Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 52

John Sterling

THE BIG ADVOCATE
For almost three decades, The
Conservation Alliance has been fighting for grassroots environmental causes
by funding the nonprofits working in the
trenches. For the past two decades, John
Sterling has stood at the helm of this
group that is helping the outdoor industry
make a big difference as a force for good.
Written by Jonathan Waterman

"T

he near term is challenging," says The Conservation
Alliance director John Sterling.
"Congress is so out of touch
"with reality, and so far behind the voters on
conservation."
After all, if you're a nature-loving recreationalist, it's hard to remain apolitical with the current winds in D.C. Now, more than ever before,
the bulk of the outdoor industry has made it
clear that it wants to take action. John Sterling

52 OUTDOOR RETAILER

/ 35th Anniversary 2017

and The Conservation Alliance could be one of
the industry's-and the environment's-last
best hopes.
To understand The Conservation Alliance,
let alone Sterling, it's necessary to revisit the
organization's beginnings in 1989. That year
Bill Simon at The North Face had written an
article in the outdoor industry news publication SNEWS in which he argued that the industry needed to start protecting wild areas
used by outdoor recreationalists. "How do we

give back?" Simon asked.
Shortly thereafter, REI's Wally Smith called
Simon. Patagonia's Yvon Chouinard and Kelty's
George Grabner soon followed suit. They met
in San Francisco to hash out the goal of partnerships for "protecting wild places for both their
habitat and recreation values." Each company
donated $10,000, and, without further ado,
they sent $40,000 to the nonprofit Friends of
the Payette to stop a dam from being built on
that Idaho river. The Conservation Alliance had
life in its veins.
Then at the 1990 Ski Industry Association
(SIA) show in Las Vegas, the four founders
started looking for partners. In an early Sunday
morning meeting, they each made their pitch
from behind the podium, trying to sell $10,000
memberships to 65 companies-represented
by a crowd of 200 people, many of whom (according to one newsletter) were badly hungover. An awkward moment of silence ensued.
Finally, Ron Nadeau from Grabber Warmers
stood up. "I don't know how we're going to pay
for it," he said, "but we're in." By year's end, 10
more companies joined.
Later that same year, John Sterling, who was
23 at the time, graduated from Berkeley. While
volunteering for the Gandhi Peace Institute
in India-restoring watersheds devastated by
deforestation-he realized that he had taken
for granted the protected lands and parks of
the American West where he grew up. Then
and there, Sterling says, "I decided to become a
steward for wild lands in my own country."
He promptly returned to California. While
interning for the Earth Island Institute, he got

photograph by ANDREW KORNYLAK



Outdoor Retailer - July 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Outdoor Retailer - July 2017

OUTDOOR RETAILER - JULY 2017
CONTENTS
CONTRIBUTORS
FIRST WORDS
THE TRIBE
GREG THOMSEN
YVON CHOUINARD AND GERRY LOPEZ
STEVE BARKER
THE SCENE
JEFF LOWE
PETER AND PATTY DUKE
BEAVER THEODOSAKIS
CARSON STANWOOD
CHAD GALLWITZ
JOHN MEAD
THE TORNADO
THE SCENE
SALLY MCCOY
JOHN STERLING
CASEY SHEAHAN
THE SCENE
MUSIC AND MEMORIES
PETER METCALF
SALLY JEWELL
CONRAD ANKER
JEN TAYLOR
DAN NORDSTROM
JEREMY COLLINS
JOANNA HOSHIMOTO
THE FUTURE
THE BACKSTORY
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - OUTDOOR RETAILER - JULY 2017
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - Cover2
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 1
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - CONTENTS
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 3
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - CONTRIBUTORS
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 5
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - FIRST WORDS
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 7
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - THE TRIBE
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 9
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 10
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 11
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - GREG THOMSEN
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 13
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 14
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 15
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - YVON CHOUINARD AND GERRY LOPEZ
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 17
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 18
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 19
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - STEVE BARKER
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 21
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 22
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 23
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - THE SCENE
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 25
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 26
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 27
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - JEFF LOWE
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 29
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - PETER AND PATTY DUKE
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 31
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - BEAVER THEODOSAKIS
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 33
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - CARSON STANWOOD
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 35
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - CHAD GALLWITZ
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 37
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - JOHN MEAD
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 39
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - THE TORNADO
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 41
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 42
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - THE SCENE
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 44
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 45
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 46
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 47
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - SALLY MCCOY
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 49
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 50
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 51
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - JOHN STERLING
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 53
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - CASEY SHEAHAN
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 55
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - THE SCENE
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 57
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 58
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 59
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - MUSIC AND MEMORIES
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 61
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 62
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 63
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 64
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 65
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - PETER METCALF
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 67
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 68
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - SALLY JEWELL
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - CONRAD ANKER
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 71
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - JEN TAYLOR
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - DAN NORDSTROM
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - JEREMY COLLINS
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - JOANNA HOSHIMOTO
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - THE FUTURE
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 77
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 78
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - 79
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - THE BACKSTORY
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - Cover3
Outdoor Retailer - July 2017 - Cover4
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