Margaret Pennington
Redwood Chapter Chair

First off, I would like to extend a big thank you to Melanie Matway for the fantastic job she has done, both this year and last, as our chapter fund appeal coordinator. Thanks to Melanie's great work and to our members' generous support, we had a record response to our 2004 annual appeal. Our 2005 fund appeal letter was mailed out in March this year, so hopefully it has arrived in your mailbox by now. I hope you'll be able to support our local Club work as generously this year as last. The financial support we receive from our annual appeal makes a substantial difference in terms of our ability to mount effective sustained campaigns, such as our effort to protect forests from conversion to vineyards. You can read more about our Forest Protection campaign online or go to: STOP Forestland Conversions to Vineyards campaign page.

Coordinating the production and mailing of our annual fund appeal letter is no small task, but I should add that's not all Melanie does as a volunteer for Redwood Chapter. She also maintains our website and our database, chairs our Information Technology committee, and also serves as Sonoma Group Treasurer. Thanks again, Melanie, for all your help.

As the "enviro rep" to the Strategy Team, Keith has been advocating for a conservation strategy that will effectively preserve the last remnants of the SR Plain ecosystem and give the Tiger Salamander a fighting chance at recovery. While others on the Strategy Team are paid by their assorted sponsors or employers (government agencies, cities, development interests) to be there, Keith volunteers his hours and hours of time out of his personal commitment to protecting the natural world. I've sometimes thought that we, the environmental community, are at a disadvantage by having to rely on dedicated (and extremely busy) volunteers to hold our place at assorted strategy "tables", but at the same time I realize relying on people who are willing to be there because they truly care from the bottom of their hearts is also one of our greatest strengths. Congratulations, and thank you, Keith. For more information on Sierra Club's efforts to protect the unique vernal pool and oak savannah landscape the California Tiger Salamander calls home, please visit our California Tiger Salamander webpage.