Description: Regional anti-resource organization pushing for the eradication of natural resource extraction and production and against private property rights. Began in 1983 as local grassroots wilderness group, taken over in 1988 by moneyed out-of-state interests for a highly-politicized national Democratic Party agenda. Now dominated by absentee multimillionaires who use local artists, writers, politicians and academicians for public relations. After these charges were first made, SUWA has decorated its board of directors with more locals, but the absentee rich men remain -- in fact, SUWA's current chairman of the board is also chairman of a multinational corporation based in Switzerland. They want the locals out of the desert and nobody gets to use its resources, which include the richest clean coal bed in the world.  SUWA is rich guys doing a little rural cleansing to make the desert safe for rich guys.

 

Board of Directors, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance HANSJORG WYSS, CHAIRMAN TERRY TEMPEST-WILLIAMS, TRUSTEE CINDY SHOGAN, TRUSTEE JANET ROSS, TRUSTEE MARK RISTOW, TREASURER LAWRENCE YOUNG, EXECUTIVE DIR TRENT ALVEY, TRUSTEE CHIP WARD, TRUSTEE TED WILSON, VICE CHAIRMAN DEL SMITH, TRUSTEE GREG MINER, SECRETARY DARRELL KNUFFKE, TRUSTEE JOHANNA WALD, TRUSTEE BERT FINGERHUT, TRUSTEE JIM BACA, TRUSTEE WAYNE OWENS, TRUSTEE

Hansjorg Wyss, chairman and multimillionaire.
SUWA donor and trustee since 1996.
US base, Paoli, Pennsylvania; part-time, Tucson, Arizona.
Since 1977, chief executive officer of Swiss-based Synthes-Stratec, computer-assisted orthopedic surgery.
Director, Applied Extrusion Technologies, plastics firm.
Director, BE Aerospace, Inc. Purchased 800,000 shares of the company for $6.5 million in 2000.
Trustee of the Wilderness Society.
Founder, director and donor of the Wyss Foundation, in which Bert Fingerhut serves as trustee.
Long-time high-dollar donor to Democratic Party committees and candidates.

Profiles of other SUWA directors:

• Bert Fingerhut, multi-millionaire. 1965 to 1983: General partner, executive vice president, Oppenheimer & Company, Inc., New York City investment banking and brokerage firm. 1984 to 1985:
  special limited partner and senior vice president, Odyssey Partners, private investment partnership. May 1998: Chairman of the board and acting chief executive officer of Cortech, Inc., biotechnology research firm, director since 1988. Chairman of Cortec board, June 1991 - April 1997. Chairman of the board of directors, Toxics Targeting, private company based in Ithaca, N.Y. that tracks information on toxic waste sites. Long-time high-dollar donor to Democratic Party committees and candidates.

• Mark Ristow, treasurer. Indiana resident. SUWA trustee since 1991, treasurer since 1993. Attorney, CPA, investor, Russel & Ristow Capital Associates. Ten years as Nature Conservancy trustee. Long-time high-dollar donor to Democrat Party committees. Donated $3,000 to Utah Rep. Wayne Owens election campaign; Owens is now a SUWA trustee.

• Larry Young, executive director.

• Terry Tempest-Williams, Utah native, nature writer and feminist. Former naturalist, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and Utah Museum of Natural History. Shirley Sutton Thomas Visiting Professor of English at the University of Utah. Resides in Salt Lake City, Utah, with husband Brooke.

• Cindy Shogan, executive director, Alaska Wilderness League, Washington, D.C.

• Janet Ross, moved from Missouri to Utah; founder (1984) and executive director of Four Corners School of Outdoor Education, Monticello, Utah.

• Trent Alvey, visual artist for environmental organizations, owner and founder of Trent Alvey Design, Salt Lake City.

• Chip Ward, founder West Desert Healthy Environment Alliance (HEAL). Former bookmobile driver, currently Development Services Manager for the Utah State Library Division, Salt Lake City. Author: Canaries on the Rim.

• Ted Wilson, vice chairman. Former Salt Lake City Mayor. Director, Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah.

• Del Smith, owner, Eagle Crag Ventures, Rockville, Utah, outdoor guide.

• Greg Miner, Park City, Utah.

• Darrell Knuffke, International Fall, Minnesota. Trustee, Northern Minnesotans for Wilderness. Former director, National Outdoor Leadership School. Vice president, Wilderness Society. Married to National Park Service official.

• Johanna Wald, senior attorney, and Land Program Director, Natural Resources Defense Council.

• Wayne Owens, former U.S. Representative, one term 1973-75, 4 terms 1987-1993; failed 1992 Senate bid. 1993: vice chairman, Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation; 1995, president. Member of the boards of Defenders of Wildlife and The International Crisis Group.

• Jim Baca, former Director, Bureau of Land Management (Department of the Interior) fired after 9 months of arrogance against citizens; former Mayor of Albuquerque, New Mexico, lost re-election bid in 2001.

• Former executive director, Mike Matz, now director, Pew Wilderness Center, Washington, D.C. Also board member, Alaska Wilderness League (see Cindy Shogan). Former executive director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. Previously chairman, Alaska Coalition; Washington director, Sierra Club public lands program.

Grants to Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance:

1 Aquarius Plateau Foundation 1998 assets: $235,572. Original donor and current top officer: David Mock, investor. To SUWA 1995 $11,000.

2 Beldon Fund 1997 revenue: $203,989. Original donor and current top officer: John R. Hunting, founder of Steelcase, office furniture manufacturer. Beldon II Fund 1998 assets:106,998,330. Original donors: William Upjohn and John R. Hunting. Current top officer: John R. Hunting. To SUWA, $15,000 1998; $12,500.

3 Compton Foundation 1998 assets: $108,764,621. Original donor: William H. Danforth, Purina Mills (now Ralston Purina) feed empire. Current top officer: James R. Compton, Danforth heir. SUWA 1997 $20,000

4 Educational Foundation of America 1998 assets: $240,888,907. Original donor: Richard Prentice Ettinger and family, Prentice-Hall publishing fortune. Current top officer: Barbara Ettinger, chair; SUWA 1998 $100,000 2-yr grant.

5 Foundation for Deep Ecology 1998 assets: $174,570,494 Original donor and current top officer: Douglas Tompkins, Esprit clothing fortune; SUWA 1998 $10,000.

6 General Service Foundation 1998 assets: $61,466,035. Original donor: Clifton R. Musser and Margaret K. Musser; Clifton was a director of Weyerhauser Company and Potlatch Lumber Company. Current top officer: Robert Musser, a SUWA trustee and an Environmental Defense Fund trustee. SUWA 1997 $5,000.

7 Gerhard Family Foundation 1997 assets: $5,147,483. Original donor and current top officer: Lang Gerhard, senior partner West Highland Capital. SUWA $10,000

8 Harder Foundation 1998 assets: $22,363,089. Original donor: Delmar S. Harder, General Motors executive, Current top officer: Del Langbauer, Harder heir. SUWA 1998 $18,500.

9 Homeland Foundation 1998 assets: $36,105,841. Original donor and current top officer: Anne Getty Earhart, granddaughter of J. Paul Getty; she received $400 million when Getty Oil sold to Texaco in 1988, now worth $740 million. SUWA 1998 $10,000.

10 W. Alton Jones Foundation 1998 assets: $414,449,814. Original donor: W. Alton "Pete" Jones, Citgo Oil Company chief. Current top officer: Patricia Jane Edgerton, daughter of Jones. Current executive, John Peterson "Pete" Myers, formerly National Audubon Society. SUWA 1993 $30,000.

11 Kenney Watershed Protection Foundation 1998 assets: $4,361,826. Original donor: William C. Kenney Administrative Trust, funds partly from gift by Horace Kenney, Massachusetts industrialist in car thermostat business. Current top officer: Mary Peterson. SUWA 1998 $1,000.

12 New-Land Foundation 1998 assets: $36,320,323. Original donor: Dr. Muriel Gardiner Buttinger, heiress to two Chicago meat packing fortunes, Morris and Swift. SUWA 1995 $15,000; 1992: $15,000; 1990 $10,000.

13 Peradam Foundation 1998 assets: $1,095,479. Original donors and current sole officers: Robert and Anita Spertus. SUWA 1995, $20,000.

14 Pew Charitable Trusts 1998 assets: $4.9 billion. Original donor: Joseph Newton Pew, founder of Sun Oil Company. Current executive officer: Rebecca Rimel; current environment program director: Joshua Reichert. SUWA 1996 $100,000, 1999 $875,000.

15 Rockefeller Family Fund 1998 assets: $58,513,574. Original donors: Nelson, Laurance, David, John D. III, and Martha Rockefeller. Current top officer: Anne Bartley, president, a Rockefeller, investor. SUWA 1989 $25,000.

16 Schumann Foundation 1998 assets: $90,976,760. Original donors: John and Florence Schumann. John Schumann was a Florida newspaperman, appointed postmaster in 1934 by President Franklin Roosevelt and served for 10 years, founded WTTB, first radio station in Indian River County, was a leader in the emerging citrus industry, a member of the Florida Citrus Commission, a founding director of several local banks and a credit union, and a charter member of many service and social organizations. Current top officer, William D. (Bill) Moyers, president. Moyers is an award winning television personality, editor-in-chief of PBS’s Bill Moyers’ Journal. He earlier served as Press Secretary to President Lyndon Johnson, after serving on Johnson’s Senate staff. SUWA 1992, $60,000.

17 Benjamin Spencer Fund 1998 assets: $13,841,724. Original funder and current top officer: Hope Aldrich, a Rockefeller, New Mexico newspaper publisher and the richest person in New Mexico. SUWA 1998 $20,000

18 Tortuga Foundation 1998 assets: $17,225,467. Original Donors: William S. Breed III, Joan L. Tweedy, 3M heir. Both she and her husband, Richard Tweedy ’41, ’48 LL.B, have strong individual and family ties to Yale. Joan Tweedy is the sister of Gilman Ordway, a 1947 Yale College graduate who operates a ranch in Wyoming, is a director of the Wilderness Society, and has been a generous supporter of the university. Joan’s father, Samuel G. Ordway, a 3M heir, was a 1908 Yale College graduate. Yale graduates in Richard Tweedy’s family include his father, Class of 1897, and sons David B. Tweedy ’73, Richard B. Tweedy, Jr. ’74, and Jonathan W. Tweedy ’79. Current top officer: Mildred Siceloff, president. SUWA $25,000.

19 Town Creek Foundation 1998 assets: $60,575,167. Original donor and current top officer: Edmund A. Stanley, former president and CEO of Bowne & Co., Inc., a corporate and financial printer, former Wilderness Society board member. 1998 $25,000 for Phantom Road project. SUWA 1997 $15,000; 1993 $10,000; 1992 $10,000; 1988 $5,000.

20 Underhill Foundation 1998 assets: $15,595,802. Original donor: Gladys R. Underhill, a Rockefeller heiress. Current top officer, David Elliman, nuclear power investor, grandson of Avery Rockefeller. SUWA $5,000.

21 Walton Family Foundation 1998 assets: $547,887,222. Original donors: Walton family members and the Helen R. Walton Nonqualified Charitable Trust. Current top officer: Helen R. Walton, widow of Sam Walton. They were co-founders of Wal-Mart Stores. SUWA 1998 $10,000.

22 Weeden Foundation 1997 assets: $25,341,788. Original donor: Frank Weeden, other Weeden family members. Weeden & Co., is a pre-eminent securities company. Current top officer: Alan N. Weeden, president, one of 4 sons of Frank Weeden and a principal of Weeden & Company. SUWA 1990 $10,000; 1992 $10,000; 1993 $10,000.

23 Wild Wings Foundation 1996 assets: $6,017,497. Original donor: Rockefeller Charitable Trust, Anna M. Rockefeller Charitable Trust. Current top officer: Christopher Elliman, grandson of Avery Rockefeller. SUWA $8,000.

24 Winslow Foundation 1998 assets: $24,593,350. Original donor: Julia D. Winslow. Current top officer: Wren Winslow Wirth, wife of Timothy Wirth (former Colorado Senator, former Clinton administration State Department environment officer, currently of Ted Turner’s United Nations Foundation). SUWA $10,000.

25 Wyss Foundation 1998 assets: $36,075,964. Original funder and current top officer: Hansjorg Wyss, Director, President and Chief Executive 1989 1996 Officer of Synthes (U.S.A.), Ltd., manufacturers and distributors of orthopedic implants and instruments; currently a director of Applied Extrusion Technologies, Inc., and a director of BE Aerospace. Bert Fingerhut is a trustee. SUWA 1998 $50,000.

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