Sierra Club leader has quit By Ellen Chrismer Modesto Bee - May 19, 2000 Upset over the Sierra Club's recent environmental policies regarding Yosemite National Park and other federal lands, board member and legendary conservationist David Brower announced Thursday that he has resigned. Sierra Club executive director Carl Pope said he received a brief fax from Brower announcing his decision. "He listed a number of different reasons," Pope said. "He noted that the club was not taking the stands that he approved of." He did not resign membership from the San Francisco-based club, Pope said. Reached by phone in the Bay Area on Thursday night, Brower said he resigned because he felt other members weren't listening to him. He cited the Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System as an example. "They keep talking about buses and roads," Brower said. "Light rail got totally ignored. This is the only country in the world that ignores light rail." Brower, who will be 88 in July, said he plans to stay active as a member of the Sierra Club. "I'm hoping we will get a better board," he said, "and maybe I'll mature and get back on it." With more than 600,000 members, the 108-year-old Sierra Club is one of the nation's largest and most powerful environmental groups. An avid hiker and mountaineer, Brower joined in 1933 and became a member of its board eight years later. From 1952 to 1969 he served as the organization's first executive director. He was re-elected to the Sierra Club's board in 1983, 1986, 1995 and 1998. Brower and the club have had an often rocky relationship. In 1969, Brower was forced out of his director's position after refusing to cut back on a struggling club book-publishing enterprise. According to Pope, Brower resigned for the first time as a board member 10 years ago, before being re-elected to the board. In 1996, he briefly submitted his resignation, but then withdrew his request. Brower also talked to Pope about resigning last year, but didn't follow through. "(Speaking) as a director, he's very engaged when you are talking about big picture and the issues," Pope said. "But he can grow impatient with the bureaucracy." Pope said he will miss Brower's wide environmental vision. Brower has given no indication whether he will return to the board of directors, Pope said. But he wouldn't be surprised. "I would never count David out," Pope said.