| SEPT 1991 | 215 |
we find it hitched to everything else in
the universe." --J Muir
DESERT CONSERVATION
The coming year certainly holds its share of conservation challenges, and at the same time promises to be an especially rewarding one filled with excitement. As you know, this year is a special celebration for the DPS (50th anniversary), as well as for the Sierra Club as a whole (100th anniversary). There will be special trips, special events, special memories and lots of special attention.
The special attention we'll be getting from the media and other organizations presents us with a unique opportunity. We can perhaps utilize this brief period of "being in the spotlight" to advance the initial purpose of the Sierra Club at its founding on May 28, 1892. "The purpose: to explore, enjoy and preserve."
Most people in those days thought that our resources and our wilderness beauty were limitless. A few (182 Sierra Club charter members) saw then what is more easily seen today-that our wilderness and our resources will vanish unless we actively protect them. Thanks to these early visionaries we now have the National Park Service, the National Forest Service, the National Wilderness Preservation System, the Wild and Scenic River System, and now hopefully, an effective method for preserving at least a portion of our deserts through the Desert Protection Act.
One hundred years after the Sierra Club's founding it is every bit as important to act to continue the conservation effort. The tools of our advancing civilization have the capacity to make very short work of our "limitless" wilderness.
Throughout the coming year I will attempt to put forward summaries of the most outstanding of our current conservation concerns, and also to present some simple action options for those who would like to contribute some form of energy to the preservation effort.
Meanwhile, I welcome any ideas, feedback, concerns or comments about what you'd like to see in the conservation column.
Pat DPS Conservation Chair |