Dear Idaho Sierra Club members,
After nearly three of my most meaningful professional experience on staff at the Idaho Chapter Sierra Club, I wanted to let our supporters and friends know that I will be transitioning to a new regional position with Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All campaign.
My first week with the club was historic; I got to watch Boise’s city council commit to 100% clean electricity by 2035 - the first in Idaho - and I listened to Representative Mike Simpson speak publicly about taking drastic action to save Idaho’s salmon and steelhead from extinction.
I was not a part of making those events happen - you were! Working with partners, staff, and most importantly with volunteers and community advocates, has been the highlight of my career - one that I don’t imagine changing anytime soon. Since my start in 2019, we have continued to collectively channel the momentum into substantive and bold change that will combat the climate crisis, save Idaho's treasured wildlife and improve the quality of life for all.
-
100% clean energy has become the norm across the state, with commitments in central and eastern Idaho (Blaine County communities and Pocatello respectively), and we’re set to see the first commitments made in north Idaho (Moscow) and from the first public school district (Boise School District) once those agencies complete their planning this spring.
-
We’ve changed the conversation about what is possible for urban pathways in the Treasure Valley. On the eve of the City of Boise adopting an urban pathway master now (more on that soon), the public knows that canal pathways are no longer an impossibility - we expect our local jurisdictions to make it a reality, and they have.
-
And now we’re on the verge of attaining region-wide transformational change replace the Lower Snake River Dams, save Idaho’s salmon and steelhead and honor tribal treaty rights with every major federal governmental branch involved.
What I didn’t know that first week, but that I do now, is that those historic “events” were actually part of a larger grassroots movement of community voices that have banded together for sweeping transformational change. And at the heart of that movement were people connecting with one another, building trust and relationships and compiling collective knowledge into real community action.
Thank you for a wonderful 3 years,
Eric Willadsen
Idaho Chapter Conservation Program Manager
