Gay and Lesbian Sierrans brings conservation and camaraderie to the gay community

A GLS hike on the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Photo by Callen Sor.

Stephanie Clarke had just moved to San Francisco when friends told her about Gay and Lesbian Sierrans (GLS), the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender section of the Sierra Club's San Francisco Bay Chapter. "They knew I liked the outdoors, and I was looking for ways to meet people," says Clarke, who joined soon afterward. "It was a way for me both to meet people and to explore and get to know all of the Bay Area and California parks."

Today Clarke is a GLS hike leader and has led a range of outings over the years, including hikes, camping trips, and bike rides, as well as brunches and trips to local museums. She has also served as chair of the section.

It's nearly 20 years since two gay male employees of the Sierra Club, eager to build the Club's diversity, first proposed a gay and lesbian activity section for the Bay Chapter. They suspected that there were plenty of ecologically minded local gay people who would be more likely to get involved in environmental activism if there were social incentives.

The Bay Chapter had already created Sierra Singles, Sierra Couples, and Solo Sierrans (geared toward older adults), but the Chapter Executive Committee initially rejected the idea of a gay and lesbian section (by a 5 - 4 vote), some members expressing concern that it would alienate existing or prospective Sierra Club members. (It was 1984, and panic around the early days of the AIDS epidemic was effectively fueling society's homophobia.) Some Sierra Club members, however, were enthusiastic in their support for the idea: in fact, Michael Hanna Muir, great-grandson of Sierra Club founder John Muir, endorsed the section, coming out as a gay man in his show of support.

Finally, thanks to some good old-fashioned grassroots organizing by members of the local gay community, the Bay Chapter approved the creation of GLS in 1986. Today Sierra Club chapters around the country have followed its lead and established GLS sections of their own in the San Jose, Santa Cruz, Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Denver areas.

Here in the Bay Area, GLS sponsors hikes at all levels of difficulty, car camping, backpacking trips, and a variety of social events. The section also makes conservation a priority, sponsoring work parties each month, including ongoing habitat restoration at Corona Heights (a hilltop park in San Francisco) and at Marin County's historic Fort Baker.

GLS provides members of the gay community with an added incentive to get outdoors. Cate Steane, a longtime GLS member who currently leads the Fort Baker conservation project, says that if her only motivation were to pull non-native plants out of the ground, she wouldn't have to go farther than her own backyard. "But I've met wonderful people on these outings," she says, "and it's awe-inspiring to see how much can be accomplished by a group in a short time."

It's that combination of the commitment to Sierra Club values and camaraderie with like-minded folks that's kept GLS running for the past two decades. To learn more about GLS and request a free one-time complimentary newsletter, call (415) 281-5666 or visit: http://sfbay.sierraclub.org/GLS

Carrie Spector