Roxanne Sterr's love for the desert and the eastern Sierra began as a teenager with the Explorer Scouts when she learned to rock climb with this co-ed mountaineering club. Roxanne grew up 5 blocks from the beach in southern California, but after discovering the Sierra and learning to rock climb she gave up the sand and waves and spent as much time as possible climbing and backpacking on the east side of the Sierra, in Joshua Tree National Monument (now a National Park), and many other magnificent places.
Although her love for the outdoors started early, Roxanne's passion for Nevada didn't begin until she started volunteering with the Nevada Wilderness Project (NWP) and spending much more time in Nevada's wild outback. Founded in 1999, the Nevada Wilderness Project works to protect Nevada's public lands as wilderness. They do this through an ongoing citizens' inventory of potential wilderness and grassroots educational campaigns that connect communities to Nevada's wildlife and wild places. The Nevada Wilderness Project is a member of the Nevada Wilderness Coalition, which has worked tirelessly and successfully at designating wilderness across the State.
Roxanne Sterr lived for several years just over the state line in California, commuting to her job in Nevada every day. "My first impressions of Nevada were that I didn't want to live here. As I spent more time in Nevada and with NWP and going on hikes and outings with them, I realized what Nevada had to offer and that it truly needed to be protected."
Roxanne's commitment to protecting Nevada's wild gems was sparked by an area in the Black Rock region in northeastern Nevada - Little High Rock Canyon and High Rock Canyon Wilderness areas. These were just a few of the first places the Nevada Wilderness Project and its coalition partners successfully advocated to protect as wilderness in 2000. After experiencing the area, Roxanne was hooked.
"After my first visit to Little High Rock, I started bringing people to the place that opened my eyes to Nevada. This eventually led me to move to Reno. I wanted to invest in Nevada and in protecting wilderness."
Roxanne Sterr and Olive
Roxanne quickly became an active and outspoken voice for wilderness protection in Nevada. She participated in Wilderness Values camping trips to Becky Peak, ski trips to the Schell Creeks in eastern Nevada, and much more. After she moved to Nevada she became an even more serious advocate for wilderness. She started contacting Nevada's Congressional delegation in support of wilderness, writing letters to the editor and becoming more involved in the Nevada Wilderness Project's volunteer activities. "Meeting other activists and having my eyes opened to other wilderness and conservation groups kept me going back for more."
Roxanne has been actively involved every one of the Nevada Wilderness Project and Nevada Wilderness Coalition's campaigns since the groups' start, and each campaign has resulted in wilderness protection for public lands in Nevada - including The Black Rock Desert - High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Act, The Clark County Conservation of Public Land and Natural Resources Act, The Lincoln County Conservation, Recreation, and Development Act, and The White Pine County Conservation, Recreation, and Development Act.
She continues to support the Project's current work in Lyon County to protect places like the Wovoka proposed wilderness in the Pine Grove Hills.
"Roxanne has been with us since we started in 1999 as one of our stalwart volunteers," said John Wallin, Director of the Nevada Wilderness Project. "She has phone banked, written letters, participated in dozens of wilderness values trips, helped out with fundraising events, and gives generously of her time and money to our organization and our effort. Roxanne has made us a more effective organization and never loses her good humor as we get her lost in Nevada's Outback. Her dedication is a big reason for our success in such a short period of time."
Roxanne's volunteering does not stop there. She is also on the board of the Nevada Conservation League, volunteers with Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Disabled Sports USA as a ski instructor to provide the opportunity for individuals with disabilities to gain confidence and dignity through participation in sports.
"I feel like I have been lucky to be involved with these groups. I love what I do. I encourage everyone to take the first step - get involved - then keep going. It has been important to me to give back to community whether through conservation or social responsibility. Even if I don't have the financial backing, I do have the time and energy to contribute."
Roxanne also understands there are threats out there to the wild places she loves. She fears that proposals to build coal fired power plants in Nevada will spoil some of Nevada's wild places as well as its clean air, unique to the desert landscapes, and wildlife.
"Nevada was a blank canvass when NWP started and when I began volunteering. There aren't many places in the lower 48 that give us the opportunity to establish that much wilderness in the amount of time that we have. People don't take the time or effort to see more of what is here. They see Nevada as a big rolling tumbleweed. It's not, and there is still more to be protected, but it's a good start.
"Volunteering for wilderness is a responsibility - I have a hard time understanding why folks don't participate. Volunteering for wilderness protection enhances the community and is an important part of what I should be doing as a citizen."
