COVID-19 and our country's response to George Floyd's murder have thrown us all into a tailspin. Sierra Club locally and nationally have spent time these last months to examine how best to respond. Read Sierra Club's Covid-19 response page, and the Toiyabe Chapter's work toward Racial Justice.
This enews contains updates on other campaigns we haven't been able to share since the pandemic began. Read more and join us. Our work is more important and harder than ever. Take action today!
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 Desert Refuge update
Thanks to hard work by Nevada representatives Stephen Horsford, Dina Titus, and Susie Lee, a poison amendment from Utah's Rob Bishop is likely to fail. The Bishop Amendment would have given authority over 850,000 acres of the Desert National Wildlife Refuge to the Air Force for bombing and other heavy military operations.
Horsford Amendment 342 would strip the Bishop Amendment, improve US Fish & Wildlife management on the Refuge, and guarantee access and consultation to local tribes for whom the Desert Refuge is ancestral homeland. This amendment goes to the House for a floor vote next week. Whatever happens, it's clear the Air Force will continue to to ignore the wishes of Nevadans and continue lobbying in Congress to invade the Refuge.
If you have not yet, please sign this petition supporting Nevada's Congressional Delegation in their efforts to save the Refuge. They need to demonstrate Nevadans' support to House Leadership. And be prepared for more action this fall as the NDAA works its way through Congress.
Take action!
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Election Day: 100 Days and Counting
It's time to get to work!
Sierra Club is hosting a Weekend of Action on July 25th and 26th to kick off the last 100 days until we defeat Donald Trump and elect environmental champions, up and down the ticket here in Nevada. We’re going to make 100,000 phone calls, write 25,000 letters, and send 500,000 texts nationwide - can you join us?
The weekend kicks off with a letter writing brunch on Saturday Morning, July 25th at 9am PT/12pm ET (all activities are virtual)! You can sign up here: sc.org/LetterWritingBrunchSignup
Read more about our plans for this election at sc.org/plan2win
See all our weekend of action opportunities here: sc.org/woa
Donate to support environmental champions in Nevada.
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Save Lake Tahoe from Poisonous
Herbicides and Aquatic Weeds!
 In the 1960s, developers turned Lake Tahoe's largest natural wetland into a 1,500-home housing development and marina, the Tahoe Keys.
The shallow lagoons of the Tahoe Keys are now infested with invasive aquatic weeds, fed by decades of fertilizer use from the surrounding lawns, as well as the 169 storm water outlets from the surrounding community.
The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency the Lahontan Regional Water Board are considering a proposal by the Tahoe Keys Property Owners Association to use toxic herbicides to control the weeds.
Aquatic herbicides have never been used in Lake Tahoe or the Keys, because the EPA prohibits their use in Tahoe, a Tier 3, Outstanding National Resource Water that cannot be degraded.
Public comments are accepted until September 3.
Take Action Now. Save Lake Tahoe from both herbicides and invasive weeds.
Click here to read the details and take action.
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Clark County Master Plan Revision
Clark County has begun drafting a new master plan, which is the guiding document the County uses when making planning and development decisions. The County is starting with a public outreach process aimed at creating a community wide vision for the future.
Your involvement in this process is essential to creating a vision that is based on the needs and vision of our community; not just the desires of decision makers, developers, and commercial interests. Your voice matters, and you can directly help influence how this plan is written by taking Clark County’s first survey for the project.
Click here to read more and take Clark County's Survey, before July 31.
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A Biodiversity Tale
One of our Nevada natives, Tiehm’s Buckwheat (Eriogonum tiehmii), is facing an uphill battle. This beautiful desert-dwelling wildflower, found only near Rhyolite Ridge in Esmeralda County, is threatened because it loves growing in lithium-rich soil. This habitat preference puts it, and its ecosystem, in direct conflict with lithium mining companies looking to extract the mineral needed to produce lithium-ion batteries. If we are not careful, we could lose the Tiehm’s Buckwheat just decades after it was discovered and named.
What can you do to advocate for this special little native plant, its habitat, and biodiversity in our desert? The Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is evaluating Tiehm’s Buckwheat for protection. Written comments are needed and due by July 20.
Participation at a virtual meeting on Monday, July 20th at 9am is also needed to support protection for the little plant. Meeting details can be found here, and more on theTiehm’s Buckwheat story here. Thanks to Range of Light Group leader and Tiehm’s Buckwheat fan, Lynn Boulton, for the photos. We appreciate biodiversity and will work to protect habitat for our natives.
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Plastic Free July
There are hundreds of ways we can each do our part to use fewer single-use plastics and make our lives as consumers less wasteful.
Plastic Free July is a time to practice doing new things to reduce our contribution to landfills and pollution,
Reno Sierra Club volunteer Den made this calendar to make every day in July more sustainable.
"I created this calendar after I watched The Plastic Problem PBS Newshour Special and learned about www.PlasticFreeJuly.org. I was inspired to learn more about plastic. I believe humans want to do the right thing. If we realize the DANGER of plastic, we would REFUSE ALL SINGLE-USE PLASTIC. I hope I inspired you and increased your awareness of the Plastic Problem. I hope you take action. Please share this freely on social media and with others! This is my attempt to Be The Change I Want To See."
~Den, a Hiker, a Climber, a Parent, a Grandparent, an Advocate for Mother Earth!
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Thanks for the Recognition
We are pleased to announce the Toiyabe Chapter has received two national Sierra Club awards:
- A Communication Award to Southern Nevada Group for their excellent communications around the Earth Day 50 art and essay contest in southern Nevada this spring. Congratulations to everyone, especially SNG Chair Taj Ainlay, who worked on this project as the pandemic was forcing all activities to virtual.
- The second award our chapter received was the Denny and Ida Wilcher Award for outstanding work in membership development or fundraising. The award was given for our Major Donor Campaign in 2019. Chair Anne Macquarie is to be particularly congratulated for spearheading this campaign and making it a success. The award comes with a $3,000 gift to the Chapter. Thank you to Anne and all of the Development Team!
Congratulations to all, especially our wonderful volunteers who made these awards happen. A complete list of the Sierra Club Awards and their descriptions can be found at www.sierraclub.org/awards/descriptions.
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Support Important Work:
Become a Monthly Donor
In these crazy, uncertain times, your local Sierra Club's work is more difficult and more important than ever. Please consider a monthly gift.
Your regular gift becomes dependable fuel for the Toiyabe Chapter to keep up its fight to protect public lands, wildlife, and healthy communities throughout the region.
Donate to support your local Sierra Club.
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Join the Sierra Club
Thanks for reading. Become an environmental champion by becoming a member! The Sierra Club is the largest, oldest, grassroots environmental organization in the nation. Your support will make us stronger!
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