Reed McManus

On January 6, Sierra lost longtime senior editor Reed McManus. He was at the Outdoor Retailer trade show in Salt Lake City, preparing to demo the latest ski equipment, when he suffered a fatal heart attack. He was 59 years old.

Reed's career at Sierra spanned nearly 30 years, during which time he wrote hundreds of articles and blog posts, edited several generations of environmental writers, and helped shape the magazine with his blunt advice and keen wit. Joan Hamilton, Sierra's editor in chief from 1994 to 2007, recalls how "Reed hated alliterative headlines ('too easy') and any sort of writing filled with shoulds and musts--a genre he called 'eco-spinach.'" He preferred to focus on solutions, highlighting diversity in his Faces of Clean Energy series and the latest in electric vehicles in his annual EV Buyers Guide. (When test-driving a Tesla last year, he predictably "forgot" to pull his foot off the accelerator and found himself doing 102 miles per hour.)

Above all, however, came Reed's love of the outdoors. He led trips for Sierra Club Outings and traveled from the Australian rainforest to the Arctic plains. He ran rivers, worked on perfecting his telemark turns, and went on long walks with his beloved pit bull, Sophie. His life mirrored the Sierra Club's motto: Explore, Enjoy, Protect. Goodbye, old friend. --Paul Rauber, senior editor

Doug Walker

Doug Walker, treasurer of the Sierra Club Foundation, was found dead on January 1, apparently killed by an avalanche while climbing Granite Mountain in Washington State's Cascade Range. 

Doug's death is a big loss to the Sierra Club and to the environmental movement as a whole. During his life, Doug worked tirelessly to protect millions of acres of public lands and to connect hundreds of thousands of Americans--especially youths--to those landscapes. Wild places had made an indelible mark on Doug's life, and he wanted to provide all Americans with the same opportunities to explore and enjoy the outdoors. 

During the time I knew him, Doug was my climbing and hiking guide, my mentor, and my friend. I could tell that he got just as much joy, if not more, from taking a poor kid into the mountains for the first time as he did from climbing with a U.S. senator. More than a few times, I witnessed him well up with emotion when he talked about introducing young people to outdoor recreation. He will be greatly missed. 

To honor Doug's legacy and to help us fulfill his vision of outdoor access for all, we have set up the Sierra Club Foundation Doug Walker Memorial Fund. To donate, visit sc.org/dougwalkerfund. Proceeds will be used to help Americans find their joy in the natural world, just as Doug did. --Peter Martin, Sierra Club Foundation executive director