The Sierra Club is an American environmental organization with chapters in all 50 U.S. states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded in 1892, in San Francisco, by preservationist John Muir. A product of the progressive movement, it was one of the first large-scale environmental preservation organizations in the world. Since the 1950s, it has lobbied politicians to promote environmentalist policies, even if they are controversial. Recent goals include promoting sustainable energy and mitigating global warming, as well as opposing the use of coal, hydropower, and nuclear power. Its political endorsements generally favor liberal and progressive candidates in elections.
Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir in Yosemite National Park, c. 1906
Sierra Club members practicing a comedy skit for later social entertainment, c. 1948
Green River canyon trip at Dinosaur National Monument's Bull Park in 1953.
Nature hike at Point Lobos State Reserve in 1972.
John Muir, also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks", was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist, and early advocate for the preservation of wilderness in the United States.
Muir c. 1902
Muir was born in the small house at left. His father bought the adjacent building in 1842, and made it the family home.
Entrance to Fountain Lake Farm near Portage, Wisconsin
Photo of Muir by Carleton Watkins, c. 1875