personal pick of the leader of the Senate. The incumbent commissioner for the South Coast, Toni Iseman, has been a disappointing vote (and enviros initially supported her appointment to the Commission) and she was hoping that he would not call for a list and instead reappoint her. The list is produced by the local governments from L.A. and Orange counties who get together and nominate a list of persons to give to the appointing authority. So, a call for the list signals that Perata may not reappoint Iseman. Now, we hope the locals give us some good choices. With Governor Schwarzenegger's appointments, save one, bad for the coast, and a couple of dicey appointments from the Speaker of the Assembly (holdovers, as Nunez has not had a chance to appoint anyone yet), the Senate's choices are more critical than ever.

In other news, the Supreme Court met in Los Angeles and heard arguments about the constitutionality of the Commission. Needless to say, a negative decision by the Court would be horrible news and would likely lead to immediate action by the Legislature to remedy the situation. All eyes will be on the Governor to see what he does if the vote goes against the Commission. He will need to round up Republican votes in order to move an urgency measure through the Legislature, as such measures take a 2/3 vote. If the Legislature/Governor is unable to keep a strong Commission in such a dire situation, some have talked about doing a new coastal initiative ASAP. Hopefully, it will not come to that, as the current law is excellent and the costs of initiatives are daunting, even though we are confident the voters would restore a strong Commission to protect their coast.

David Geffen’s Proposed Legal Settlement Rejected by Coastal Commission

On March 16, in closed session, the Coastal Commission rejected a proposal by billionaire entertainment mogul David Geffen that the Commission provide Geffen more time to avoid opening the public accessway adjacent to his Carbon Beach (Malibu) house in order to allow Geffen to try to purchase beach property for public access somewhere else. Now that Geffen’s various lawsuits (designed to delay his having to open the public access trail, which he has blocked illegally for over 20 years) challenging the Coastal Commission and the non-profit public access organization Access For All are almost completely exhausted, look for an increasingly desperate Geffen to start throwing money in all directions in order to avoid public access near his house. To check out Geffen’s pad, go to www.cacoast.org/3953. For the latest news chronicling celebrity beach access takeovers involving Geffen’s neighbors on nearby Broad Beach, Malibu, go to http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/news/31605-ent-malibu.html

Mark Massara, California CoastWatcher March 2005

El Morro Village Scandal

It may come as no surprise, but it turns out that the Sacramento politician (Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine) trying hardest to prevent the public from being able to return to the El Morro Village part of Crystal Cove State Park is the one who has taken over $66,000 from residents who currently enjoy a private beach and community there. DeVore’s legislative proposal would allow residents to exclude the public for another 30 years.

PV Conservation Effort

Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy (PVPLC) is up to more good work with the kick off of a $6 million fundraising drive in order to permanently protect 600 acres at Portuguese Bend, part of a larger $17 million buyout that other local and state government agencies are also poised to contribute to. Read the news at http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/articles/1384332.html. Join the campaign and support PVPLC at http://www.pvplc.org/. See the place at www.cacoast.org/8398.

Mark Massara

Trump Plans 150 “Casitas” at Ocean Trails

Now comes news that Donald Trump, who now owns the Palos Verdes golf course formerly known as Ocean Trails (now called “Trump something or other”) — famous for its land sliding into the sea — has just announced plans to seek permission to squeeze 150 hotel rooms in between the golf course and a row of mansion sites he is hoping to sell for between $7 million and $15 million each. Perhaps Trump doesn’t realize the Coastal Commission just approved 600 hotel rooms a year ago for the old Marine Land site at Long Point, just a mile or so from Trump’s new golf course.

Mark Massara

You Can Now Buy "Coastal Clash"

Coastal Clash, the outstanding documentary produced by Bay Area public television station KQED and surfer/photographer Elizabeth Pepin, is now available on DVD, so you can watch it anytime, anywhere. Get it at http://www.kqed.org/w/coastalclash/home.html

Mark Massara

Newmont Mining Fights Off Lawsuit Over Mercury
Pollution in Peru

Continuing its energetic pursuit of the Worst Global Corporate Citizen Award, Denver-based Newmont Mining Corp. is headed into legal battle with Peruvian peasants suffering long-term health consequences from mercury contamination around one of the company's gold mines. In June of 2000, a truck carrying canisters of liquid mercury—a toxic byproduct of gold extraction — leaked some 330 pounds of the stuff out onto the highway. Next thing you know, peasant children were taking blobs home on spoons and their parents were boiling it, trying to extract gold. Oops! Needless to say, said villagers are now suffering from an array of horrific health problems, from headaches to loss of vision to fainting spells. For three years, Newmont fought to keep the case out of US courts, finally agreeing to mediation talks held in January. But those talks were unsuccessful, and the plaintiffs now plan to press their case in a Denver court. If they win, their lawyers claim it will be the first time a US company is held liable in the US for environmental contamination outside the country.

Everyday Heroes: Thirty-Five Years of the California Environmental Quality Act

How has the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) changed California for the better? And why are sprawl developers and other special interests attacking the fundamental environmental rights of Californians now?

A new report by the Planning and Conservation League, PCL Foundation, and the California League of Conservation Voters helps answer these questions. This report, entitled Everyday Heroes Protect the Air We Breathe, the Water We Drink, and the Natural Areas We Prize: Thirty-Five Years of the California Environmental Quality Act, is a compilation of 20 essays and over 75 CEQA success stories written by some of California's foremost environmental leaders.

Everyday Heroes shows how, through the Environmental Quality Act, Californians have achieved a legacy of environmental and public health protections that have shaped the state and provided an example of environmental achievement to the nation.

Examples of success stories featured in Everyday Heroes include protecting schoolchildren from diesel fumes in Sacramento, toppling a proposed toxic waste incinerator in East Los Angeles, reducing pollution at the Port of Los Angeles, cleaning up oil refineries, reducing sewage overflows in San Francisco, beating back sprawl in Antioch, keeping the Santa Monica Mountains pristine, rethinking the Century Freeway in LA, preserving California's farmland, and much, much more.

You can order the report online at https://secure.ga3.org/05/pcl_ceqa1 or request it from 921 11th St, Suite 300, Sacramento, CA 95814

Exhibit or Volunteer at Earth Day, 4/16 and 4/17

You are invited to join us at two major events in Los Angeles to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of Earth Day and honor our commitment to protecting Mother Earth.

Saturday, April 16, 10 am - 7 pm: Earth Day on the Promenade

We anticipate 15,000 people on the Santa Monica 3rd Street Promenade, Environmental Festival. To reserve your booth space or to volunteer, call 888-295-8372 or go to www.EarthDayLA.org.

Sunday, April 17, 10 am - 6:30 pm: WorldFest 2005: The Rhythms of Revolution
Some 10,000 people are expected at Woodley Park, Van Nuys (Victory Blvd. W of 405), Environmental Festival with 30 bands, 150 booths. Vendors contact Kristine Vasic at kristine@worldfestevents.com or (310) 740-1908. To download an Exhibitor Application, click here: http://www.worldfestevents.com/become_exhibitor.html. Volunteers click here www.WorldFestEvents.com or call (310) 477-7887 or email info@worldfestevents.com.

"Earth Day on the Promenade" is a regional event that brings Earth Day to a southern California premier shopping and entertainment destination, the famed Third Street Promenade, a pedestrian-only street three blocks long lined with most of the major national chain stores, plus dozens of gourmet restaurants and over 20 movie screens. Earth Day is FREE event for the whole family with projected attendance at 12,000 shoppers and entertainment seekers, plus 3,000 eco-oriented consumers.

By exhibiting at both events you will cover most of Los Angeles, including the entire Westside (over 1.7 million people) on April 16 and the entire Valley (over 1.6 million people) on April 17.

Kacy Palmieri, Exhibits Coordinator Earth Day Los Angeles
1247 Lincoln Blvd. #253, Santa Monica, CA 90401
Phone (888) 295-8372 Fax (310) 362-8400
A Project of International Humanities Center, a non-profit 501(c)3 TID 33-0767921

New Staff Person in Sacramento
By Bill Allayaud <allayaud@sierraclub-sac.org>

This week we welcome a new member of our staff at Sierra Club California, Sabrina Juarez. She is our new Legislative Aide, replacing Johanna Dyer, who has resigned to pursue other opportunities. Sabrina is in the Masters of International Affairs program at Sacramento State University, emphasizing environmental issues (a night program if you were wondering how she could do this!). She has a BA degree in International Relations from UC Davis and has been interning with Sierra Club California since January.

Our Legislative Aide position is a key one here at Sierra Club CA, especially as the legislative session revs up to top speed. She handles calls from individuals and chapters about what we are doing here. The leg aide also helps get your four legislative advocates where they need to go on a daily basis.

As we welcome Sabrina, we wish Johanna well on her new adventures and thank her for her work here.

Forest Campaign Launches 2005 Program;
Help Save Morrell Canyon!

This year the Southern California Forests Campaign is gearing up for the fast-approaching release of the FINAL management plans for the four southern California National Forests — Angeles, San Bernardino, Cleveland and Los Padres.

Soon we'll be inviting you to a community meeting in your area to hear from fascinating people like trails guru Jerry Schad or chaparral wildfire expert Rick Halsey. You'll also learn more about how you can help out by commenting on the final forest plans.

Your involvement is critical if we are to pass these last, great wild places on to future generations. In the next few months, we'll provide you with the information you need to protect our outstanding natural legacy.

Now read on to learn about a recent victory and how you can help a local volunteer stop the flooding of Morrell Canyon and its beautiful oak forest.

VICTORY! Road Through San Bernardino National Forest
Loses Funding

Thanks to everyone who wrote a letter opposing the construction of a new road through Bautista Canyon, a biological hot spot on the San Bernardino National Forest. The project ground to a halt this month at a meeting of various government agencies. The road would have hastened development near the forest and sacrificed Bautista Canyon to enrich developers. A Riverside County staff person told the Idyllwild Town Crier newspaper that "public opposition [was] stronger than expected." Shockingly, the Forest Service was prepared to pay $10 million of the public's money to build the road. We will be sure to alert you if this developers road is proposed again.

Robin Everett, a volunteer with the Sierra Club's Santa Ana Mountains Task Force, needs your help. An energy company is pushing hard to flood Morrell Canyon on the Cleveland National Forest to power a hydroelectric project.

The scheme would pump dirty water from Lake Elsinore into Morrell Canyon at night and then release the water during the day to create electricity to help support more sprawl in Riverside County. Here's what Robin has to say:

"Just two weeks ago, I walked along the beautiful stream that runs through the heart of Morrell Canyon. Sunlight and shadow played through the oak forest canopy of the canyon. Everywhere I looked, trees were leafing out and wildflowers were beginning to bloom. It's hard to believe anyone would propose killing this oak forest and flooding Morrell Canyon. But that is exactly what is happening."

Please help Robin save Morrell Canyon and its oak forest. Right now, the energy company planning to destroy this forest has asked the Forest Service for a permit to excavate an equipment access road, backhoe test pits and wells as a first step toward building a 180-foot tall dam and flooding the canyon.

Write to the Forest Service and oppose the project.

Environmental Resolutions Passed by Angeles ExComm
There were no resolutions passed by the Angeles ExComm this time. The ExComm could not act since it did not have a quorum.

Orange County Special Events

APR 17, SUN, 2-6 pm. Sierra Sage Annual Starr Ranch BBQ: Experience a beautiful wild area in Orange County that the public rarely gets to see — the magnificent 4,000-acre Audubon Starr Ranch Wildlife Sanctuary. We will celebrate with an old-fashioned BBQ and Country/Bluegrass entertainment by Chuck Buck's Saddle Mountain Band, guided hikes and bird and wildflower walks. Proceeds will benefit the Starr Ranch Wildlife Sanctuary and the Sierra Sage Group for use in several campaigns to preserve the remaining natural open spaces in Orange County. Wine & beer (small additional charge) and vegetarian burgers will also be available. Tickets must be purchased in advance — reservations will not be taken by phone. If significant rain occurs on April 17, the BBQ will be postponed one week to April 24. Adults $25, Children under 12 years old $12.50. Call Mike or Patty Sappingfield at (949) 768-3610 for further information. For tickets and a map, send checks payable to "Sierra Sage" and include a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: M. Griffith, 3238 Paseo Gallita, San Clemente CA 92672.

APR 21, THU, 7 pm. Trails Author Jerry Schad Details Little Known Back Country Trails
Noted author, educator, and trails expert Jerry Schad will present a slide-illustrated program entitled "Off the Beaten Track: Exploring the Wilds of the Cleveland National Forest” at the San Juan Capistrano Community Center on Thursday, April 21, 2005. A reception, open to all, begins at 7 pm with the program following at 7:30.

     Hidden just beyond the development and urban sprawl of Orange County is your chance to enjoy the natural world. Jerry Schad will share with you the best – and often little-known – backcountry hikes in the nearby Santa Ana Mountains and in other ranges to the south, from upper San Mateo Canyon – the best preserved stream in the Santa Anas – to wildflower-carpeted Laguna Meadow, at a mile-high elevation east of San Diego.

     Jerry Schad is the author of nine books on outdoor recreation and a recognized trails expert. His Afoot and Afield book series is the standard reference for hiking in Southern California. He is currently preparing a new edition of Afoot and Afield in Orange County, which includes the Cleveland National Forest's Trabuco Ranger District. In addition to scouting southern California trails and wild places, Jerry teaches astronomy and physical science at San Diego Mesa College and chairs the Physical Sciences Department.

     The Sierra Club's Santa Ana Mountains Task Force and its Southern California Forests Campaign are co-sponsoring the program. The Forests Campaign is a new Sierra Club effort to better protect our southern California national forests and to keep them outstanding places to visit. In addition to Jerry Schad, the program will also feature an update on simple actions we can all take to better protect the Santa Ana Mountains and our southern California Forests from the many threats they face. There will also be a brief tribute to John Muir, founder of the Sierra Club, whose birthday is April 21. The San Juan Capistrano Community Center is located at 25925 Del Avion, San Juan Capistrano, just a few minutes from the Ortega Highway exit on I-5. For detailed directions and to learn more about the Southern California Forests Campaign, visit sierraclub.org/ca/socalforests or contact John Monsen at (213) 387-6528 x203.

APR 27, WED, 7:00 pm. Smart Growth Program with Keynote Speaker William Fulton, Urban Planning Expert and Editor and Publisher of California Planning & Development Report and author of Guide to California Planning; California: Land and Legacy; and The Reluctant Metropolis. Double Tree Hotel in Dana Point. Sponsored by Friends of the Foothills TF. Contact Brittany McKee (949) 361-7534.

APR 30, SAT. Saddleback Canyons TF: Tentative hike scheduled with Loretta Sanchez. More details to come.

MAY 1, SUN. Chapter Awards Banquet: Brookside Country Club, 1133 Rosemont Blvd, Pasadena. For tickets, contact reservationist Cathy Kissinger, 10541 Oro Vista Ave., Sunland, CA 91040, (818) 352-3361, kissinger@chla.usc.edu. Some Orange County awardees include Robin Everett/Conservation Service; Ana Juarez, John Kaiser, Ron Schrantz/Outings Service; Alex Mintzer, Mike Sappingfield/Special Service; Native American Sacred Sites Task Force/Citation of Merit; Debbie Cook, Karl Warkomski/Public Policy. (Partial list. A complete list of awardees is available from Robin Ives, Chair, Chapter Awards Comm)

MAY 7-8, SAT-SUN. Cleveland National Forest Carcamp and Hiking: Join Friends of the Foothills TF, OCSS, and Sierra Sage Group for an overnight fundraising carcamp adventure in the Cleveland National Forest. On Saturday we'll pitch tents, go for guided hikes, and return to camp for a gourmet happy hour, barbeque, campfire, guitar music, and stargazing. The Eta Aquarid meteors are flying this week in the wee hours before dawn. This meteor shower can include some rather spectacular, bright meteors that NASA calls "earth grazers", which skim horizontally through the upper atmosphere, slow and dramatic, streaking across the sky. Proceeds will benefit the campaign to save Rancho Mission Viejo. Please send a self-addressed, stamped envelope, phone, e-mail, and check payable to "Sierra Sage" for $25 for one or $50 for a family to reservationist Gail Prothero, 29302 Sandalwood Court, San Juan Capistrano CA 92675. Directions to the campground and a checklist of things to bring will be mailed to participants. Ldrs: Mike Sappingfield and Paul Carlton. Contact Gail Prothero, (949) 347-1255, or e-mail gprothero@cox.net for information.

MAY 14-15, SAT-SUN. Trail Maintenance/Camping: San Mateo Canyon Trail: Join Santa Ana Mountains TF, Orange County Group and Sierra Sage for the 29th Annual “Backpack / Swim / Gourmet Trail Maintenance” outing in the San Mateo Wilderness. Sat morning, backpack 4 mi, 350’ gain/900’ loss to campsite near scenic San Mateo Creek. Equestrian assist with gear will make for light packs. Sat afternoon & Sun morning work on San Mateo Cyn Trail below campsite. Tools provided. Rain cancels. For details and reservation, send email or SASE with address/phone to Co-Ldr/Reserv: John Kaiser. Ldrs: Denny Bean, Bruce Boydston. Contact John Kaiser, jkai39@earthlink.net (714) 968-4677.

MAY 22, SUN, 8:50 am. Government Official Hike with California Attorney General Bill Lockyer: Stough Canyon Nature Center, 2300 Walnut Avenue, Burbank. RSVP: Garen Yegparian (818) 563-3918.

JUL 26, TUE, 7:00 pm. Sierra Sage Program: The Forest Service Management Plan, presented by Paul Carlton. Universal/Unitarian Church, 25801 Obrero, Mission Viejo. Corner of Obrero and Jeronimo. Refreshments/Free. Contact Mike Sappingfield (949) 768-3610. Website: http://angeles.sierraclub.org/sage/

SEP 8-11, THU-SUN. Sierra Summit 2005: Sierra Club National Environmental Convention and Exposition. San Francisco Moscone Center. Three days of personal inspiration, networking, top flight speakers — including Robert Kennedy, Jr. and Ariana Huffington — 60+ workshops, star-studded entertainment. Website: www.sierrasummit2005.org

SEP 16, FRI. The 2nd Annual Indigenous Peoples Festival and Mexican Independence Day Celebration.
San Juan Capistrano. Details TBA. Contact Rebecca Robles at rrobles5@cox.net

SEP 17, SAT. The 21st Annual California Coastal Cleanup Day 2005 & 9th Annual Inner-Coastal Watershed Cleanup Day

SEP 18, SUN. Sierra Sale Fall Fundraiser (Details later).

SEP 24, SAT. The Great Earth Walk: A fundraiser that brings together environmental groups from OC and LA to hike/walk and educate the public about the wild places we are working to protect. Participating groups include Earth Resource Foundation (host), Sierra Club Angeles Chapter, Orange County Interfaith Coalition for the Environment, Hills For Everyone, Bolsa Chica Land Trust, Earth Spirit Agape, Sea Shepards Conservation Society, Journey to the Heart, and Tree People. Hikes will take place at Banning Ranch in Costa Mesa (Banning Ranch TF); San Juan Loop in the Cleveland National Forest (Sierra Sage Group); 5 different sites with Hills For Everyone: Arroyo Pescadero in Whittier, Powder Canyon in La Habra Heights, Rim Crest in Yorba Linda, Coal Canyon in Anaheim Hills, Aliso Canyon in Chino Hills State Park (Chino Hills); Crystal Cove (Earth Resource & OCICE); Bolsa Chica (Bolsa Chica Land Trust) Other hikes to be announced. www.greatearthwalk.org

Angeles Chapter Conservation Management Committee
Gordon LaBedz/Chair (562) 494-6368, Bonnie Sharpe/Vice Chair/Grants Chair
Jay Matchett/Treasurer, Al Sattler/Secretary, Robin Ives/Newsletter
Marcia Hanscom, Faramarz Nabavi, Dean Wallraff
Lori Ives, Publisher/Webmaster/Circulation (non-voting)
Johanna Zetterberg and Rachel Myers/Conservation Coordinators (non-voting)

Angeles Chapter Grants Committee
consists of the voting members of the Conservation Management Committee plus Judy Anderson and Rudy Vietmeier.

Motions should be submitted in advance, together with objective background material and supporting and opposing arguments, both to the Committee Chair and Newsletter Editor, for distribution with the agenda. Other motions will be postponed for action at a later meeting unless the motion is submitted in writing and unless the Committee votes an exception to ordinary procedure. Motions needing further action by the Angeles Chapter ExComm or some higher level of the Sierra Club should start out: "The Angeles Chapter Conservation Committee recommends that the Sierra Club..." To find out more about voting requirements and representatives, consult the Angeles Chapter website Conservation Committee.

AGENDA — Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Meeting Cancelled!!    Next meeting: May 18

Orange County Conservation Committee

Dave Perlman/Chair
Rachel Myers/Conservation Coord (non-voting) http://angeles.sierraclub.org/ocosc/
LOCATION: Inn at the Park, 10 Marquette, Irvine
DIRECTIONS: Take the 405 to Culver and go west towards the beach. Follow Culver past Michelson and University and turn right on Harvard. Take Harvard to Marquette and turn right. It's on the corner of Harvard and Marquette on the right hand side.

AGENDA: April 19, 2005

7:00 Welcome, Introductions, Announcements
7:10 Conservation Staff Report - Rachel Myers
7:20 Sierra Sage Group, OC Political Committee, and Sacred Sites TF - Gail Prothero
7:30 Major Investment Study -Transportation Project (Orange County to Riverside County transportation): Current developments on the MIS, advantages to a common environmental position; Claire Schlotterbeck (10 minutes) and discussion (20 minutes)

7:40 Discussion of MIS
8:00 Break
8:10 Saddleback Canyons Task Force: update on events including SCTF Earth Day participatiion at Lake Mission Viejo and the Loretta Sanchez hike - Rich Gomez
8:20 Dana Point Headlands Report - Celia Kutcher
8:25 San Diego Creek Watershed Task Force, Rabbit Kill Policy, Huntington Beach Desalinization Proposal and Issues needing a Pro-Bono attorney - Jan Vandersloot
8:50 Resolution: San Diego Gas and Electric study by Rocky Mtn Institute (see below) - Bob Joseph, Lynn Harris Hicks
9:00 Adjourn - Next meeting: May 17, 2005