The Sierra Club is an environmental group in the United States with chapters in all 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. It was created in 1892 in San Francisco by John Muir, a person who worked to protect nature. The group was part of the progressive movement and was among the first large organizations worldwide to focus on preserving the environment. The Sierra Club has worked to create policies that support clean energy and reduce global warming. It also opposes the use of coal, hydropower, and nuclear power. The group usually supports candidates who are liberal or progressive in elections.
In addition to working on environmental issues, the Sierra Club organizes outdoor activities such as hiking and rock climbing. It has a long history of being a well-known group for mountain climbing and rock climbing in the United States. Members of the Sierra Club helped start the Yosemite Decimal System, a way to describe climbing difficulty. They also played a major role in developing climbing as a sport. Much of this activity happened in the Sierra Nevada, which is where the group got its name. The Sierra Club only operates in the United States and is a nonprofit organization with the legal status of 501(c)(4). Sierra Club Canada is a different organization.
Overview
The Sierra Club's mission is to "explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth; to use the earth's ecosystems and resources wisely; to teach and involve people in protecting and restoring the natural and human environment; and to use legal methods to achieve these goals."
The Sierra Club is led by a 15-person board of directors. Each year, five directors are chosen for three-year terms, and all members can vote. A president is selected annually by the board from its members. The executive director manages the group’s daily work. Michael Brune, who previously worked at the Rainforest Action Network, was the executive director from 2010. He replaced Carl Pope, who left because some members were unhappy with the group moving away from its original goals.
In January 2023, Ben Jealous, a former president of the NAACP, became the new executive director. He was the first African American to hold this role. His leadership faced challenges, including frequent changes in the organization’s structure and job losses, which caused tension with staff, unions, and supporters. Accusations of unfair treatment of workers were made against Jealous and the Sierra Club. In spring 2024, the Progressive Workers Union, which represents more than half of the Sierra Club’s staff, voted to express no confidence in Jealous’s leadership.
In April 2025, Robert D. Bullard, known as the father of environmental justice, asked the Sierra Club to remove his name from its environmental justice award. He said the organization had not kept promises and failed to protect the Shiloh community, which is mostly Black. His statement increased criticism of Jealous after reports that Jealous called Bullard and community members "snakes" in response to public complaints. Bullard later called for another vote of no confidence. Multiple votes from staff, volunteers, and chapters showed growing unrest. In July 2025, Jealous took a leave of absence. On August 11, 2025, the Sierra Club board voted unanimously to end Jealous’s employment due to his actions. In September 2025, Loren Blackford was named the new executive director.
The Sierra Club operates at both national and state levels, with chapters named for each of the 50 states and two U.S. territories (Puerto Rico and Washington D.C.). California is the only state with chapters named for its counties. Chapters allow for local groups, committees, and task forces focused on specific issues or regions. While local groups handle many activities, the national organization makes final decisions, including creating or removing chapters and managing members.
The Sierra Club is known for two main activities: promoting outdoor recreation, especially in California (particularly Southern California), and advocating for environmental causes through political action. As one of the United States’ leading environmental organizations, the Sierra Club supports specific individuals running for elected office.
History
Journalist Robert Underwood Johnson worked with John Muir to help create a large Yosemite National Park around a smaller state park that had been established in 1864. This effort succeeded in 1890. As early as 1889, Johnson encouraged Muir to form an "association" to protect the Sierra Nevada mountains. Meetings were held to plan the group. Others involved in the early planning included artist William Keith, Willis Linn Jepson, Warren Olney, Willard Drake Johnson, Joseph LeConte, and David Starr Jordan.
In May 1892, Willis Linn Jepson, a young botany professor from the University of California, Berkeley, helped Muir and attorney Warren Olney start a new organization modeled after the eastern Appalachian Mountain Club. The first members of the Sierra Club chose Muir as president, a role he held until his death in 1914. Early Sierra Club members often prioritized the needs of white individuals over people of color. Muir and some associates, including Joseph LeConte, David Starr Jordan, and Henry Fairfield Osborn, were connected to the early eugenics movement in the United States.
The Sierra Club’s first goals included creating Glacier and Mount Rainier national parks, persuading California lawmakers to transfer Yosemite Valley to the U.S. federal government, and protecting California’s coastal redwood forests.
In 1903, Muir guided President Theodore Roosevelt through Yosemite. Two years later, the California legislature gave Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove to the federal government. The Sierra Club’s first major success was helping create the country’s second national park, after Yellowstone in 1872.
In the early 1900s, the Sierra Club became involved in the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir debate, which divided preservationists and those who focused on managing natural resources. By the late 1800s, San Francisco needed more water, as its supply came from local springs and streams. In 1890, San Francisco mayor James D. Phelan proposed building a dam and aqueduct on the Tuolumne River to improve the city’s water supply.
Gifford Pinchot, a supporter of public utilities and head of the U.S. Forest Service, backed the Hetch Hetchy dam. Muir asked President Roosevelt for help, but Roosevelt did not oppose the dam due to its popularity in San Francisco. A 1908 referendum showed seven-to-one support for the dam. Muir and attorney William Edward Colby campaigned against the dam, gaining support from eastern conservationists. When President Woodrow Wilson, who had ties to San Francisco, was elected in 1912, dam supporters had a friend in the White House.
The bill to build the Hetch Hetchy dam passed Congress in 1913, marking the Sierra Club’s first major loss. In response, the club supported the creation of the National Park Service in 1916 to move parks away from the Forest Service. Stephen Mather, a Sierra Club member from Chicago and an opponent of the dam, became the first National Park Service director.
During the 1920s and 1930s, the Sierra Club focused on social and recreational activities, such as organizing trips, maintaining trails, and building huts and lodges in the Sierra Nevada. Preservation efforts included expanding Sequoia National Park (completed in 1926) and protecting Kings Canyon National Park (established in 1940). Historian Stephen Fox noted that in the 1930s, most of the club’s 3,000 members were middle-aged Republicans.
The New Deal brought many conservationists into the Democratic Party. After World War II, a new generation of leaders, including attorneys Richard Leonard and Bestor Robinson, nature photographer Ansel Adams, and David Brower, helped revitalize the Sierra Club. Adams supported Brower’s membership and his appointment to the editorial board of the Sierra Club Bulletin. After the war, Brower returned to his job at the University of California Press and began editing the Sierra Club Bulletin in 1946.
In 1950, the Sierra Club had about 7,000 members, mostly on the West Coast. That year, the first chapter outside California, the Atlantic chapter, was formed. A volunteer board of directors ran the organization, supported by a small clerical staff. Brower became the first executive director in 1952, helping the club grow alongside other major conservation groups.
The Sierra Club gained national recognition by opposing the Echo Park Dam in Utah’s Dinosaur National Monument, announced in 1950. Brower led the fight, working with other conservation groups. His publishing experience helped produce This Is Dinosaur, which influenced Congress to remove the dam from the Colorado River project in 1955. This victory increased membership from 10,000 in 1956 to 15,000 in 1960.
By the 1960s, the Sierra Club was a major national conservation organization. Preservationists pushed for wilderness protection, and the club’s Biennial Wilderness Conferences, started in 1949 with The Wilderness Society, helped pass the Wilderness Act in 1964. This law protected 9.1 million acres of public land from development. Grand Teton National Park and Olympic National Park were also expanded with the club’s support.
In 1960, Brower launched the Exhibit Format book series with This Is the American Earth and In Wildness Is the Preservation of the World, featuring color photographs by Eliot Porter. These books, published by the Sierra Club Books division, introduced the club to a wider audience. Sales reached $10 million by 1960, but the books sometimes caused financial losses for the organization.
The Sierra Club’s most public campaign in the 1960s was opposing two dams that would flood parts of the Grand Canyon. The book Time and the River Flowing: Grand Canyon was published in the Exhibit Format series. Full-page ads in The New York Times and The Washington Post in 1966 asked, “Should we also flood the Sistine Chapel so tourists can get nearer the ceiling?” This sparked public protests and led the IRS to investigate the club’s tax status. The board had created the Sierra Club Foundation in 1960 as a separate (c)(3) organization to handle donations and endowments.
Outdoor programs
In 1901, William Colby planned the first Sierra Club trip to Yosemite Valley. Each year, the Sierra Club organized High Trips led by experienced climbers such as Francis P. Farquhar, Joseph Nisbet LeConte, Norman Clyde, Walter A. Starr, Jr., Jules Eichorn, Glen Dawson, Ansel Adams, and David R. Brower. Many of the first climbs in the Sierra Nevada were completed during Sierra Club trips. Members of the Sierra Club were among the earliest people to enjoy rock climbing as a hobby. In 1911, the first local group, called Angeles, was created. This group started organizing trips in the mountains near Los Angeles and other areas across the West. Steve Roper’s book Fifty Classic Climbs of North America, supported and published by the Sierra Club, is still widely used as a guide for rock climbing in the United States. The Wilderness Travel Course is an introductory class in mountaineering offered by the Sierra Club.
During World War II, several leaders of the Sierra Club joined the 10th Mountain Division. David R. Brower, who later led the High Trip program from 1947 to 1954, was a major in the Army Reserve during this time.
The Sierra Club also organizes hiking trips in many parts of the country. The Sierra Club website includes a feature called "hiking near me" that helps people find nearby trips. A section titled "Sierra Club Near You" lists all upcoming trips in the local area.
The Sierra Club’s High Trips, which once included large groups with more than 100 people, have become smaller and more frequent. These trips now take place across the United States and other countries. They are a major part of the Sierra Club’s traditions, and in some local groups, they make up most of the activities. However, some chapters focus more on political work and offer few outdoor activities. Chapters in California are typically more active with outdoor events.
The Sierra Club gives out several annual awards, including the Sierra Club John Muir Award, the Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography, the Francis P. Farquhar Mountaineering Award, the Edgar Wayburn Award for public officials, the Rachel Carson Award for journalists and writers, the William O. Douglas Award for legal work, and the EarthCare Award for international environmental protection and conservation.
Policy positions
The Sierra Club focuses on land management, public access, and conservation. It is known for having strong local groups in rural areas, where much of its work centers on ensuring fair and eco-friendly use of public lands. Many members join the club for outdoor activities like hiking on public lands.
In 2023, the Sierra Club sued the Puerto Rican government over plans to build 18 renewable energy projects on more than 2,000 hectares of land. The club argued that the land was ecologically important and valuable for farming. It claimed that building these projects on agricultural land would harm Puerto Rico’s food security.
A key goal of the Sierra Club is to replace coal with other energy sources. Its "Beyond Coal" campaign aimed to close half of the U.S.’s coal plants by 2017. In 2011, Michael Bloomberg donated $50 million to the club’s anti-coal efforts, and added $30 million in 2015. The campaign reports that 187 coal plants have closed since 2010. Other supporters include the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The CEO of Chesapeake Energy, a natural gas company, gave $26 million to the campaign between 2007 and 2010.
In 2023, the Sierra Club sued Puerto Rico over plans to build renewable energy projects on ecologically sensitive and agriculturally valuable land. At that time, Puerto Rico relied mostly on fossil fuels for energy, with only 2% from renewable sources.
The Sierra Club is strongly against nuclear power. It has also lobbied against large hydropower projects and dams, saying they harm animal habitats and disrupt ecosystems. The club opposed the construction of O’Shaughnessy Dam in Yosemite National Park in the early 20th century, even though Congress approved it. The club still supports removing the dam. It also advocates for removing or decommissioning dams like Glen Canyon Dam and four dams on the lower Snake River in Washington. The club opposes importing energy from Quebec’s hydropower plants to New York, arguing it could harm the environment and reduce local renewable energy efforts.
Some Sierra Club chapters have opposed solar power projects, while others support them. The club opposed the Battle Born Solar Project, the largest in the U.S., due to its potential impact on desert tortoises. It also sued to stop the Calico solar station in California’s Mojave Desert, saying it would harm protected wildlife.
The Sierra Club has opposed changes to environmental laws that would speed up project approvals, arguing that all projects should follow the same review process. It believes environmental laws should not be weakened but better funded.
The club has sued to block new housing developments and opposed laws that would make housing construction easier. Critics say its actions on housing resemble NIMBYism, which refers to opposing developments near one’s home. In 2012, the club sued to stop a large housing project in Riverside, California. In 2018, it opposed a law that would allow dense housing near public transit in California, even though other environmental groups supported it. In 2023, the club lobbied against a law that would prevent using environmental laws to block housing projects that meet local and state regulations.
In 2023, the club sued Hawaii’s government after the governor declared an emergency to speed up housing construction to address a housing shortage. The club’s leader in Hawaii said the shortage was caused by developers profiting from land and water, not a lack of housing supply.
The Sierra Club is part of the BlueGreen Alliance, a group of environmental organizations and labor unions formed in 2006. The group was created from a partnership between the Sierra Club and the United Steelworkers. In 2012, the Laborers’ International Union left the alliance due to the club’s opposition to the Keystone Pipeline.
Immigration was once a divisive topic within the club. In 1996, the club adopted a neutral stance on immigration levels. As the club became more progressive, it changed its position in 2013 to support fair pathways to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
While the club generally supports immigration, some critics say certain members’ views on limiting immigration reflect ideas from the eugenics movement. In 1969, the club published Paul R. Ehrlich’s book The Population Bomb, which argued that population growth harms the environment and suggested strict measures to reduce it. Some say the book had racial undertones linked to the eugenics movement.
In the 1980s, some club members, including Anne Ehrlich (Paul Ehrlich’s wife), wanted the club to address immigration. The club believed overpopulation harms the environment and supported reducing U.S. and global population. Some members argued that reducing immigration was necessary to control population growth, but others disagreed.
Affiliates and subsidiaries
The Sierra Club Foundation was created in 1960 by David R. Brower. It became a 501(c)(3) organization after the Internal Revenue Service took away the Sierra Club’s tax-exempt status because the group was involved in political activities. In 1963, the Sierra Club added its first chapter in Canada. In 1989, it opened a national office in Ottawa. Canadian groups connected to the Sierra Club work under the name Sierra Club Canada.
In 1971, volunteer lawyers who had worked with the Sierra Club started the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund. This was a separate group that used the “Sierra Club” name with permission from the club. It later changed its name to Earthjustice in 1997. The Sierra Student Coalition (SSC) was the student part of the Sierra Club. It was started by Adam Werbach in 1991 and had 30,000 members. The Summer Program (SPROG) was a one-week training program that taught young people skills for environmental and social justice activism. The Sierra Club also had a publishing imprint called Sierra Club Books. They published the John Muir library, which includes many of their founder’s works. The Sierra Club Canada (SCC) ended its operations in 2023.
The Sierra Club Voter Education Fund is a 527 group that became active during the 2004 Presidential election. It aired television ads about the major party candidates’ views on environmental issues. Through the Environmental Voter Education Campaign (EVEC), the club encouraged volunteers to help with phone calls, visiting homes, and sending postcards to highlight these issues in the campaign.
Budget and funding
In 2011, the Sierra Club had a budget of $88 million. In 2012, their budget was $100 million. By 2023, the group's budget had grown to $173 million.
In 2008, Clorox gave $1.3 million to the Sierra Club. In return, Clorox was allowed to use the Sierra Club's logo on a line of cleaning products.
In February 2012, a report said the Sierra Club had secretly received over $26 million in gifts from the natural gas industry, mostly from Aubrey McClendon, CEO of Chesapeake Energy. The Sierra Club used this money for its Beyond Coal campaign, which aimed to stop new coal-fired power plants and close existing ones. Michael Brune, who became the Sierra Club's executive director in 2010, said he found out about the gifts after taking over from Carl Pope. Brune stated that he ended the financial agreement with the natural gas industry.
In 2013, Naomi Klein wrote that the Sierra Club had received large amounts of money from fossil fuel companies. This situation started causing "major controversy" within the Sierra Club and other environmental groups that also received funding from fossil fuels.
In 2014, the Energy and Environment Legal Institute told the Internal Revenue Service that the Sierra Club and the Sierra Club Foundation were not paying income taxes on money earned from selling solar panels to partners in the United States
Criticisms
The Sierra Club has faced criticism for opposing high-density housing projects in California. These projects aim to address the state's housing shortage and lower greenhouse gas emissions. Ethan Elkind, director of the climate program at the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment (CLEE) at UC Berkeley Law, called the Sierra Club's opposition to California Senate Bill 827 "surprising." The bill would require cities to allow more housing near public transport centers and reduce parking requirements for housing developments. Elkind asked, "Is the Sierra Club an organization of wealthy homeowners who want to keep newcomers out of their upscale, transit-rich areas? Or are they committed to fighting climate change by providing enough housing in low-carbon, infill areas?" He noted that the Sierra Club's opposition to SB 827 suggests the former more than the latter.
In 2023, the Sierra Club of Hawaii criticized Governor Josh Green for declaring an emergency related to Hawaii's housing shortage and for issuing an executive order that simplified housing construction and paused strict land use rules.
In 2025, the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club was criticized for opposing an affordable housing project in Cranbury.
In late 2020, Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming asked the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate environmental groups like the Sierra Club. She stated that these groups' political and judicial activism, combined with their alignment with opposing views, made it important for the DOJ to be aware of any foreign influence affecting them.
In early 2021, as reported by MondoWeiss, several pro-Palestinian organizations asked the Sierra Club to cancel trips to Israel, calling them "greenwashing" and accusing Israel of "apartheid." The Sierra Club initially canceled two planned trips but later reversed its decision, saying the choice was made "hastily" without consulting stakeholders. MondoWeiss reported that the Sierra Club later rescheduled the trips, which included visits to the Golan Heights and Palestinian territories, but did not cancel the trips.
In June 2021, an executive summary of a report by the D.C. consulting firm Ramona Strategies described widespread issues, including harassment, workplace discrimination, and the organization's failure to address abusive senior leadership. The report was commissioned in 2020 after a rape accusation against a volunteer leader became public. It noted that the Sierra Club's reliance on volunteer leadership created challenges and recommended structural reforms as part of a "restorative accountability process." On August 13, 2021, Michael Brune announced he would resign as executive director after 11 years and apologized for not ensuring that volunteers and staff "felt safe, supported, and valued." Politico described his resignation as "a major blow to the U.S. environmental movement and the Democratic party's green base."
Internal elections
The Sierra Club has a long history of holding internal elections, which have often revealed disagreements about its mission and how to respond to changing ideas about environmental protection.
In one election, a group led by Ansel Adams won against supporters of David Brower, the Club's influential but controversial leader. Brower had led strong efforts to protect the Grand Canyon and redwood forests. This conflict showed a growing divide between the Sierra Club's original focus on outdoor activities and its new role as a national environmental advocacy group. Brower was later removed from his position, marking a major moment of uncertainty for the Club.
By the late 1990s, members debated whether population growth and immigration should be considered environmental issues. This disagreement led to a lawsuit, Club Members For An Honest Election v. Sierra Club (2004), where some members claimed unfair practices in voting. In 2008, the California Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Sierra Club, supporting its election rules.
Later, when the Club's executive director, Michael Brune, acknowledged that John Muir, the organization's founder, made racist remarks, tensions arose about the Club's history, workplace culture, and changes aimed at improving diversity and inclusion, as outlined in the Ramona Strategies report. Some volunteers accused leaders of weakening the power of local members in favor of professional staff and diversity initiatives.
In recent years, some chapters and groups in different states have argued over "YIMBY" activism, which supports building more housing and improving public transportation to address climate change. Newer members often link these efforts to environmental goals, while others believe they threaten traditional conservation priorities.