David Brower Era Sierra Club Advocacy, Bulletin Record of Wilderness and Anti-Dam Advocacy Archive, 1951–1963

Sierra Club David Brower

Archive

Sierra Club Bulletin issues from May 1951 through 1963 form a continuous printed record of the organization’s shift into coordinated national advocacy under David Brower, with each issue carrying aligned messaging on wilderness preservation, federal land policy, and organized outdoor use. Under Brower's direction, Sierra Club transformed into a powerful national lobbying organization. The March 1954 number prints “A Great National Park?—or Two Wasteful Dams?” dated March 25, responding directly to President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s approval of Secretary Douglas McKay’s Echo Park Dam proposal, while the same issue promotes “Wilderness Outings, 1954,” “Firing Begins on Dinosaur,” and a “Dinosaur Newsletter,” linking recreation, membership activity, and legislative opposition within a single publication. Issues across 1955, 1959, 1960, and 1961 continue this pattern through articles, program listings, and book promotions, establishing the Bulletin as a recurring instrument through which the Sierra Club advanced arguments against dam construction, circulated scientific and photographic material, and maintained pressure during the Dinosaur National Monument campaign and the subsequent push toward federal wilderness protection.

Archive of Sierra Club Bulletins. San Francisco, California: Sierra Club, 1951–1963. Group of 9 issues, all approximately 9" x 6" x .5".
[1] Volume 36 (May 1951, Number 5)
[2] Volume 38 (October 1953, Number 8)
[3] Volume 39 (March 1954, Number 6)
[4] Volume 40 (October 1955, Number 8)
[5] Volume 44 (October 1959, Number 7)
[6] Volume 45 (December 1960, Number 9)
[7] Volume 46 (October 1961, Number 8)
[8] Volume 47 (1962, Number 9)
[9] Volume 48 (1963, Number 10)
[10] Small-format bulletin (March, 1954)

These issues preserve a pre-1970s phase of environmental advocacy centered on wilderness preservation, dam opposition, and federal land use, before “environmentalism” and “climate” emerge as unified public frameworks. The run traces how the Sierra Club articulated conservation arguments across multiple years in print, establishing the language and priorities later carried into national campaigns. Articles include “Burro Trips” and “Family Burro Trips” outlining organized access through Onion Valley, Kearsarge Pass, and Tuolumne Meadows, alongside “A Great National Park?—or Two Wasteful Dams?” addressing federal dam construction in Dinosaur National Monument, with recurring sections detailing wilderness excursions, conservation initiatives, and Club activity. Covers feature landscape photography credited to Cedric Wright, while interior content combines policy writing, field logistics, and environmental argumentation, reinforced by book notices documenting early circulation of Sierra Club publishing. Regular columns outlining routes, access points, and seasonal conditions record how members entered and used landscapes under active federal development review. Some internal annotations across issues, handling and age wear expected throughout, but all issues largely legible with strong paper bindings. Overall good condi.

Item #23284

Price: $550.00