The real story here isn’t the Sierra Club receiving the money but why the gas industry would give them the money in the first place. The only rational explanation is they’re playing two sides of the coin; making people believe they’re all for drilling while at the same time supporting those people who they know will block in their way. This way they create artificially high prices by not being able to drill for more gas. Yet they can cry that the Sierra Club is fighting them. Smart move playing both sides of the street and playing the rest of us as suckers.
Enviro group gets donation, backs off.
or...Enviro group gets 'grant' to do research.
Either way, it is far cheaper to give them a million dollar donation than face an indefinitely delayed project and the possible loss of milllions of dollars in lease payments because the leases expired while the Enviros tied everything up in court.
If that sounds like a protection rackett, using the courts for 'muscle', there might be a reason.