Unsolicited advice the Sierra Club probably won’t take–but should

By Greg Walcher | Commentary, GregWalcher.com

After the 2020 George Floyd murder, the Sierra Club called for defunding police and reparations for slavery. It touched off an internal battle that tore the organization apart, leading to the ouster of two consecutive executive directors, employee layoffs, office closings, loss of members, and financial freefall. It also invited some unsolicited advice – from me.

My column, during the worst of the Club’s turmoil, strongly advised its leaders to “stay in your lane.” “Stick to what you are known for, and good at, and you will remain effective and relevant,” I advised. You may be shocked to learn that they did not heed that advice. Perhaps they considered it unfriendly?

Psychology Today just published suggested responses to shut down unsolicited advice. Say something like, “That’s useful, but I prefer to handle it this way,” or “I appreciate your input, but already have a plan.” I didn’t even get such platitudes for suggesting the Sierra Club stick to environmental issues.

Instead, the group doubled down on woke social activism, its director Michael Brune trashing the reputation of Sierra Club founder and conservation hero John Muir. Brune claimed the Club had played a “substantial role in perpetuating white supremacy.” It was an outrageous assertion, motivated by political correctness and based on the obscure fact that a young Muir had written some unflattering views after his travels among native American tribes. I hate judging people of the past by today’s standards. Muir was a product of the 19^th Century, who thought like most 19^th Century Americans. He said some things modern leaders would not say. But he played no role whatsoever in perpetuating any notion of white supremacy, much less a “substantial role.” He was not a Klansman, was never governor of Arkansas, managed no bus system in Montgomery, nor sanitation department in Memphis. He was a Wisconsin-bred northern Republican, an advocate of voting rights, an early progressive, a friend and ally of Theodore Roosevelt.

Brune’s attempt to demonize and “cancel” John Muir from Sierra Club history, and other “social justice” campaigns ultimately cost him his job and led to two years of infighting. The board then hired Ben Jealous, a former head of the NAACP and president of People for the American Way, the extremist lefty group founded by Norman Lear. The board put political correctness above its historic mission, and it didn’t work. Jealous was ultimately fired, too, but the direction has not changed. When the Club was rich and influential beyond Muir’s wildest dreams, its leaders continually reached beyond environment issues into other left-wing causes, including labor unions, race relations, LGBT rights, Palestine v. Israel, and illegal immigration. Its “equity language guide,” suggested the word “Americans” was offensive.

The effect on its membership, funding, and influence can readily be seen in this week’s headlines: “Sierra Club Went Woke and Now is Going Broke;” “Sierra Club Embraced Social Justice and Then Tore Itself Apart;” “Sierra Club Faces Uncertainty;” and “Sierra Club Deviated from Environmental Mission to Embrace Far-Left Projects. It Ripped Itself to Shreds.”

It still calls itself the “largest and most influential grass roots environmental organization in the country.” But in fact, it has lost 60 percent of the four million members and supporters it claimed just 5 years ago. Its new director, Loren Blackford, faces a $40 million budget shortfall, and employees remain up in arms about a mission that has morphed beyond anything familiar.

A Colorado-based volunteer reported being criticized for lobbying for more protection for wolves. She says a Sierra Club staffer asked, “What do wolves have to do with equity, justice, and inclusion?” The correct response would have been, “What do equity, justice, and inclusion have to do with the environment, which I thought was our mission?”

READ THE FULL COMMENTARY AT GREGWALCHER.COM

Greg Walcher is president of the Natural Resources Group and author of “Smoking Them Out:  The Theft of the Environment and How to Take it Back,” now in its second printing. He is a former head of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, and former President of Club 20. More information: www.GregWalcher.com.

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