Members of the Iowa Chapter EXCOM:
The following letter was sent to me by Clyde Hanson, Chairman of the National
Forest Protection and Restoration Campaign. I am in full ageement with Clyde
on this. Please read this and be prepared to vote before the delegate leaves
for San Francisco.
Jerry Neff
The BOD wants to make reacting to the Bush or Kerry administration the Club's
"highest national conservation priority" in 2005. To support this proposed
strategy, the current priority conservation campaigns budgets would be slashed
by 70%, field staff support reduced, and BEC organizing support reduced.
I have been on the National Forest Protection and Restoration Campaign
(NFC)committee for four years and its chair for two, so I have first hand experience
of priority campaign planning and execution. I am also serving on the EPEC
steering committee, a great opportunity to learn about organizing.
I spoke on a Conservation Governance Council (CGC) call in opposition when
this idea first came up as part of the Club's budgeting. I reminded the
participants that the priorities of the BOD are the priorities until the Club's
inclusive priority setting process is complete and the BOD changes them. Plus,
some of our campaigns will likely be extended, so gutting them for 2005 would
lose valuable momentum.
Priority campaigns are the only way to create national demand for our
conservation goals. "Issue of the week" does not allow for effective grassroots
organizing. We all know how difficult and time consuming organizing is. And
that volunteers recruited for one issue are not easily transferred to work on
another issue.
Priority campaigns have been a excellent vehicle for volunteer governance and
involvement in policy and campaign strategy and tactical execution. They are
a place where volunteers and issue/lobby staff can work together to plan and
execute complex and flexible national scale campaigns. Starting out few of us
had any training or experience on working on national scale campaigns, but I
think we have found ways to mobilize the Club to advance our conservation
campaigns. The learning curve means that the proposed ad hoc "task forces" would
lose valuable time in 2005.
Priority campaigns have empowered volunteers to actually spend money, hire
staff and set strategy. This is only $800,000 out of an $85 million budget.
Most of our conservation budget is fixed cost for field and program staff. One
would think that any organization would spend more than 10% of its budget on
its top four priorities. I understand that the Club is forecasting lower
unrestricted revenues for 2005, so the de-funding of the priority campaigns may be
budget driven. The proposed response is completely backwards; we should cut
waste, not priorities!
I think the long-term priority campaigns concept is very important for the
Club and must be defended. Without it we will be much less effective on
national issues. I am concerned that if priority campaigns go away for 2005, that
they never will return in their current form.
Our priority campaigns are the big workhorses that will be crucial to fixing
the Bush legacy or to playing defense. This year the priority campaigns have
made the "alignment" strategy work to hold the Bush administration accountable
with our budgets, staff and volunteers. We have shown that we are flexible
and nimble while being volunteer-driven.
Wildlands, Clean Water, National Forests and Challenge to Sprawl are issues
the Club activists care about. Most activists work on an actual conservation
issue, not on a generic reaction to an administration's agenda. Activists,
not public polls, chose our priority campaign issues. Let's keep it that way.
Please let your Council of Chapter Leaders delegate know that you support
keeping current priority campaigns in 2005 and following an inclusive process to
change priorities during 2005. Do this now, before they go the their meeting
in San Francisco, September 10-11.
Clyde Hanson
Conservation Chair
Sierra Club North Star Chapter
4038 Cascade Beach Road
Lutsen, MN 55612
(218) 387-9081
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"God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought,
disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he
cannot save them from fools."
- John Muir
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From: "Clyde G. Hanson" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Proposal for ad-hoc priorities as a subsitute for priority
campaigns for 2005
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