The Sierra Club

The Sierra Club

POL 310

Prof. Troy Tureau

June 4, 2011

The Sierra Club is one of the largest, and most influential, grassroots environmental organizations in existence today. The Club was founded on May 24, 1892, in San Francisco, CA, by John Muir, who went on to become the Club’s first president. The Sierra Club has been committed to protecting wildlife, communities and, most importantly, this planet since its creation. The Sierra Club’s mission statement is: “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”.

The Sierra Club boasts hundreds of thousands of members in chapters located throughout the United States. The Board of Directors is made up of fifteen volunteer members, who are all also club members. Each year, five members are elected to three-year terms and every club member is eligible to vote. The president is elected annually and receives a small stipend. Generally, chapters are located state-wide except California, which has fourteen chapters. Membership in the club has different prices based on the level of membership chosen. Membership levels vary from basic, which costs fifteen dollars, to life membership, which is also broken up into two levels. The single life membership is $1000.00, while a joint life membership costs $1250.00. Most Sierra Club members serve as volunteers, but there are about 500 members who do receive compensation. Many of the paid staff members work at the national headquarters in San Francisco, while others work in the lobbying office in Washington, D.C. and in numerous state and regional offices.

The Sierra Club deals with numerous environmental issues and has official policies that can be grouped into the following seventeen categories: agriculture,...