THE DESERT PEAKS SECTION NEWSLETTER JANUARY-FEBRUARY         NUMBER 110

Peeps from the Peak   -   Fran Smith It appears the Management Committee was doing some wishful thinking on the bylaws revision vote. Several committeemen foresaw the possibility that the new bylaws might not pass because of members voting against them on the basis of one item which they found displeasing, and indeed that seems to be what happened. My information indicates that the main nay-vote getters were the proposals for the selection rather than election of one committeeman and for increasing the number of peaks required for an emblem from 15 to 25. Your chairman is not overly dismayed - a new attempt will be made at the February meeting to meet the "wishes" of the membership on the bylaws, which certainly need to be revised. A few timely items deserve mention for the leaders of the increasingly large scheduled trips. Know whom to contact in emergencies; make certain the ten essentials are available, plus a goodly assortment of additional essentials according to the particular outing; have an accurate list of all outing members unless the group is small enough to personally know each member; and lastly for this brief list, how about keeping closer contact between the first and last member of the group while moving. Attendance at meetings has been higher this season. Eighty-four were counted at the January meeting and some may have been missed in the count. A DPS meeting that approaches the one hundred mark in attendance is pretty good. But then a program by Les Stockton is a guarantee of a good audience. A comment or two on the "climber/conservationist" issue. Where the DPS is concerned the chairman's active participation is as a "climber"; however, his interest for the section is equally as strong as a "conservationist". As such, time during meetings, space in the Newsletter, and information on the Chapter Desert Conservation Committee outings have been used in order to improve the "conservation" part of the DPS purposes and of the Sierra Club purposes. We have as our Conservation Chairman a man who is capable, willing, experienced, and eager to do his part and to encourage others among us to do their part. If there are times when the heat of interest in conservation issues gets too hot for some of us, perhaps it is because the "shoe is beginning to fit too comfortably". Your chairman, even while climbing peaks, backs the conservation chairman and program of this DPS season. In summary, conservationists and climbers are compatible in the DPS; and all members, whichever way they bend, should also remain compatible. Parting thought (with Roy M in mind) - A wedding ring is like a tourniquet, it cuts off your circulation. Conservation - Ben Romero Half of the DPS season is now over and during this period the Sierra Club has gained in some of our conservation battles, but we have also lost a few. We in the Desert Peaks Section have yet to do our thing. As your conservation chairman, I have seen a gain in conservation orientation by the DPS membership and that is good. I wish to thank the many people who have written to us, who have phoned and who have talked to us personally and supported our stand on the preservation not only of our desert areas but on other issues as well.

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