May 2005
Welcome to e-Sierra
The email newsletter of the Sierra Club North Star ChapterMay 2005 / Issue 35
PROTECT AMERICA'S RAINFOREST: STOP LOGGING SUBSIDIES IN TONGASS NATIONAL FOREST
The Tongass National Forest is America's Rainforest. It was established by Teddy Roosevelt in 1907 and is the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world. There's a big vote coming about whether to prohibit funding for road-building in the Tongass. Please contact your US Representative today: http://northstar.sierraclubaction.org/takeaction.asp?aaid=1304
SIERRA CLUB AND HABITAT FOR HUMANITY - RAIN GARDEN PROJECT
Rain or shine, Sierra Club and Habitat for Humanity will team up on June 18 at 9:30 at Germain Landing in St. Paul to plant a rain garden filled with daylilies, feather reed grass, Russian sage, and pink turtlehead perennials (877 two quart containers) and 189 shrubs (3 gallon containers) such as spirea, arborvitae, and winterberry. Your help is needed to tenderly do the planting. Rain gardens collect and filter rainwater runoff, which helps to recharge ground water and keep lakes, streams, and rivers clean. For more information go to Habitat for Humanity and Sierra Club Rain Garden or contact Sandy Ahlstrom (952) 474-6483.
MINING WITHOUT HARM CAMPAIGN
Help take on two new mega-polluters: Sulfide mining and making iron nuggets from taconite--both just a dozen miles from the BWCAW. Join the new Mining Without Harm Campaign of the Sierra Club North Star Chapter. Call Clyde Hanson at (218) 387-9081 or email: . See background information in the Duluth News Tribune. Polymet Mining is proposing to fill 1,200 acres of wetlands. We plan to meet monthly, and have a listserve so we can respond quickly.
CALLING ALL SHOREVIEW SIERRA CLUB MEMBERS
Sierra Communities is a new program of the Sierra Club North Star Chapter, focused on providing opportunities for members in suburban metro communities to get involved in environmental issues right in their own neighborhoods. Please attend an introductory meeting on Tuesday, May 24th at 7:00pm if you are interested in environmental efforts in the Shoreview area! Come with the issues that concern you, and help determine our goals for the coming months. RSVP's appreciated. Meeting Details or contact Margaret Levin at 612-659-9124 or .
SIERRA NEIGHBORHOODS - GO WITH THE FLOW
Get involved in your local storm water program! Become a Sierra Neighbor by using better rain water management practices in your home and yard, and receive an award for your efforts...or...serve as a community coordinator for your neighborhood to help organize events, reach out to new participants & connect them to resources...or...join the Sierra Neighborhoods planning committee to shape & develop the growth of this program. Contact Cesia (saysha) Kearns at (612) 659-9124 or to find out about upcoming activities, or to get involved.
FIELD TRIPS TO OUR THREATENED FORESTS
800 people have signed postcards to Gov. Pawlenty, demanding protection for ALL of our wild forests. Now our Forest Watch volunteers are planning field trips to Minnesota's threatened roadless areas. Sign up for the Forest Watch announcement list and keep an eye on the web calendar for details.
HOW DOES THE FOREST PLAN WORK?
Have you ever felt powerless when you tell the Bush administration to protect our national forests? Take the step that will get their attention: learn how the system works, so we can change it together! We've started a National Forest Planning Tutorial, or come to the Forest Protection 101 workshop, June 4, 10-2 at Black Bear Crossings, in Como Park, St. Paul.
GOVERNOR KILLS BIG WIN FOR TRANSIT
For the first time since 1988, a bipartisan majority of the Minnesota House and Senate voted in favor of substantial, dedicated, ongoing funding increases for transit statewide. Governor Pawlenty just vetoed this bill and opted for bus fare hikes, route cuts, congested highways, and bad air quality. Click here to contact your legislators and express your discontent. For more info or to get involved in our grassroots transportation choices campaign, contact or call 612-659-9124.
FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE SPRAWL COMMITTEE
The Sprawl and Land Use Committee is now the Land Use and Transportation Committee. "Our new name really reflects more of what we do," says co-chair Sharell Benson. Sprawl is a symptom of poor planning. The solution is to make better land use and transportation decisions. The Sierra Club is part of the solution. Contact or call 612-659-9124 for more information.
GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY FOR A DAY
Join community residents in our first ever Adopt-A-Wetland Clean Up Day! The Sierra Club recently adopted its very own wetland in Northdale Park in the City of Oakdale. Don't miss the BBQ afterwards! Saturday, May 21st, 10am - 12:30pm. For more information contact or call 612-659-9124
FINALLY SPRING AND TIME TO BIKE!
Bike Tour: Downtown Hopkins/Shady Oak Lake We will bicycle up Main Street and see how the City of Hopkins has created a livable downtown, then on to Shady Oak Lake to learn how road reconstruction could impact area wetlands. Saturday, June 11th, 10am - Noon. For more information contact or call 612-659-9124.
THE 10th ANNUAL TOUR DE SPRAWL
In case you haven't heard, the Tour is a fun and unique bike ride around the Twin Cities, with stops that highlight great examples of transit, smart-growth development, and open space. Currently, volunteers are hard at work determining this years special 10th Anniversary route. If you would like to help out, contact or call 612-659-9124. This year's Tour is September 17.
STRETCH THE LEGS ABIT THURSDAY EVENINGS
Coming soon: Outings Committee Thursday Night Nature Hikes: Most Thursdays, starting mid-June, different outings leaders will be leading short evening hikes at parks and trails in the area. A great way to get out during the week! Join us for Nature Outings
MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND - HIKE THE SUPERIOR HIKING TRAIL
Begin the May 27-30th Superior Hiking Trail trip near the Canadian border and hike along the Superior Hiking Trail. This is one of the premier trails in the United States. We will be hiking approximately 20 miles per day and camp each night. Those who do not wish to backpack will have the option of taking day hikes along the route and we can all camp together in the evenings. Trip will go rain or shine. RSVP by May 20th. Superior Hiking Trail Trip Details or contact George Sawyer at 612-743-5253 or .
NORTHERN DAKOTA COUNTY SIERRA CLUB MEMBERS HANKERIN' TO TAKE THE BUS, TRAIN...
West St. Paul/Mendota Heights Sierra Community is focusing on transit issues and transportation options in Northern Dakota County. Sierra Club volunteers will have a display booth at West Saint Paul Days on Saturday, May 21, 12:00pm - 3:00pm, Robert Street and Moreland Ave. (near Caribou Coffee), West Saint Paul. Please stop by to fill out a survey on transit needs in your community and get more information about this effort. In case of rain, find us at the Craft Show, St. Croix Lutheran High School, 1200 Oakdale Ave, West Saint Paul. For more info contact .
SCHEDULE OF UPCOMING EVENTS
Sat May 21: Adopt-A-Wetland Clean-up at Northdale Park, Oakdale, 10:00am
Mon May 23: Sierra Neighborhoods Meeting 5:30pm
Tues May 24: Clean Air 7:00pm
Wed May 25: Water Committee 5:30pm
Wed May 25: Excom 7pm
Mon May 30: Memorial Day - Office Closed
Wed Jun 1: Forest Committee 7pm
Sat Jun 4: Forest Protection 101 Workshop 10am
Mon June 6: Transportation Sub-Committee 5:45pm
Mon June 6: Land Use and Transportation Committee 7:00pm
Wed Jun 8: Wetlands 5:30pm
Sat June 11: Bike Tour: Downtown Hopkins/Shady Oak Lake 10am - Noon
Tues Jun 14: EJAM 6pm
Tues Jun 14: New Activist Orientation 5:30pm
Tues Jun 14: Conservation Committee 6:30
Wed Jun 22: Water Committee 5:30pm
Wed Jun 22: Excom 7pm
Tues Jun 28: Clean Air 7pm
For More Calendar Information or for Interesting Submissions Contact: .