Conservation

LAND, WATER, & WILDLIFE

defending america’s land, water, & wildlife

Faced with unprecedented attacks from the Trump administration, the Sierra Club has steadfastly defended wildlife and wild places, and has managed to gain ground on several fronts. The campaign partnership between the Sierra Club Foundation, the Sierra Club, and Alaska’s Gwich’in Nation paid off in a big way in the fall, when, after months of pressure from activists, Goldman Sachs announced that it would not finance drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. A cascade of wins followed as more than a dozen leading global banks made similar commitments.

1.3 million people mobilized to defend land, water, and wildlife

13 global banks commit to no Arctic drilling

20,000 public comments opposing drilling near
national monuments

80,000 people defend the Endangered Species Act

partnering with tribes

In addition to the work of the Sierra Club Foundation and the Sierra Club with the Gwich’in in Alaska, Sierra Club staff and volunteers partnered closely with Tribes throughout the Southwest to defend irreplaceable public lands. In Nevada they teamed up with the Te-Moak Tribe to block an oil lease sale near the Ruby Mountains. In New Mexico, they worked hand-in-hand with Diné and Pueblo Tribal leaders to secure a temporary halt to drilling near Chaco Canyon. In Utah, they joined five Tribes in continuing to protect Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments from mining and drilling; they have ongoing lawsuits on both fronts.

COLLABORATING

“Climate crisis is no longer an existential threat, it’s a growing reality across our only home. As more awaken, the need to diversify our strategies to combat the polluters is a matter of survival. We need Indigenous wisdom, impacted and frontline communities, climate science, and the power of people standing united to give our grandchildren a chance at a better world.”

Tara Houska,
Couchiching First Nation, Anishinaabe,
and Founder, Ginew Collective

ORGANIZING

stopping dirty pipelines

The Sierra Club managed to block several fracked gas pipeline projects that were widely considered unstoppable, including the Mountain Valley Pipeline and the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP), which would cut across the Southeast. Grassroots organizers, local chapters, and Tribal partners mobilized opposition to the projects, while the legal team filed a number of challenges, including a case against the ACP that made its way to the Supreme Court in early 2020. The Sierra Club continues to fight pipelines in a number of other communities—from Enbridge Line 3 to the Dakota Access Pipeline and Keystone XL.

TARA HOUSKA

PROGRESS

protecting

wildlife

When the oil company SAExploration threatened to destroy polar bear dens with seismic testing, the Sierra Club’s Environmental Law Program (a core program sponsored and supported by the Sierra Club Foundation) stepped in, providing expert testimony that kept cubs safe for the winter. The team successfully blocked seismic testing and oil and gas leasing in the Arctic Refuge in 2019—something many thought couldn’t be done. Sierra Club activists around the country also fought to defend the Endangered Species Act, and in Montana, the local chapter helped keep Yellowstone’s grizzly bears protected under the law.