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Show Ves BA debe ALONE LOR aL, | | , time and time again, at the expense of losing control over the fate of our landscapes to judicial decrees or the whims of revolving presidential administrations. The solution lies in part in accepting competing points of view as a part of the human landscape, not just tolerating them. Cataract Canyon This is not to say that we have to roll over and capitulate to all the demands of those who we disagree with in regards to land use, accessibility and recreation. But when we first recognize and identify an inherent need for solitude as a restorative for our over-stimulated minds, for example, we can then move onto discussion of how best to manage and access the lands that provide such opportunities on a level that leaves the name-calling and devaluation of opinions behind in favor of real discourse and alternatives to the current Gordian Knot that we are trying to unwind that is the future of life, livelihoods and communities in the New West. Thanks for writing what I have thought so many times in the last few years. My only wish is that more people would adopt this MAHBU-stic approach to life in the West. A Human and Environmental History of the Rivers in - Canyonlands Robert Webb, Jayne Belnap, John Weisheit Includes the geology and hydrology, prehistory and geography, biology, and river-running history of the stunning stretch of free-flowing river above Lake Powell. CheersAdam Shaw “Cataract Canyon is a book of Dear Jim: scientific and emotional integrity. Consider it a passport for anyone I thought your article about MAHBU was excellent and reflects a position I have taken for the past several years. I consider myself an ““environmentalist”” but I have a problem with the fact that so many of us are very quick to point the finger of blame at the opposition without accepting responsibility for our own part in the environmental problems. I believe that consumption is the biggest contributor to our environmental problems and, like it or not, money equals consumption. As citizens of a country with the highest standard of living in the world, we are all guilty of contributing to the degradation of our environment and the more money one has, the more one consumes. Many pairs of skiis, kayaks, roomfuls of climbing and backpacking gear, multiple mountain or road bikes, gas guzzling sport utility vehicles, the newest and latest in outdoor apparel, a home filled with Pottery Barn furnishings, second homes or condos, are integral components of the environmental issues we face. Unless environmentalists start admitting their part in the problem, no one with opposing viewpoints will ever listen and why should they? Sign me up for your organization! entering this particular stretch of the Colorado River with their eyes wide open for a joyous pilgrimage.” —Terry Tempest Williams, author of Red: Passion and Patience in the Desert 125 illustrations, 2 maps Paper $26.95 The University of Utah Press (800) 773-6672 www.uofupress.com Kathie Rivers Dear Jim, DO YOU HAVE A PULSE? DO YOU HAVE A COMMENT FOR THE ZEPHYR? FEEL LIKE RANTING? The time has come at long last to put my money where my mouth is. With the imminent disappearance of Wildflower Magazine and the shrinking of Wild Earth Magazine, there's very little left of my own personal periodicals universe save The Zephyr. And if The Zephyr should blow away in a Utah dust-storm, it won't be because I failed to give SS. $99.99! So here's my check and my picture (it's 2 years old, but what the hell, I've shaved since and got a smaller pair of spectacles, big deal). Please also sign me up as a heathen member of "Mormons & Heathens for a Better Utah". My father has mentioned to me, on more than one occasion, that Utah is the only place a Jew can be a Gentile. This is not, of course, why I have frequented Utah over the PRO OR CON...WE'LL PRINT IT. ecezephyr@frontiernet.net moabzephyr@yahoo.com years, but the thought has never failed to amuse me. As a Gentile Heathen, I would like to voice my support for the Zephyr, as opposed to writing a check to do so (see paragraph 1). Regarding the issues of concern to Mee ey I es ee have identified the ultimate cause-of-it-all inasmall advertisement box g that the population of the United States has tripled over the course of the last twenty years.‘Not only ‘that, but in those twenty years, some insidious developments occurred: the invention of the ATV and the Mountain Bike. at 8 RIVERSIDE PLUMBING & HEATING 366 N. 500 eM, ° as : When I first visited Moab in 1981, nobody had ever heard of a mountain bike. ATVs did not exist either. There were, however, old-fashioned jeep things around. which no recreation juggernaut existed. Rock-climbing was an esoteric sport pursued by only a few ardent enthusiasts. Snowmobiles were stinky machines used by ranchers to herd wayward livestock in Wyoming's snowy ranch country. The wide open west, however impacted, was still pretty wide, still pretty open. It was, in essence, an innocent time, the 'good old days’ in many respects. Without having ever heard of Moab before, I drove right up to Arches park, signed up for a campsite and took a hike in Devil's Garden. There was a little dirt-packed parking lot at the trailhead and maybe six parked cars. How times have changed. Later on, when I despaired of the growing crowds, I started exploring dirt roads for campsites. Without ever having established a brand new car-camping campsite, always using an established site that somebody else had earlier pioneered, my original campsites are now BLM revegetation sites. I've had to go farther and farther afield to locate the solitude that was once so easy to acquire. Of course, you can only go so far before you come back full-circle to where you started. The outback is only so far out there. My experience is hardly unique. There are simply three times as many people as there used to be and interest in outdoor recreational activity has probably increased a hundred-fold. But the resource remains the same. There are only so many canyons in canyon country, so many mountains in the high country, so many rivers to run. It's not just about our ability to find solitude, though. The environment is suffering and that suffering has long-term effects such as the loss of biodiversity, atmospheric ozone depletion, endemic extinction and environmentally-induced disease. Just as there are only so many canyons to go around, there is only so much fresh water and productive farmland on the face of planet earth and only so much that technology can do to increase production of such resources, despite the ever-growing increase in demand. Obviously there is a population issue to address, but many think that the solutions to these problems are not about population numbers, but rather about consumption patterns. Consumption patterns are, indeed, problematic. If every human being on the planet consumed at the rate we Americans do, the ecological collapse would happen tomorrow. Even if we continue to conserve and reduce consumption, the numbers of consumers keeps continued on next page... PAGE 29 YOU CAN COUNT ON US... Rick might prefer diving into the Mediterranean than plunging into your toilet, but if you need us, we'll be there! 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