FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2008
Contact: Kristina Johnson (415) 977-5619
Virginia Cramer (804) 225-9113 x 102
Sierra Club Launches Online Sportsmen’s Network
Conservationists, Hunters and Anglers Work Together on Drilling, Clean Water, and Global Warming
It’s all about protecting habitat. That’s the common ground and common cause of conservationists and sportsmen. As mining, drilling, development and global warming increasingly threaten quality hunting and fishing opportunities, more and more sportsmen are joining forces with other conservationists to protect wildlife and wild places.
Now the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization has launched a campaign to connect the 20 percent of its members (118,000 people) who hunt and fish with other sportsmen across the country who care about conservation.
“Sportsmen were some of the first conservationists, and have always been an important part of the Sierra Club. Our founder, John Muir, worked closely with Teddy Roosevelt to protect America’s wild legacy,” Sierra Sportsmen organizer Jon Schwedler said. “Now it’s crucial that sportsmen and environmentalists work together more closely so we can help save the forests, plains, lakes, rivers and streams we all enjoy. Working together we can ensure that our nation’s outdoor legacy lives on for future generations of sportsmen.”
The Sierra Club’s new Sierra Sportsmen organizing site, http://www.sierrasportsmen.org/ will serve as a hub for hunters and anglers, allowing them to connect with each other beyond state lines, find out about conservation issues that affect them, help pass on outdoor traditions to the next generation, restore local streams, protect game habitat, and fight global warming.
The Sierra Sportsmen site includes interviews with prominent figures in the outdoor movement such as President Lowell Baier of the Boone & Crockett Club, as well as conservation updates, and opportunities for sportsmen to take action on issues that affect us all. Members of the Sierra Sportsmen Network can stay abreast of the latest in outdoor news through Schwedler’s “Greenneck” blog. Schwedler is a life-long sportsman who has lived on the Chesapeake Bay, in the Big Sky of Montana, and now in New Mexico’s Land of Enchantment.
Sportsmen visiting the site can also share their own stories and find updates on the Sierra Club’s work in the field, including:
- Restoring streams in Idaho
- Keeping a coal plant from polluting fishing streams in Arkansas
- Removing fence in Montana elk range
- Protecting key habitat from oil drilling in places like Alaska’s Teshekpuk Lake, the Wyoming Range, and Colorado’s Roan Plateau
- Teaching fly fishing clinics in Portland, Oregon
“Hunters and anglers are some of the best stewards of America’s public lands and wildlife,” Schwedler said. “By working together, whether it’s to keep streams healthy for trout or keep oil drills out of elk range, we can ensure that our children and grandchildren are able enjoy the same outdoor traditions we do today.”
In celebration of its official launch, the Sierra Sportsmen Network is holding a fishing and hunting photo contest. Winners will receive a $500 gift certificate either from Patagonia or Bass Pro Shops.
The contest will be judged by Lowell Baier of the Boone & Club, Anthony Licata of Field & Stream Magazine, Ben Long of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, Bob Poole of National Geographic, Carl Pope of the Sierra Club, Jim Posewitz of the Orion Institute, Kent Salazar of the National Wildlife Federation, Samantha Mace of Save our Wild Salmon, and R.P. Van Gytenbeek of the Federation of Fly Fishers.
For more information, visit http://www.sierrasportsmen.org/
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