Terence Chea of the AP has an article about the latest battle between the Sierrans for U.S. Population Stabilization and the old guard at the Sierra Club. Last year the old guard pulled out all the stops and conducted a sleazy campaign to prevent former CO governor Dick Lamm and others from being elected to the board of the Club.

From Chea's "Immigration resurfaces as issue for Sierra Club":

The club's 750,000 members are voting this month on whether the organization should push for tighter restrictions on immigration. Five seats are open on the 15-member board of directors, which sets club policy and commands the $100 million annual budget.

Sierrans for U.S. Population Stabilization, club activists seeking to limit immigration, are backing five candidates and pushing a "yes" vote on a measure calling for restricting immigration...

Unfortunately, what Terence Chea doesn't report is what might perhaps be the greatest reason the leadership of the Sierra Club opposes immigration restriction-related measures and candidates.

On October 27, 2004 the L.A. Times published "The Man Behind the Land" which described a major donor to the Sierra Club Foundation, David Gelbaum. His donations total at least $100 million, and here's what he told the L.A. Times:

"None of that is true [that he's pulling the strings at the Club]," [Gelbaum] said. "I'm not some Svengali. I'm not that engaged."

But he said [Carl Pope, Sierra Club Executive Director] long had known where he stood on the contentious issue. "I did tell Carl Pope in 1994 or 1995 that if they ever came out anti-immigration, they would never get a dollar from me..."

Terence Chea has written about these battles at the Sierra Club before, so you'd think he'd follow this issue closely enough to know about the L.A. Times' article. Maybe he didn't know, or maybe he's saving it for use in a future article. In any case, a suggestion to the AP that they mention the $100+ million as a possible motivating factor in future articles might be welcomed: feedback *at* ap *dot* org.