Letter: Sierra Club loses local conservation leader

To the community,

Well-known conservationist Bob Anderson and his wife, Grace, were on a 70th birthday trip to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in the Serengeti National Park in Kenya when a van accident caused fatal head injuries to Bob and injured Grace.

The couple had completed their successful climb of the over-19,000-foot high mountain.

Bob served as president of the local bi-state Tahoe Area Sierra Club for several years. He was also a member of LTFAC, the Lake Tahoe Federal Advisory Committee to TRPA, as well as a board member of the Washoe Meadows Community Group. In addition, Bob was a board member of the Tahoe Institute for Nature Studies.

Bob had a long history of successful conservation campaigns in Montana before he met and married Grace Proulx of Meyers. The two shared an interest in energy transmission, as well as hiking, backpacking, and climbing. Bob was a former two-term elected member of the Montana Public Utilities Commission.

As a seasoned conservation activist and prominent commissioner, Bob brought his great skills to managing the local Sierra Club group as the issues of the proposed Regional Plan became more and more worrisome regarding the impacts on Lake Tahoe. Bob was very effective and will be remembered by many for his conservation efforts in the Tahoe basin.

The Tahoe Area Sierra Club is stunned by the loss of Bob and our hearts go out to his wife, Grace, who was injured in the accident. We look forward to Grace’s recovery and return to her beloved cabin in Meyers, where she entertained her small grandchildren with great pleasure. Grace has been the leader for planning and producing the club’s fund-raisers for the past four years.

Laurel Ames, Tahoe Area Sierra Club conservation chair