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1980-1989 A Tiny Flower, Reorganization AMC Outdoors, January/February 2001 Under Tom Deans' leadership, AMC members rallied to block a dam project on the West Branch of Maine's Penobscot River; protect New York's Lake Minnewaska from a resort development; and amend the Federal Power Act, paving the way for AMC's later dam-relicensing successes. The Research department studied acid rain and worked to repopulate the endangered alpine plant Potentilla robbinsiana. A major capital campaign gave the AMC's endowment a healthy start and the Trails department created the Adopt-a-Trail program. Deans served on an outdoor-recreation commission under President Jimmy Carter. And, in 1982, the AMC won its largest grant to date — $1 million — to take its model across the country with the National Volunteer Project. The AMC's programs continued to grow throughout the 1980s, but its complex operations became more than even the most dedicated volunteers could handle. In 1988, the Council hired Andy Falender as executive director and a challenging reorganization followed. The changes gave the executive director more authority over staff and programs and created a board of directors that set policy but did not manage day-to-day operations. Members responded with an overwhelming vote of confidence to the new set of bylaws. With a new board in place, putting the AMC's financial house in order swiftly followed. Within a year of Falender's arrival, the AMC had paid off all outstanding debts. Meanwhile, eyes turned north in 1988 as nearly 1 million acres of New England timberland went on the market to developers. 1990-2000 Spotlight on Conservation and Education Elsewhere, the AMC supported efforts to protect Sterling Forest, 14,000 acres of woodland near New York City. The AMC negotiated the 1994 Deerfield River Agreement, hailed as a national dam-relicensing model that improved habitat and boating, while continuing power production. In 1994 AMC volunteers in the southern region partnered with the National Park Service to run the Mohican Outdoor Center. At the huts, the 1990s buzzwords were "permit renewal," a four-year effort requiring public meetings and an Environmental Impact Statement before the U.S. Forest Service and the AMC signed a new permit in 1999. The AMC sought increases in conservation funding that in 1997 resulted in the highest in two decades and helped lead the national effort to permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund. A focus on education aimed to reach every AMC activity, including kids' programs, hut naturalists, and volunteer leadership training. Meanwhile, membership shot from 39,078 in 1990 to nearly 90,000 in 2000. Those members raised the bar on annual donations, passing the $1 million mark for the first time in 1997. In 1999, 2,700 volunteers led 7,000 trips and activities. "The present condition of the Club is highly satisfactory," wrote Edward Pickering in 1877. Certainly the same could be said today.
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