FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 20, 2002
Contact:
Ellen Mayou, (817) 283-5489
Matt Lasky, (415) 977-5616

               SIERRA CLUB ANNOUNCES 2002 NATIONAL AWARDS

SAN FRANCISCO - A U.S. senator, a governor and a columnist for the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer are among this year's winners of the national Sierra
Club awards.  Senator James Jeffords (I-VT), Governor Parris Glendening
(D-MD), journalist Joel Connelly and a host of grassroots Sierra Club
volunteers were honored for their continuing work to protect America's
environment for our families and for our future.

The club's top award, the John Muir Award, will go to U. S. Senator James
Jeffords of Vermont. Senator Jeffords, a black belt in Tae Kwon Do,
drop-kicked the Republican Party when he switched to Independent status in
2001. As a young Vermont Attorney General, former U.S. Congressman, and as
a U.S Senator, environmental protection has been one of Jeffords' top
priorities. Senator Jeffords has fought for improved environmental
protections to reduce industrial pollution and acid rain. As a member of
the Senate's Environment Committee, he ensured the passage of the 1990
Clean Air Act. More recently, Jeffords introduced legislation that would
clean up our nation's dirty coal and power plants and create incentives for
investments in clean, renewable power.

"Leading on the environment has long been a Jim Jeffords tradition," said
Sierra Club President Jennifer Ferenstein.  "His decision to reject
President Bush's anti-environmental policies and tip the balance of the
Senate was a watershed event.  Senator Jeffords acted courageously because
he puts a priority on protecting families, not on partisan labels."

Maryland Governor Parris Glendening will receive the club's Edgar Wayburn
Award. This award honors a government worker who provides service to the
environment. Glendening has been a leader in the smart-growth movement, and
under his guidance, Maryland now preserves more land than is developed each
year.

"Environmentalists from coast to coast are grateful for Governor
Glendening's leadership in protecting Maryland's environment and we are
proud to give him this well-deserved honor," Ferenstein said, "governors,
legislatures and communities across the country are following his lead."

This year Joel Connelly, of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, will receive
the David Brower Award for environmental journalism.  Connelly writes a
column titled, "In the Northwest" that appears three days a week and
regularly covers forest issues, endangered salmon, global warming and the
environmental impact of the Bush Presidency.

The Joseph Barbosa Earth Fund Award, honoring persons under the age of 30
who have demonstrated a commitment to the environment, is being given to
Amy McCormick. Amy, a 28-year-old from Austin, Texas, has been involved
with the Sierra Club's Inner City Outings Program for more than eight
years. The award includes a $2,000 prize from the Joseph Barbosa Earth Fund
to be given to Amy's local Austin Sierra Club's Inner City Outings program.

The Environmental Alliance Award, which includes a $1,000 prize from the
Joseph Barbosa Earth Fund, went to Maui resident Lucienne deNaie. DeNaie
has put together coalitions in Hawaii around four campaigns:
·    To protect the reefs and sensitive habitat of endangered humpback
whales and threatened green sea turtles from destruction by a harbor
expansion supported by the Army Corps of Engineers;
·    To halt destructive expansion plans for Maui's airport;
·    To protect Maui coastlines from development, and;
·  To preserve Maui's watersheds and native stream life.

Others receiving Sierra Club awards for 2002 included the following:
The Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography: Jack Jeffrey of Hilo,
Hawaii.

The William Colby Award (for outstanding leadership, dedication and service
to the Sierra Club): Dr. Marvin W. Baker Jr. of Salem, Oregon.

The William O. Douglas Award (for contributions in the field of
environmental law): Jack Tuholske of Missoula, Montana.

The EarthCare Award (honors an individual, organization or agency that has
made a unique contribution to international environmental protection and
conservation.): Elizabeth May of Canada.

The Oliver Kehrlein Award (for outstanding service to the club's Outings
program): Jim Maas and Andy Johnson, both of Berkeley, California. Maas and
Johnson edit the Inside Outings newsletter.

Susan E. Miller Award (for outstanding service to Sierra Club chapters):
Richard Colby of Egg Harbor City, New Jersey.

One Club Award (recognizes people who use outings as a way to instill an
interest in conservation and protecting public lands): Allison Chin of
Stanford, California.

The Raymond Sherwin International Award (for international conservation):
Sanford Tepfer of Eugene, Oregon.

Special Achievement Award (recognizes a single act of importance dedicated
to conservation):
Don Richardson of Memphis, Tennessee, for his publication of the Old Forest
Trail Map, a guide to the urban forest in Overton Park.

Special Service Awards (for strong and consistent commitment to
conservation over an extended period of time): Rita Beving of Dallas,
Texas; Robin Mann of Brynn Mawr, Pennsylvania; and Mark Rorick of Juneau,
Alaska.

The Walter A. Starr Award (for continuing support of the Club by a former
director): Richard Fiddler of Shoreline, Washington. Fiddler served on the
Sierra Club Board of Directors from 1978-1984 and from 1988-1991.

Ida and Denny Wilcher Award (for excellence in fundraising and/or
membership development): the Napa Group for its Holiday Ornament Project.

                                   ###



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