Michael McCloskey, an architect of the environmental movement and a native Oregonian, will speak at Hazel Dell’s First United Congregational Church of Christ on Oct. 16 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Wilderness Act. That federal law has led to the protection of nearly 110 million acres of public land in 44 states.
McCloskey, who lives in Portland, was executive director of the Sierra Club from 1969 to 1985; before that, he was a Sierra Club field organizer who pushed to protect landscapes including the Three Sisters Wilderness Area, Waldo Lake, Mount Jefferson and North Cascades National Park. He has published two books, a 2005 memoir called “In The Thick Of It: My Life in the Sierra Club,” and a 2013 historical retrospective of environmental success stories, “Conserving Oregon’s Environment: Breakthroughs That Made History.”
This event is sponsored by the local Loo Wit Group of the Sierra Club. The Rev. Brooks Berndt of First United church said: “I believe Christianity at its best is about caring for others and caring for all of creation. People like McCloskey are heroes who embody such values.”
Open discussion and book sales and signing will follow McCloskey’s presentation, which is set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 16, at the First Congregational Church, 1220 N.E. 68th Street. Learn more at http://vanucc.net.
