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               SIERRA CLUB ANNOUNCES ANNUAL NATIONAL AWARDS

SAN FRANCISCO - February 22, 2001 - A 16-year-old high school student, a

doctor who has made more than 1,800 ascents in the Sierra Nevada and the

founder of Earth Day are among those receiving national awards from the

Sierra Club this year.

     The club's top award, the John Muir Award, will go to former U. S.

Senator Gaylord Nelson, who founded Earth Day in 1970. Nelson continues to

play a leading role in the American conservation movement by serving as

counselor of The Wilderness Society.

     "Gaylord Nelson has been one of the principal leaders of the American

conservation movement for the past 40 years," said Sierra Club President

Jennifer Ferenstein.

                              Michael Dombeck, who served as Chief of

the U.S. Forest Service during the Clinton Administration, is receiving the

club's Edgar Wayburn Award, which honors service to the environment by a

person in government. Dombeck was the primary architect of the Clinton

Administration's landmark roadless protection plan as well as other

conservation measures.

     "Under Mike's leadership, we saw real change in the Forest Service's

management of our natural heritage and a stronger emphasis on protection

and restoration," Ferenstein said.

     Paul Rogers of the San Jose Mercury News is receiving the club's David

Brower Award for environmental journalism for his investigative series

titled "Cash Cows." The series was the most in-depth look at public lands

grazing ever published in a U.S. newspaper.  Rogers also has profiled

several prominent Sierra Club leaders, including David Brower, who died

last year.

     The Joseph Barbosa Earth Fund Award, which honors persons under age 30

who have demonstrated a commitment to the environment, is being given to

Nathan Wyeth, a 16-year-old high school student from Chevy Chase, Md. Wyeth

is executive director of the Montgomery County Student Environmental

Activists and also leads the Sierra Student Coalition's Fair Trade

Campaign.

     Wyeth's award included a $2,000 prize from the Joseph Barbosa Earth

Fund that the Sierra Student Coalition will use to help further Wyeth's

work in Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic region.

     A new award presented by the national Sierra Club - the Environmental

Alliance Award - will go to the High Desert Committee of the Club's Oregon

Chapter. This committee achieved a major victory in October 2000 when

President Clinton signed an Act protecting approximately 900,000 acres of

Federal land around Steens Mountain and the Alvord Desert in southeastern

Oregon. Passage of this act followed more than two years of intensive

negotiations with other Oregon environmental groups, the Bureau of Land

Management, area ranchers and a variety of local, state and national

politicians.

     The High Desert Committee also will receive $1,000 from the Joseph

Barbosa Earth Fund to further its work. The Committee currently is working

to promote protection of Oregon's Owyhee Canyon country.

     Others receiving Sierra Club awards for 2001 included the following:

The Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography: Robin Way of Pacific
Grove, Calif.

The William O. Douglas Award (for contributions in the field of
environmental law): Michael Stamp of Monterey, Calif.

The Raymond Sherwin International Award (for international conservation):
Michele Perrault of Lafayette, Calif. Perrault is the Sierra Club's Vice
President for International Affairs.

The EarthCare Award (honors an individual, organization or agency that has
made a unique contribution to international environmental protection and
conservation.): The European Natural Heritage Fund (Euronatur).

The William Colby Award (for outstanding leadership, dedication and service
to the Sierra Club): Jim Watters of Oakland, Calif. Watters has been the
cornerstone of the Sierra Club's national outings program for more than 40
years.

The Walter A. Starr Award (for continuing support of the Club by a former
director): Jim Dougherty of Washington, D.C. Dougherty served on the Sierra
Club Board of Directors from 1989-1992.

The Francis P. Farquhar Mountaineering Award (for achievement in
mountaineering): Dr. Andrew Smatko of Santa Monica, Calif. Dr. Smatko has
made more than 1,800 ascents of the Sierra Nevada since 1953 and is the
author of a mountaineering guidebook to the High Sierra.

The Oliver Kehrlein Award (for outstanding service to the club's Outings
program): Joe Dudek of Paradise, Calif. Dudek recently led his last outing
for the Sierra Club at the age of 85.

Susan E. Miller Award (for outstanding service to Sierra Club chapters):
Greg Casini of Denver, Colo.; Barbara Postles of San Diego, Calif.; and
Glenn Torbett of San Diego, Calif.

One Club Award (recognizes people who use outings as a way to instill an
interest in conservation and protecting public lands): The
California/Nevada Desert Committee. This committee has been running
conservation-oriented outings for more than 30 years to parts of the desert
impacted by mining, grazing, utility corridors, military training, water
developments and off-road vehicles.

Distinguished Achivement Award (recognizes individuals in public service
who have performed a particular action of singular importance): Charles
Flowers and Peter Gallagher of the Seminole Tribune for their reporting on
the destruction of lakebeds and ancient canoes in Newnan's Lake in Florida

Special Achievement Award (recognizes a single act of importance dedicated
to conservation): Rita Alexander of New Smyrna Beach, Fla.; attorney Lesley
Blackner of Palm Beach, Fla.; and Shirley Reynolds of New Smyrna Beach,
Fla. for their efforts to secure protection for the sea turtles that nest
on Volusia County's Atlantic Ocean shore.

Special Service Awards (for strong and consistent commitment to
conservation over an extended period of time): Edie and Jim Harmon of
Ocotillo, Calif.; Carolyn Chase of San Diego, Calif.; and Rich Johns of
Pacifica, Calif.

Electronic Communication Award: The Watershed Radio program developed by
the Maryland Chapter of the Sierra Club.

Newsletter Award: Peak & Prairie (Rocky Mountain Chapter).

                                      ###




Erin Jordahl
Director, Iowa Chapter Sierra Club
3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 280
Des Moines, IA 50310
515-277-8868
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