P E T E P A R R Y - Canyon Country Zephyr

P E T E P A R R YA Story of Quiet Integrity & Leadership...(and how Pete saved Canyonlands National Park)August/September 2012 Volume 24 Number 3

THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012by noon he was on his way to the airport and a shortflight to Page. It was another close call, but I wasstill wearing my uniform at the end of the day.cczephyr@gmail.comHOW PETE PARRY SAVEDCANYONLANDS & MY DOGS...Pete Parry was superintendent of CanyonlandsNational Park from 1975 to 1987 and elsewhere inthis issue is a story about Pete’s decade of serviceduring one of Southeast Utah’s most turbulent andpolitically charged times—the Sagebrush Rebellion.Pete dealt with controversy quietly but forcefullyand I hope you’ll take the time to read how Pete’slegacy lives on, every time you visit the canyoncountry.Imagine an immature 24 year oldseasonal with a fondnessfor quoting Ed Abbey, who drewcartoons for earth First!...Then imagine a park superintendentwho would tolerate that kindof dichotomy.But I’d like to take just a moment to talk aboutPete on a more personal level. Like I say in themain story, I was hired at Arches as a seasonalranger in my early 20s and over my ten years at theDevils Garden, I seemed to get myself in trouble alot. Imagine an immature 24 year old governmentemployee with a fondness for quoting Ed Abbeyfrom memory to park visitors and who moonlightedas a cartoonist for the “radical” Earth First! Journal.Then imagine a park superintendent who wouldtolerate that kind of dichotomy. I lasted ten yearsat Arches ONLY because of Pete. Time and again,I thought I had cooked my own goose, only to havePete pull me from the broiling pan at the last moment.For example...In 1983, James Watt, the controversial InteriorSecretary who once said, “I don’t like to walk and Idon’t like to paddle,” came to Arches for an inspectiontour. He was on his way to Glen Canyon Damto “celebrate” its 20th anniversary; unfortunatelyso were a bunch of my pals from Earth First! WhenI found them waiting for me at the campgroundtrailer the previous evening, I said, “PLEASE...don’ttell me why you’re here. Don’t tell me what you planto do.” They grinned and left.The next morning my fellow ranger Mike Salamachaand I were assigned , if you can believe this, toprovide protection for Mr. Watt (We were both lawenforcement rangers). In a previous issue of theTHE CANYON COUNTRYZ E P H Y RPlanet Earth EditionJim & Tonya Stiles, publishersPO Box 271Monticello, UT 84535www.canyoncountryzephyr.comcczephyr@gmail.commoabzephyr@yahoo.comAll the News that Causes Fitssince 1989THE ZEPHYR, copyright 2012 The Zephyr is produced sixtimes a year at various global locations and made available freeto almost 7 billion people via the world wide webThe opinionsexpressed herein are not necessarily those of its advertisers,its Backbone members, or even at times, of its publisher.All Cartoons are by the publishersEF! Journal I had doodled a hideous cartoon called,“The Day All the Birds Crapped on James Watt,” ahopeful prophesy of the time when the featheredworld took their revenge for Watt’s insensitivityto Nature. And yet, here I was, offering myself asJames Watt’s bodyguard.On the drive down to the visitor center, we discoveredthat ‘someone’ had spray painted epithetsto the Interior boss. Most of them read, “DUMPWATT.” Or “WATT...A NATIONAL DISGRACE.”They were mostly the work of my EF! pals (thoughlater I learned that one offering of graffiti had beensecretly spray-painted by the Arches chief ranger at3 o’clock in the morning.). I felt a tad nervous.When we got to the visitor center, there was Pete.He walked over to our patrol cruiser and I thought Iwas done for. He leaned on the door and said, “Well,Pete in 1978 with ArchesChief Naturalist Jim Cappsthis sure is a mess.” He gave me a long Pete ParryGaze and then said, “Well, all we have to do is getthrough this day. Let’s hope there won’t be any moreincidents.” I nodded. He gave me one more hardlook and then went back to entertain the InteriorSecretary. Watt made his tour, pointed to the spraypainted signs and called the culprits “vandals.” AndColorado Plateau Bureau ChiefDOUG MEYERContributing WritersMartin Murie Ned Mudd Michael BrohmScott Thompson Lloyd Pierson Evan CantorDamon Falke Dave Wilder Verona StocksThe ArtistJohn DepuyHistoric PhotographsHerb Ringer & Terry KnouffWebmasterRick Richardson2There were other moments. Once the trail crewplanned to “improve” the Devils Garden Trailto Landscape Arch. Their plan to widen the trailincluded the use of a five-yard dump truck and abulldozer. Because the trail makes such hard tightturns and because dump trucks and dozers can’tmake hard tight turns, the loss of trees and vegetationwas going to be significant. Still, somehow, thetrail plan was approved and the project was on theeve of being implemented.But a few of us seasonal rangers were almostapoplectic about the trail project and finally, indesperation, we took it straight to Pete. Going overthe heads of immediate supervisors was not justfrowned upon in the Park Service, it was condemnedand we were sure we’d finally gone a bridge too far.But Pete listened. “Okay, he said. “Give me a betteroption.” We proposed using smaller trucks–S10pickups—and a Bobcat dozer instead of its largercousin. Pete argued that it would take far more tripsto haul the same materials and that the trail crewdidn’t have enough workers to do the job that way.We seasonals volunteered to help, especially when itcame to hauling and unloading gravel with the S10s.Pete thought a moment. “Let’s go out and take alook.” The next morning we met Pete at the trailheadand walked the one mile trail to LandscapeArch. We showed him where a cluster of oak treeswould have to be removed or a magnificent standof serviceberry would be hacked up. Finally Petenodded. “Alright. We’ll give this a try. But if we getbehind or this doesn’t work, we’ll have to go back tothe bigger trucks.”Today, the Landscape trail looks the way it doesbecause Pete intervened.Going over the heads of immediatesupervisors was not just frownedupon in the Park Service,it was condemned and we were surewe’d finally gone a bridge too far.But Pete listened.“Okay, he said. “Give me abetter option.”Finally, there is the matter of my dogs. When Icame to Arches, I brought my two dogs with me,Muckluk and Squawker. We were inseparable andin those days, the backcountry of national parks wasstill open to dogs. Park managers had the good senseto know that, with ever shrinking predator numbers,rabbits and squirrels and lizards NEEDED to bechased, in order to stay fit and keep their reflexessharp. What better substitute than my dogs, whochased everything and caught nothing. They werefull of enthusiasm and short on wits. The chipmunksoutwitted them every time.But going into my third season, a new administrativeofficer came to the park with a bad attitudetoward both seasonal rangers and dogs. She mayhave placed both us grungy seasonals and our dogson the same social strata. So she sent out a memothat declared seasonal rangers could no longer havepets of any kind. There would be no exceptions.Naturally, I went to Pete. “But your dogs are sobig,” Pete complained. “And they shed a lot.” Heremembered the time he’d come by the Archescampground and Muckluk, a Husky mix in full moltingmode had sidled up to Pete and coated him in alayer of dog wool.“Well,” I pleaded. “It was hot out there. You’dshed too if you were Muck.”Finally Pete agreed to create a grandfather clausefor my dogs and they got to stay. For years I was the

THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012THE LAST PICTURE SHOW?We arrived at our new hometown on a hot Saturday evening. We’d beendriving for two days, and though we weren’t surprised by the relentlessdry heat, we didn’t welcome it either. The bank sign flashed 101 degrees at7:29pm. Back in Utah, I had read article after article about the drought killingoff crops and whole herds of cattle, so I knew not to be surprised as dust blewover the road in front of our car. Save for a few semi trucks rumbling along thehighway, the streets were empty..We turned onto Main Street and Jim let out alow whistle.“You think everybody left?”I laughed, but I had to agree. It seemed entirely possible that we were allalone in the small, Kansas town. Not a single person, not even a stray animal,wandered the main drag. “I always wanted to live in a ghost town,” I replied.And then something caught my eye. An old movie theater, looked to havebeen built in the 20s or 30s.“You think they still run movies there?”We stopped the car and watched as a women emerged to unlock the theaterdoor. A few seconds passed and then the facade erupted in a flash of neon.“Chief,” it read, in electricpink, framed in vibrantgreen and blue. A little redstar dotted the “i”. Slowly,a truck rounded the cornerand stopped in front of thetheater. A few moments,later, another. Then a couplecars turned onto Main fromthe South.“Well, who would haveguessed...?”“Signs of life,” I agreed.And I was comforted as weheaded on to our new home.That was two years ago, when Jim and I began our move onto the Plains.We knew it was impulsive--moving nearly a thousand miles on a whim. Whatwould we find in a little dusty Plains town? Certainly we weren’t expectingmuch of a nightlife. But, once the heat broke and a few rainstorms movedthrough, people were out and about, working in their gardens and roaming theaisles of the grocery store. We began to make friends and we settled into therhythm of the place. Soon it felt natural, on many a Saturday night, to walk ondown to the “Chief” and see what was playing.Then, last summer, one of our neighbors told us the Chief was facing almostcertain disaster. If it couldn’t raise $100,000 to buy a new digital projectorin the next year, it would be forced to close. This was the first we had heardabout the new shift away from the old 35mm film projectors. Apparently, thetransformation from film to digital had been taking place for years. But sinceneither of us were big fans of 3D movies, we hadn’t noticed that our smalltowntheater, and its 35mm projector, couldn’t display the new trend. “Whocares if they can play 3D movies?” was my first thought upon hearing that theycouldn’t. But it seemed the digital trend had moved beyond 3D films--thatmost of the new films in the upcoming years would be released solely in digitalversion--and, without a digital projector, the Chief would be out of luck.A hundred thousand dollars may not be a lot of money to big megaplex movietheaters, but in small-town Kansas, it’s a pretty large amount. When rumorsspread that the Chief would need $100,000 to buy their new projector, weweren’t the only regular patrons of the theater to wonder whether they wouldjust give up and close down. But, to the Chief’s credit, it stayed open. Ads inthe local papers called for donations and printed thank you’s to each donatingtownsperson. Driving home one afternoon, we passed a TV news anchor fromWichita who stood outside the Chief talking into the camera. We tuned in thatnight to watch as the plea for money went live across the state.After only a few months, the small theater proclaimed victory. They hadraised even more money than they needed. We would have our digital projector.And, for a little while, it was a sweet victory.Until we scanned pages of the Gyp Hill Premiere--the newspaper from our4neighboring town--and read the following headline:“Pageant Drive-In’s Final Season: Screen to go Dark Due to Costly Upgrade.”While we had been celebrating the triumph of our own local theater, lessthan an hour down the road, one of the small handful of Drive-In theaters stilloperating in Kansas had been forced to close. The Gyp Hill article read like anobituary. It chronicled the long history of the Pageant Drive-In from its openingin 1953 and described how the new digital technology would have destroyed thesmall theater financially. A photo of the owner, unsmiling, standing before thedoomed screen, accompanied the headline. The caption noted that his family,the Sills, had owned the theater since 1968. “I just can’t justify going into thatkind of debt,” he said in explanation.Suddenly, it was apparent that this problem was much larger than just ourlittle town. I began to read about digital projection online. The movie studiosheralded the technology as the saving grace of the American movie. While filmwas cumbersome and difficult to transport, the small hard drives containing thedigital films could be shipped cheaply and easily around the world. The imagewas crisper. Directors had more freedom in manipulating their images. JamesCameron would only use digital. Peter Jackson would only use digital. EvenMartin Scorsese was hopping on board.So, why wasn’t I feelingexcited? Finally, an LATimes article summed upthe story behind the switch.In short, money. Studiosliked the digital technologybecause it was cheapand easy to transport. And,once they decided they likedsomething, it was curtainsfor anyone who stood opposed.The LA Times articlecontained a chilling quotationfrom John Fithian, thepresident of the NationalAssociation of Theatre Owners. “Simply put, if you don’t make the decision toget on the digital train soon, you will be making the decision to get out of thebusiness.”This seems to be the shadiest part of the deal. Let’s say you own a movie theater,and suddenly you hear from the studios that they won’t be releasing anynew movies on film. “Okay,” you might think. “I can’t afford the $100,000 upgrade,but I could just show old movies.” Art house theaters across the countryhave made that a bankable proposition for years. Except that you can’t. Becausethose art house theaters don’t own some huge stockpile of 35mm classic films.Just like the megaplex theaters, they rely on the studios to loan them prints.And, since the advent of this new digital revolution, the studios won’t be loaningthose 35mm prints any longer. You want to show a Godard retrospective? ABilly Wilder double feature? Without a digital projector, it ain’t gonna happen.The best you can hope for is a loaner DVD copy, which, when blown up onto amovie screen, looks ridiculous.Our nearby Pageant Drive-In isn’t the only theater going dark as a result ofthis “revolution.” According to Oregon Public Radio, as many as 10 percent ofthe nation’s movie theaters may be forced to close their doors. And these won’tbe the megaplexes, most of which made the digital transition years ago. Whatwe’ll lose are the small-town theaters–the architectural centerpieces of all thehistoric downtowns across rural America. We’ll lose the art houses and thehighbrow enclaves where film geeks flock to see their masters’ works.And we’ll lose the history. Not just the history of all the theaters--the art decofacades and velvet-lined seats. We’ll lose some of the history of film as well. It’sin the nature of transition. In the same way that the more obscure films recordedon VHS never made the jump to DVD, countless “minor” celluloid filmswill simply be left behind–rendered inaccessible for future movie-goers. Andlikely, as digital transformations happen so frequently, with each shift in fileformat, more films will be stranded to history. A film may just make the cut forthis digital transition, but there’s no promise that it will make the next. Withoutthe solid, dusty reel of celluloid, which, sitting in some warehouse somewhere,might someday be re-discovered and reclaimed, future films will reside only indigital space, relinquished by outdated file format and degraded data to abso-

THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012lute nothingness.In what seems to be the way of technical progress, more is lost than is gained.Something is gained in the new digital formats. A new freedom for the directorswho choose to use it. But, in the complete deprivation of 35mm film, so muchmore is lost. The photochemical labs that have been engrossed for years in theprinting of celluloid film; the thousands of movie projectionists who have spentdecades winding film through their projectors; the entire sweep of film history,which has been “film” history from the beginning, and now will be--what,“movie” history? All swept away.JULIE HANCOCKSpringdale, UTOur nearby Pageant Drive-In isn’t the only theatergoing dark as a result of this “revolution.”According to Oregon Public Radio, as many as 10percent of the nation’s movie theaters may be forcedto close their doors. . What we’ll lose are the smalltowntheaters–the architectural centerpieces of all thehistoric downtowns across rural America.We’ll lose the art houses and the highbrow enclaveswhere film geeks flock to see their masters’ works.ALAN JOSLYNHighlands Ranch, COMELINDA PRICE-WILTSHIREVancouver, BCAnd, honestly, I almost didn’t notice. If I hadn’t been living in a small town,where $100,000 was enough money to cause a public stir, I don’t think I wouldhave even heard about the change. And now, knowing the monumental impactsof this shift, it’s dreadful to see it pass so silently. Like a funeral marchno one has bothered to attend. Across the country, doors will be shuttered andbuildings emptied. More old theaters will become insurance offices or hardwarestores, or will be razed for parking space. “Movies” will be the province ofthe megaplex, by the WalMart on the outskirts of town, with its standardized,identical screens all lined up in a row. And we will all keep going about ourbusiness, driving past the old buildings on our way to the grocery, stopping inthe newly opened hardware store, with its curious velvet-curtained lobby, andhalfway forget that we once watched Jaws here on a Saturday night. And that iswhen it will be clear. That forgetting, the ongoing going-about of business--thatwill be the saddest thing of all.Stan UryckiCuyahogaFalls, OHMICHAEL COHENReno, NVTOM WYLIECentennial, COTonya Stiles is theco-publisher of theCanyon Country Zephyr.SCOTT THOMPSONBeckley, WVGARY FERGUSONRed Lodge, MTHelp us restore a masterpiece.THE GLEN CANYONINSTITUTEwww.glencanyon.orgWE’RE YOUR FRIENDLYGREEN DOCUMENTSHREDDERS!Our new, smallerPEA SHOOTERtrucks are moreenergy efficent!...AND WE RECYCLEWHAT WE SHRED...SCOTT FASKEN970.464.4859fasken@bresnan.netEVERY TON OF RECYCLED PAPERREDUCES CARBON EMISSIONSBY FOUR METRIC TONS!www.coloradodocumentsecurity.org5

THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012The Poetry ofD A M O N F A L K EAmong RuinsWhat is there to make of the house and porchCrumbling into ruins, of bindweed grownUp through slats of rotted timber, chipped andDismantled by the long harvest of familiesWho could never stay here? The curtains rent,Bed iron overturned in the cross-hairsOf paneless windows and the still screen doorRemarkably intact and just partedFor us to see the knob missing, the door shutWe guess for years. These are the signs we thinkOf some country we know to be passing.Old hearsay and spirit talk gone intoThe near silence of the place. Still we stopTo look a little and to wonder someAt the lean of abandonment, at thoseBirds who have stopped with us, gracing now theSlopes of spring trees. What would it mean to goForward, to cross this barbed wire strung here?The wind tap of a tin sign left on the lineJust where we stand, where others used to be.6DAMON FALKE, a former residentof Moab, Utah, is the authorof Broken Cycles, a collaborationbetween his poetry and the photographyof Rebekah Wilkins-Pepiton,formerly of Pagosa Springs. Falkeis a graduate of the University ofTexas and St. John’s College-SantaFe.He lives in Marshall, Texas withhis wife Cassie and their two sons.

THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012In Notes on Paper,Falke walks us throughthe landscape of one man’smind, which contains bothhis past and an awarenessof our common future.From within private memoriesthe narrator reachesout to us with ‘we’ and ‘you’,and each spare line invokesthe hope that we, like him,are worthy of return to ourmost longed for places. Andif to return is not our fate,and really it never can be, the narrator bids us surveyour own memories, taking time in the present for thewinds, and the words, that move the world.N o t e s on P a p e rDamon FalkeDOUGTRAVERSFrom Shechem Presshttp://www.shechempress.comSan Antonio,TEXASMIKE MAROONEYSan Diego, CAThe homeof the“DON’TWORRY,BE HOPI”T-shirtA unique selection of traditional Hopi arts, crafts, andcultural items including over 150 Katsina dollsdone in thetraditional style,as well as baskets, ceremonial textiles,jewelry, pottery and more.We also have complete visitor information (includingconnections for knowledgeable & articulate guides)to make your visit to Hopia memorable & enjoyable one.We are located 1 1/2 miles east of theHopi Cultural Center at MP 381 on HWY 264,in the heart of the HOPI REZ928.734.2478 POB 234 SECOND MESA, AZ 86043TED HELMBrentwood, TNBRIANGATLINGrandCanyon,EVAN CANTORBoulder, COBRENTSWANSONIdaho falls, ID83 N. Main StMoab, Utah435.259.5154Back of Beyond Bookspresents Rare Book Catalogue#8 featuring rare andcollectible books of the FourCorner states and an ‘almost’complete set of signed,first edition Edward Abbeyand Tony Hillerman titles.Also includes the rarely seenissue of Thunderbird, theliterary journal edited byAbbey and censored by theUniversity of New Mexico.www.backofbeyondbooks.com7

THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012A review of JAMES HANSEN’S Provocative Book...‘STORMS of my GRANDCHILDREN’Reviewed by DOUG MEYERCould a water-vapor runaway greenhouse effect happen hereon Earth? The physics says no, the orbit is too far from the sun,but the physics can’t model clouds either. Score: physics 0, JamesHansen 0. Here we are, three years after our pre-eminent climatescientist’s brazen conjecture that Earth would ultimately lose itsoceans if humans dig up and burn all the fossil fuels, and still wecan’t rule it out. He’s a wise man that Dr. Hansen, knowing boththat the science won’t soon be able to provide any reliable answersto the question, andthat he could very well beright. He says it’s a dead certaintythat the planet’s methanehydrates will decomposeif we burn all the fossil fuelsand then asks us to infer thathigher climate sensitivityresulting from perhaps unprecedentedclimate forcingimplies an eventual watervaporrunaway. You do themath. Either way, whetherit’s a dead planet or just onedevoid of all higher forms oflife for a few hundred thousandyears, I’m satisfied withthe pure indictment of ourspecies that Hansen’s bookdelivers. Is it hot enough forya? –Doug MeyerIn the endless battle betweenthe human mind andthe human animal, it lookslike the animal is winning.James Hansen has writtenan expose of the science andpolitics of global warmingthat should undermine anyremaining faith one mighthave in a good outcome forcivilization. We get the senseof global schizophrenia as hereviews the pathetic responseto global warming so far. Andyet, though the science ofthe mind is impressive in itsreach, it too is maddening.After all the research and reportshave been digested, the precautionary principle is still thebasis for its advocacy. The forces involved simply dwarf and defyhuman time scales, comprehension, computation, and efficacy.Thus the animal escapes.“Storms of My Grandchildren” is also a self-critique by the manwho has been at the very center of humanity’s awakening to globalwarming. What happens to this man, and his science, when thediscoveries appear antithetical to the “progress” of human society?The message gets distorted, that’s what happens, and the blamelies on both the sending and receiving ends, as the author suggests.This is James Hansen’s masterful attempt to wipe the slate cleanand try, one last time, to share the burden of his understandingwith all of us.But that knowledge emerged only after a journey spanning 65million years of Earth history, and numerous extended stopoversof millennia, centuries, and sometimes just decades along the way.That’s the good news. Theseresults did NOT magically appearfrom a climate model!But it’s also the bad news. Apparently,the lessons of paleoclimatedon’t translate wellinto today’s dysfunctional politicalscene. Imagine that. Sosomething really big is gonnagive. Someday. We’re not sureexactly when.Ice sheetsIn the event of “continued growth of atmosphericcarbon dioxide” then “withinseveral decades”, the Arctic’sfloating sea ice will be goneby the end of each summer.This would make it “difficultto imagine how the Greenlandice sheet could survive”,according to Hansen. OK, butstay with me here, the momentumand time frames areessential to understand.This is the “urgent” messageof the book, again, froma paleoclimate perspective.Only in the last few years hasthe science revealed that theGreenland and West Antarcticice sheets can disintegratein less than a century, ratherthan millennia, as previouslythought. Not quite the bombshellyou were expecting? Iagree, so let’s look closer.Hansen notes that the 2007IPCC estimate of about half a meter of sea level rise this centuryresults from treating continental-scale ice sheets as “giant rigid icecubes that melt only slowly”. This ignores ice shelves, (where icesheets’ colossal buttressing tongues meet the sea), melt water lubricationof the ice sheet base, and rapid, large-scale glacial flow tothe sea from deep within the interior.So, how much and how fast? Hansen refers to a period duringEarth’s recovery from the last ice age when, “there was no discernablelag between the time of maximum solar forcing of the ice sheet8

and the maximum rate of melt” and that sea level “increased 4 to5 meters per century for several consecutive centuries--an averagerate of 1 meter every 20 or 25 years.” He also cites a study of theLast Interglacial that “presented evidence that a 2- to 3-meter sealevel rise probably occurred in a period of 50 years or less”. Temperaturesduring the Last Interglacial averaged only 1 degree Celsiusabove today, a warming that every single IPCC scenario showswe’ll exceed in the next few decades.Collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet would raise sea level afew meters, enough to eventually displace hundreds of millionsof people world wide. Greenland, perhaps equally vulnerable, haseven more ice. So, when will the ongoing “softening up” of ice sheetsreach a point of no return, where the “dynamical process of collapsetakes over”? Hansen acknowledges that science today can’t answerthat question. Even so, he goes ahead with this estimate: “Althoughice sheet inertia may prevent a large sea level rise before the secondhalf of the century, continued growth of greenhouse gases in thenear term will make that result practically inevitable, out of ourchildren’s and grandchildren’s control.”THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012cuts emissions 50% in the near (but yet unspecified) future. Themuch larger East Antarctic ice sheet would presumably requiresubstantially longer to disintegrate.StormsWe all know what happens when warm and cold air masses collide.Hansen tells us that as the ice sheets slowly tumble into thesea, the high latitude oceans will be cooled by the effect of meltingicebergs. Meanwhile, the tropics will be getting warmer, andwarmer air holds more moisture. Combine higher sea levels andSo, when will the ongoing “softening up”of ice sheets reach a point of no return?...Hansen acknowledges that science todaycan’t answer that question.Even so, he goes ahead with this estimate:“Although ice sheet inertia may preventa large sea level rise before the second halfof the century, continued growth ofgreenhouse gases in the near term will makethat result practically inevitable, out ofour children’s and grandchildren’s control.”After all the research and reportshave been digested, the precautionary principleis still the basis for its advocacy.The forces involved simply dwarf anddefy human time scales, comprehension,computation, and efficacy.Thus the animal escapes.Time out. Greenwash alert.Note that “in the near term” and “within several decades” aremostly within the timeframe of the effects of ocean thermal inertia,meaning that much of Earth’s average surface air temperature risein that time is already committed to occur.Also, the phrases “continued growth of greenhouse gases” and“continued growth of atmospheric carbon dioxide” are tricky. Hansenis NOT talking emissions here. Because of the limited abilityof the carbon cycle to absorb long-lasting CO2, a global 50% cutin CO2 emissions would still result in increasing CO2 in the atmosphere.So, in the near term, there’s no question that we’ll see “continuedgrowth of atmospheric carbon dioxide”.Now we can re-read Dr. Hansen’s words and make some strongerinferences: The loss of Arctic summer sea ice by mid-century is certain,along with the warming feedback that comes with it. And thesubstantial collapse of both the West Antarctic and Greenland icesheets in the next hundred years will raise global sea level severalmeters. This will occur even in the unlikely event that the world9bigger storms and what have you got? Hansen cites the ‘93 Superstorm,which at one point stretched from Central America to NovaScotia, as a smaller cousin to the kinds of storms the world can expectby century’s end. He adds “It is not necessary to put the entireisland of Manhattan under water to make the city dysfunctionaland, given prospects for continuing sea level rise, unsuitable forredevelopment.” As the sea keeps slowly rising, hundreds of millionsof coastal residents around the world may not be welcomedwith open arms by their inland neighbors. A collapse of global governancelooms.After iceIf humanity burns the remaining fossil fuels this century as expected,all of the Earth’s ice would be committed to eventually slideinto the ocean, perhaps requiring a couple more centuries after thisone to reach the ice-free state, with sea levels 75 meters above to-next page...LIFETIMEBACKBONEMEMBERLANETTESMITHBasalt, CO

day. At this point, an eventual methane-hydrate warming “could beadded on top of the fossil fuel warming”.About 55 million years ago, the Earth was a much warmer planetwith no ice. Orbital changes caused a several million year warmingof about 2 to 3 degrees Celsius. Probably under stress by the warming,ocean currents re-oriented in a way that fed a lot of energy uponto shallow continental shelves in the Pacific. In the sedimentsthere lay some 3,000 gigatons of frozen methane hydrates, roughlythe same amount of carbon as in all the fossil fuels. Over thecourse of two separate thousand-year periods, all of that methanewas released into the atmosphere. The earth warmed somewherebetween 5 and 9 degrees Celsius, with temperatures perhaps 13 degreeswarmer than today.THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012Perhaps the American Indian of the Great Plains felt the sameon first witnessing that evil carbon-black exhaust contaminatingthe sky from a coal-fired locomotive. Understanding our energyconsumingcivilization as a disease on planet Earth is not new. Butnow we know that this disease could actually be fatal to the host aswell as itself.The human animal, under the spell of consumerism, respondsto the threat of its demise with various forms of desperation: denial,greenwashing, geo-engineering, and now, since we’re so goodat global warming, the hopeless idea of terra-forming the planetMars. Let’s instead keep our fingers crossed that Mother Earth hasa few infection control techniques left up her sleeve. Otherwise, theuniverse is in real trouble.DOUG MEYER, known to someas ‘Doctor Doom,’ is the Zephyr’sColorado Plateau Bureau Chief.He lives and waits patiently forthe end of civilization (as we knowit) near Flagstaff.If the Earth’s been ice-free before,then, even though today’s civilization isclearly not long for this world, humanityshould still be able to survive, right?Maybe not....Science tells us thata runaway greenhouse effect can happenwhen hot humid air traps even more heat,allowing the atmosphere to carry moremoisture, which causes further heatingin a powerful feedback loop. With no iceon the planet, this could continue untilthe oceans were completely boiled away.Venus once had oceans of liquid water.If the Earth’s been ice-free before, then, even though today’s civilizationis clearly not long for this world, humanity should still beable to survive, right? Maybe not. Keep in mind that the human carbonpunch has happened 10,000 times faster than natural climateforcings. The carbon cycle’s major diminishing feedback (weatheringof rocks) requires thousand-year time frames at a minimum tobe effective. It isn’t clear how warm the oceans need to be beforetriggering an even bigger methane hydrate release than the one55 million years ago. Once started, will the releases happen overcenturies or millennia? And global temperature will be even moresensitive to carbon dioxide increases on a hot planet, but by howmuch?The answers to those questions will determine the fate of theEarth. Could our blue planet suffer the misfortune of her twin sister?Science tells us that a runaway greenhouse effect can happenwhen hot humid air traps even more heat, allowing the atmosphereto carry more moisture, which causes further heating in a powerfulfeedback loop. With no ice on the planet, this could continue untilthe oceans were completely boiled away. Venus once had oceans ofliquid water. Here is our top climate scientist on the possibility:“After the ice is gone, would Earth proceed to the Venus syndrome,a runaway greenhouse effect that would destroy all lifeon the planet, perhaps permanently? While that is difficult to saybased on present information, I’ve come to conclude that if we burnall reserves of oil, gas, and coal, there is a substantial chance we willinitiate the runaway greenhouse. If we also burn the tar sands andthe tar shale, I believe the Venus syndrome is a dead certainty.”10JOHN TAPPONCorvallis, ORLANETTE SMITHBasalt, CODAMON FALKEMarshall, TXRICHARDINGEBRETSENSalt Lake City, UTBRENT SWANSONIdaho Falls, IDANDREWKEETON(fromMike Reed)OKC, OKUNCLE DON B FANNINGTucson, AZ

THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012New BACKBONE Members for Aug/Sep 2012Paul VlachosNew York, NYBARBIE DALEEureka NVPLEASE JOINAlan M MikuniFremont, CATHEBACKBONE$100 yearlyIncludes cartoon &signed copy ofStiles’ book,BRAVE NEW WEST.PO BOX 271MONTICELLO, UT84535or at our web sitewith yourcredit cardvia PayPal...PAULCLEARYTulso, OKGregory CaudillLouisville, KYand...ANDREW HARPArroyo Grande, CAKARILYN BRODELLJackson, WYTHANKS ALSO TO:MARK GILSDORFCINCINNATI, OHGregory GnesiosGrand Junction, COTracy MurphyDolores, CORobert CarsonSanta Paula, CAJOHN O’HARADeptford, NJWILLIAM BREEDPawcatuck, CTNANCY NEWMANMinneapolis, MNCARNIVORES! HERBIVORES!OMNIVORES!!We offer ethnic and traditional cuisineand emphasize the use of high-quality,organic ingredients and freshseasonal produce.ALL MENU ITEMS TO GO352 N MAIN ST 259.6896and we’re onfacebook!!!LIFETIMEBACKBONERSTEVE RUSSELLMoab, UT11

THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012Overpopulation and Liberal Taboos:in the Lands of EntitlementBy Scott ThompsonYou’re damn right there’s an immigration problem in Arizona: far toomany white people have been emigrating there.If you doubt that, here are the numbers: while the Hispanic populationin Arizona increased by 856,000 between 1980 and 2006, thewhite population escalated by 1.2 million. (Population Brief for theState of Arizona, Western Rural Development Center 2008, p.2).Yet we don’t hear about Latinos in Arizona strutting around in the dryheat, demanding that the white folks move back where they came from.Why is that?I think the reason is good olewhite entitlement; an attitude thathas complicated if not contaminatedthe touchy subject of overpopulation.I know more about white entitlementthan I care to, having grownup in the small town South beforethe civil rights movement took hold.The year I spent in Mississippi in1962 is burned into my mind likethey did it with a branding iron. Andeven though the right wing is (officially)no longer racist, sometimesI hear the same tone of self-satisfiedsuperiority and indignant outragein the voices of those who fairly spitout the words “illegal immigrants.”Within these words lies the assumptionthat we Americans havesome righteous claim to the lands comprising Arizona and the Southwest,when the facts plainly show that’s bullshit. That attitude doesremind me of the white people in Mississippi in 1962, who thought theywere entitled to the de facto slave labor of the African Americans livingthere.The only, repeat only, reason all that land is within the territorialUnited States is because we stole it at gunpoint from Mexico. Which inturn took it from Spain, which stole it from Native Americans, some ofwhom stole it from other Native Americans.It’s quite a daisy chain.A brief recounting of how America came to possess the Southwest isinstructive. In 1846 President James K. Polk concocted an excuse for invadingMexico in order to grab as much of their land as he could get hishands on. Some members of Congress did have the integrity to questionthe necessity for war, among them a young, gangling Abraham Lincoln.People, by Faragher et al, 2005, pp. 416-419).In short: we Americans are in no position to wax indignant about “illegalimmigrants” from Mexico entering the Southwest, given that westole that land from them in the first place.For the irony-challenged reader: I am NOT talking about giving theland back to Mexico. This is about attitude.The reason I have written first about racial or ethnic entitlement, whoevermay perpetuate it, is that itis the one attitude that will makeresolving this great problem ofoverpopulation impossible. Ifpeople fear that the call to reduceour numbers is merely a ruse toweaken them in the face of an enemy,their willingness to cooperatewill disintegrate.Unfortunately, Latinos havegrounds to fear just such an attitude.Consider, for example, thenotorious Arizona statute knownas Senate Bill 1070, just upheldin large part by the U.S. SupremeCourt. This law targets Latinoswho are American citizens for defacto racial profiling in order tolocate “illegal immigrants.” Butnot all entitlement is about racial,ethnic, or cultural prejudice.When it comes to overpopulation, there are diverse layers of entitlementspread out among different groups. Challenging them all is what makesme want to drink twelve Budweisers at the end of the day (and I gave allthat up a long time ago).I would like to explain what’s driving me to get into the turd-ladenissue of overpopulation. It’s this: in the late 1960s I fell in love with Arizona.The way it was before its developers, business tycoons, and stateleaders systematically destroyed it with their culturally sanctioned avarice.It was as though they had tied a Javelina to a stake and scourgedit with tendrils of hairline glass, all the while thinking, hey, this is whatgood people do.You don’t forget witnessing something like that.Edward Abbey had a similar experience. In 1959 he rafted throughGlen Canyon on “the golden, flowing Colorado River,” to use his words.Later he worked there as a seasonal park ranger. Ed knew the river andYou’re damn right there’s an immigration problem in Arizona:far too many white people have been emigrating there.If you doubt that, here are the numbers: while the Hispanic populationin Arizona increased by 856,000 between 1980 and 2006,the white population escalated by 1.2 million.But as is true with power-hungry people, Polk would not be stopped.The crushing blow to Mexico was delivered by General Winfield Scott,who in 1847 invaded the port city of Veracruz and marched toward MexicoCity, which he took after six months of brutal fighting. Scott himselfadmitted that his soldiers had “committed atrocities to make Heavenweep and every American of Christian morals blush for his country.”Translation: they slaughtered civilians.In the end, the United States paid Mexico $27 million for all that land;a farcical sum in order to whitewash its dishonorable aims.The great Henry David Thoreau spent a night in jail to protest thetaxes to support this war, and then went to his cabin to pen his classicessay, “Civil Disobedience,” which championed an individual’s right tooppose an immoral government. Gandhi himself was later inspired bythis essay. (See the textbook Out of Many: A History of the Americanthe canyon before Glen Canyon Dam stopped it up like a vast, stinkingtoilet. He said, “The difference between the present reservoir, with itssilent sterile shores and debris-choked side canyons, and the originalGlen Canyon, is the difference between death and life. Glen Canyon wasalive. Lake Powell is a graveyard.” (The Damnation of a Canyon, pp.1,3).Ed loved Glen Canyon the way it was.In the late 1960s Arizona was a shifting, turning mosaic of brilliantcolors; everywhere there were crystalline expanses of space and light;the outline of a mountain peak 80 miles away was as clear and sharp asthe verdant trunk of a paloverde that you touched with your fingers.Arizona was: the pervasive beige of the sun-blasted Sonoran Desert12

outside Tucson, studded with enormous green stalks of Saguaro cacti;the red and gold evening light atop etched black horizons; the stateroads heading north, twisting into sharp green blankets of juniper andpinyon pine and red striped sandstone; the rough black lava rocks andthe sweet smooth lava cone near Flagstaff, adorned with spare, regalstands of Ponderosa Pine; the burnt-brown edge of the Mojave Desert,stippled with rough-barked Joshua trees, their limbs curving into clustersof spines.My microbiologist mother first drove me from Tucson to the NavajoReservation when I was 18. I had no language of description for the Navajoworld; I just I called it “the place with no telephone poles.” It tookme a long time to find the words for what I discovered there: that oncebeyond the telephone wires I was in a sacred land, and that these peopleknew something about the power of the landscape that my own culturehad lost.In 1971 my mother died of heart failure in Holbrook, Arizona, whiledriving to the sacred land.THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012Now here’s what tripling the population of Arizona in less than a generationdid.In the summer of 2005, as Gail and I flew into Sky Harbor Airport inPhoenix, we glided over forty contiguous miles of tract houses; the manythousands of tiny yards and blue dotted swimming pools were packedagainst each other like cells in a massive tumor. We sped north on theinterstate in our economy rental car, but even sixty miles beyond themetropolitan melanoma of Phoenix, scattered human structural litteroccluded the adamantine splendor of the land.On it went like this. North of Prescott a shapeless growth of brightgreen golf courses and oversized luxury homes had metastasized farbeyond the once compact, historical shape of the town. It went on formiles. The primordial majesty of the Arizona landscape did not open upuntil we neared the Hualapai Reservation in the far northwestern cornerof the state. A territory for refugees, it now seems. For people like me.In Arizona, you ought to be able to go outside any city or town, lookout over the crystalline vastness of the land, and feel something dazzlinginside. I call this the enchantment of the land. That’s what’s beendestroyed in Arizona. Now you can only find it in special spots: in thenational monuments, wilderness areas, Indian reservations, and remotecorners of the state.In the summer of 2005, as Gail and I flew intoSky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, we glided overforty contiguous miles of tract houses;the many thousands of tiny yards andblue dotted swimming pools were packedagainst each other like cells in a massive tumor.“Jim Stiles holds up a mirror to those of usliving in the American West, exposing issues wemay not want to face. We are all complicit in theshadow side of growth. His words are born not somuch out of anger but a broken heart.He says he writes elegies for the landscape he loves,that he is “hopelessly clinging to the past.”I would call Stiles a writer from the future.Brave New West is a book of import because ofwhat it chooses to expose.”-- Terry Tempest WilliamsSIGNED COPIES OFBrave New Westare now available directly fromThe ZephyrPO Box 271Monticello, UT 84535$20.00 postage paidchecks only at this timewww.canyoncountryzephyr.comThe enchantment of the land is not some trifling pleasure. It is thefundamental signal the landscape has always given our species that therelevant ecosystem is in adequate health. It is infinitely more significant,more real, than the Gross Domestic Product or growth in consumerspending or construction starts or even the unemployment rate. Itsabsence in the landscape is a blunt warning, like a mass in our lungs ona CT scan.But our culture, through its self-perpetuating frenetic activity, much ofwhich is crazily entertaining, has long tuned out this signal (witness theDust Bowl of the 1930s). The destruction of the enchantment of the landin Arizona was specifically caused by massive overpopulation, overconsumption,and overdevelopment.ANDREW KEETON(from Mike Reed)OKC, OKJEFF WOODS‘On the Road”TONI McCONNELFlagstaff, AZFor me it’s clear: no human being, whether White, Latino, African-American, Asian-American, Native American, Australian, African,Middle Eastern, European, Asian, or whatever, has a right to overpopulateany ecosystem, be it in Arizona or anywhere else. The main point isnot whether people cross a border or a state line, but whether the carryingcapacity of the ecosystem for humans is being exceeded. If so, thepopulation there needs to be gradually lowered by reducing birth rates,emigration from other states, and immigration from other countries,until our numbers are within the ecosystem’s carrying capacity. Probablyover several generations.HOPEBENEDICTSalmon, IDWhich is a politically incorrect position to take.That’s because a series of perceived human entitlements have grownup over time that are in conflict with the health and well being of ourecosystems. That’s why it’s politically incorrect to broach the subject.NEXT PAGE...13DONBAUMGARDTEl Paso, TXDAVE YARBROUGHWaddy, KY

THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012SCOTT THOMPSON (cont)Let’s look at some of these entitlements.But first, I ask you to bear in mind that that a trend that characterizesa group – think of a bell curve – will often not apply to many of thatgroup’s members.Epistemologically challenged readers may find that fact a bitch to dealwith.The basis for liberal entitlement is a compassionate, but ideologicallyutopian worldview, often rigidly held, which aims to protect people perceivedas oppressed or otherwise vulnerable. I think that as a group, liberalshave been avoiding serious public dialogue about overpopulationbecause they are afraid that efforts to reduce it will be used as an excusefor persecuting vulnerable groups. That’s an understandable fear, but silenceisn’t a rational strategy for them in the long run. By silencing eachother and most of the rest of us, liberals may well be endangering thelives and well being of the very people their ideological commitmentshave sworn them to protect.Liberals may have another problem with addressing overpopulation.For decades the foundation of their politics has been wealth redistributionbased on continuing economic growth: they claim that everyoneshould get at least a narrow slice of the pie. Certainly including themselves.Radically reducing our numbers, however, will bring an end tocornucopia economic expansion. It will mean a satisfying but far lessmaterialistic way of life; something many liberals may not be preparedfor.Right-wing business entitlement is barefaced; right-wingers see themselvesas the realists, after all. In order to maximize business profits,and therefore growth, and therefore spiraling profits, they need hordesof frightened, desperate, and therefore compliant laborers to hire andunderpay. Cheap labor is to soaring profits as warm ocean water is togrowing hurricanes. Reducing the human population will make inexpensiveworkers more difficult to find, therefore making wages climb,therefore reducing profits, therefore dampening business growth. And itwill reduce consumption, exacerbating the downward cycle. Our metaphoricalhurricane will transmogrify into an unremarkable series ofthunderstorms, perhaps with interesting displays of lightning.I enjoy a good thunderstorm.Right-wingers revere individual property rights. I cannot imaginethem putting the health of an ecosystem first if that will limit the profitsthey can derive from their investments in private property, or willreduce the market value of that property. They will see changes of thisnature as de facto Marxism, decrying climate scientists as henchmen ina sinister plot against free enterprise (but of course they’d never hackinto scientists’ e-mails in order to conjure “evidence” for such an imaginedconspiracy).Yet another entitlement is pronatalism, the perceived right to havechildren up to one’s biological capacity. This has been the predominanttradition since the end of humanity’s hunter-gatherer days.authorities have felt entitled to perpetuate the credibility of their traditionalteachings and scriptures, despite Sinai-sized evidence that theirpronatalist stances are a disaster for living systems (the Catholic teachingagainst birth control deserves its own Flat-Earth award, with a freecoupon for all the credible books on climate science and climate changebiology Pope Benedict and the College of Cardinals are willing to read).Given that mainstream religions do have a lot of good teachings, whycan’t they figure out that to “fill the earth” with homo sapiens means upto, but not exceeding, each ecosystem’s carrying capacity? That they refuseto figure this out in the face of escalating danger to us all is religiousentitlement.Nevertheless, there is a helpful trend. It’s become clear that as morewomen are educated and given opportunities outside the home, as wellas access to birth control, birth rates predictably drop; at least they havethus far. If humanity does somehow avoid a series of population-relatedcatastrophes, women and the women’s movement will deserve thecredit.The danger, as ever, is complacency. It’s easy to forget that even withlower fertility rates the world population will continue to grow at analarming rate, simply because there are more people around to reproduce.And that the climate is now unstable for the first time since thebeginning of the Holocene 11,000 years ago, and that it will steadilygrow more unstable for centuries to come, imperiling fresh water supplies,agricultural production, and of course the ecosystems that vitallysustain us.Centuries from now, as teams of archeologists turn their trowelsthrough the debris of our ex-civilization, I wonder if they’ll concludethat we trivialized the most important signal of approaching disaster:the loss of enchantment of the land. Perhaps after a scorching day siftingthrough the ruins, one of them will lean back and say to her teammates, “You know, it’s like a critical mass of Arizonans way back then,certainly the most influential ones, were walking around with their eyesshut. They literally didn’t see what was happening to the landscape.”The crew will nod and smile sadly.Over the years Gail and I have visited the following Indian reservations:Mescalero Apache, Wind River Shoshone, Arapaho, Flathead,Blackfeet, Taos Pueblo, San Ildefonso Pueblo, Navajo, Hopi, Hualapai,Havasupai, Yavapai, Acoma, and Zuni. On every one of these reservations,wherever the tribe has retained enough land and political power,it has carefully preserved the enchantment of the land. While the tribesmay explain this differently according to their own paradigms, that’swhat they’ve been doing.My opinion? A critical mass of Native Americans are walking aroundwith their eyes open.SCOTT THOMPSON is aregular contributor toThe Zephyr. He lives inBeckley, WVPronatalism is backed by big time Western religion. Consider, forexample, the Old Testament’s “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earthand subdue it…” (Genesis 1:28). In general, Judeo-Christian religious“Renny Russell’s Rock Me on the Water is at its heart courageous.To return to the same power of nature that took his brotherthirty years previous—to be with it, to confront it, to take solace init, and to be inspired and healed by it—is remarkable in itself. Hisbook is, as well, a testament to the evocative rhythms of the wilds.In this complicated dance, this profoundly personal journey, RennyRussell also gives us an amazingly spirited tour of one of the trulygreat landscapes of the American West and a keen understandingof its power to shape a life.”Robert RedfordFrom Renny Russell,the author of...order signed copies at:http://www.rennyrussell.com/14

THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012Hole “n” the Rock1952HERB RINGER came West from his home in New Jersey in 1939.Camera in hand, Herb captured the American West, from the CanadianBorder to the Rio Grande and from the Big Sur coast to theHigh Plains.We believe Herb’s collection of Life in the West is one of the finest.His work has been published in The Zephyr for 20 years. I ampleased finally, to offer Herb’s photographs in color. We are alsobuilding a new ‘album’ of his work, elsewhere on this site.My dear friend died on December 11, 1998...JS15

THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012Last Float Down Glen Canyon--Sept/Oct 1962PART 2...Good Hope Bar to Hole in the RockEdna Fridley was a good friend of the canyon country of southeast utah formore than 30 years. Every year she returned to the slickrockfrom her home, backeast, to wander and explore what was then one of the most remote and isolatedparts of the United States.In the fall of 1962, Edna set off on her last trip down Glen Canyon. The dam, 150miles downstream, was almost complete. Within months the Bureau of reclamationwould close its diversion tunnek and stop the free flow of the Colorado River.Edna had been invited to join a party of friends to celebrate Harry Aleson’swedding, which was to happen during the trip. She flew to Salt Lake City, thenrented a car to Page, Arizona via Zion National Park. At Page, after checking inat the Page Boy Motel, she arranged a flight to the dirt airstrip at White Canyon.She took thousands of photographs of her pack and river trips with legendaryguides Ken Sleight and Harry Aleson. But she also kept journals, often scribbledin small spiral notebooks. Here are excerpts from that trip— Part 1 of Edna’s lastjourney down Glen...and, of course, these amazing, never-before-seen photos..JSWords & Photographs byEDNA FRIDLEY“Heard Harry whistling, walk’garound rocks. said he’d foundHite’s name. This I must photograph.Heard Dock so will quitwriting---Took photo of Hite’sname and date. Harry found anarrowhead--Gave it to me---It’sbeautiful pink and is perfect.Floated down river a few miles--put in at Mummy Springs...Aftereating took shovel...surprised aporcupine in oaks near Dock’sand my bed rolls. He took off andso did I. To bed at about 8. Sleptwell.”16

THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012Down to boat---off socks, bootsinto the water to shove boats off.River receded and we were inmuck--icky, icky.Got boat to another place buthad to carry everything. On ourway...1/4 miles, green spot upwhere Dotto had slept..Harry’srubber mattress!THE CHARACTERS: Harry Aleson, DockMarston, Bering Monroe...Cabin at Good Hope BarStone mining claim markerFor many more images AND the completetext of Edna’s journal entries, visit theWordPress version of this issue.17next page

THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012Last Float Down Glen Canyon (continued)The Hike to the Top of Tapestry WallApproaching Tapestry Wall...at right, CAMP.18

THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012“On Top of Old Tapestry Wall: Phew! More later--No energy. This is an authentic ‘sight.” 4 Henrysvisible, also Black mesa (west of road to canyonde Chelly) & Navajo Mountain rising in the haze.Waterpocket Fold and beyond--Kaiparowitz Plateau.Boy, what a view.Took us 2 hrs 13 min. going, 2 hrs 12 min. returning.Had lunch there, recorded names. Stayedawhile.The Henry Mountains in the distance.

THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012From August/September 2003LET’S TALK.is called “In the Spirit of Argument.” It goes something like this:Nature writing. So often it goes flat. Why? I want to look at oneof the ways.Last summer Jim Stiles and Bob Greenspan and I met in Jackson,Wyoming. Bob and I favored crossing the street to a cafe forcoffee, but Jim led us to a shady outside bench and we sat therequite a while talking about the state of the world, looking acrossthe quiet waters of Flat Creek and the burbs of the jammed-uptourist town to the west-facing slope of a mountain I once thoughtof as home territory. Jackson kids, we struggled up its steep, dryslopes looking for arrowheads, for whatever new and excitingmight show up.Growing older we reached thetop ridges, and beyond.I reminisced a little, about thetown and the valley...Here’s John Muir:It was a good occasion, our little confab in Jackson,compadres comparing notes, catching up on things.The world has moved along, since then, bringingtragedy and, by way of drama and fanfare,torrents of dishonesty. Lies, actually.Sometimes it did. Growing older we reached the top ridges, andbeyond. I reminisced a little, about the town and the valley. JacksonHole once advertised itself as “The Last of the Old West.” Jimand Bob had ideas about current jargon concerning “The NewWest” and “The Old West.” Naturally, Ed Abbey came into it, hiswonderful rants, his rebel style. We drifted into the subject ofhonest argument, its value as an antidote for empty rhetoric, orevasion. Abbey’s last novel, A Fool’s Progress, was subtitled, AnHonest Novel.It was a good occasion, our little confab in Jackson, compadrescomparing notes, catching up on things. The world has movedalong, since then, bringing tragedy and, by way of drama and fanfare,torrents of dishonesty. Lies, actually. Lies. All last winter thisthought kept dogging me: if we Americans don’t learn to talk andlisten to each other without pulling punches, the road ahead willget hellishly, downwardly steep. And so, in the spirit of “Take it orLeave it,” on this beautiful day in mid summer, I offer for discussiona shortened version of a chapter in my new book. The chapter20“... the deep bass tones of the fall, the clashing, ringing spray,and infinite variety of small low tones of the current gliding pastthe side of the boulder-island and glinting against a thousandsmaller stones down the ferny channel! ... The place seemed holy,where one might hope to see God.”(My First Summer in the Sierra, 1911).I like this poetic word play; it resonates, until turning suddenlysacred, jumping into an aura of hope of seeing Him. Writing ofthis sort, and it’s common, expresses a split vision, grants neitherGod nor nature a fair shake. There’s a fair amount of that inMuir’s Sierra writing:“It would seem impossible that any one...could escape the Godfulinfluence of these sacred fern forests.”But a shepherd, passing through, did escape. At least, Muirthought so. The shepherd, “betraying no more feeling than hissheep,” said, “Oh they’re only damned big brakes.” I have to wonderabout that. Was the shepherd, being a little sly, intuiting thathis esthetic or religious I.Q. was being tested? I don’t know, butthe varmentalist in me objects to ranking anyone on such scales.We’re still doing it, acting as if our sensitivities cover well enoughthe farflung range of human attitudes, pleasures, judgements.I’m afraid there’s more to say about Muir’s ranking habits. In

an amazingly obnoxious paragraph he casts fastidious scorn onan Indian woman who had ventured into his spotless wilderness.“Her dress was calico rags, far from clean...Had she been clad infur, or cloth woven of grass or shreddy bark...she might then haveseemed a rightful part of the wilderness; like a good wolf at least,or bear.” (My italics). He called her “debased.” It’s an old story bynow, wilderness people contrasting nature, innocent and clean,with degraded humankind.THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012John Muir, fighter ina good cause, but wehave a duty to bringour gurus to earthwhere we can talk withthem and scold themwhen necessary.John Muir, fighter in a good cause, but we have a duty to bringour gurus to earth where we can talk with them and scold themwhen necessary. Yes, even Thoreau, who griped about his neighbors’inability to take time out and gather spiritual sustenance.However, he did pay some attention to the circumstances of lives.“How many a poor immortal soul have I met...creeping downthe road of life, pushing before it a barn seventy-five feet by forty,its Augean stables never cleaned, and one hundred acres of land,tillage, mowing, pasture, and wood-lot! The portionless, whostruggle with no such unnecessary inherited encumbrances, findit labor enough to subdue and cultivate a few cubic feet of flesh.”(Journal, XVI).Keeping one’s life going day by day is an accomplishment.Evolution equipped us for struggle, and struggle it is, in cities oroutbacks, drawing on spiritual grit aplenty. We live by challengeand response, taking of happiness and inspiration when the pathhappens to be one with openings, pauses. If not, not.Circumstances would seem to be essential if we’re picking upthe challenge of thinking about someone else’s life. Why then doprofessional environmentalists carelessly scatter invites to wilderness...therapy,adventure, esthetic pleasure...without consideringthe circumstances of those who might throw those invites away,in disgust? Are we committed only to those who already agree andwho need only a periodic nudge?When a Right-to-Life blockader told me he read the entire Bible,front to back, every year, I quit the discussion, such as it was.His life had become a program, locked tight. Later I asked myselfabout my own ways. Do I too go around with a clamshell mind?I know this much for sure, that a big share of the openings thismind of mine has undergone came from meeting other minds inmore than a passive or one-way manner. That is to say, by argument,which leads me to favor an argumentive way of life, of theback-and-forth kind: listen-talk-listen-talk. When that happenswe are testing theories, notions, guesses, heartfelt emotion. Troubleis, occasions for that are not common. I say we ought to learnhow to create more of them.And so, a plea for argument. Allow it, get used to it, open up,mix in. Know when to back off, that too. Let’s bring our causesout of the dark, into the glare cast by those who do not agree, andthose who are so wrapped in self concerns they don’t even botherto disagree, and those who have their own causes, all of which,ours included, are a bit crazy, and no wonder, considering thesituation. If we learn to do it right, we might build a mighty...no,not a program, please. You know the word, we’ve been spouting itfor more than 200 years, here on this continent. Okay, pause forpraise: a solid foothold has been established, in the foothills.We treasure that foothold, but the ground rises, to the highridges. We’re not there yet.2822 North AvenueGrand Jct, Colorado970.242.9285and now we have a web site!!http://www.boardandbuckle.com/Still your Moab East Headquartersfor all your biking needs...We have GREAT road bikes& Mountain Bikes too...57 S MAIN STREET in the McSTIFFS PLAZA435.259. BEER (2337)RUSH...RUSH LIMBAUGH???YOU NEED MANY, MANY...MANY BEERS.www.eddiemcstiffs.com

THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012WELCOME TO THE DIMFORMATION AGE!notes from the desk of Ned Muddreporting from the crawlspace of history“Don’t stick to anything, not even the truth.” Suzuki RoshiLiberated minds are in increasingly short supply. Bewitched from allsides by the ephemeralities of post-industrial culture, a mind able to runits own numbers is a rare and unique commodity. As a prerequisite, aliberated mind needs to master the art of thinking. Of course, thinking istricky business.The world is chock full of facts, many of them meaningless. The abilityto ignore a bogus factoid is a sophisticated skill, especially in today’scheeky Ballroom Data Dancing. But in order to be one’s own chauffeur,sorting through the spam is a crucial talent. To add to the miasmic mess,we are now awash in opinions, including a few of my own. Turn on anyelectronic device and prepare to be confronted with opinionated drivel.Only the rare free thinker has a chance to surf above this jetsam of humannoise.The point is this: time spent processing streams of cultural hype andcircumstance is time lost. And, since the clock waits for no one, the onlysane approach to life is to live fully engaged, thinking for one’s self. Andin order for a mind to be free, it must be greater than the sum of itssynapses.Yogi Berra once quipped,“You’ve got to be very carefulif you don’t know whereyou’re going, because youmight not get there.” Whichraises the proverbial question:Do you want to getthere, even if you do knowwhere you’re going?This seemingly nonsensicalbit of dialectical banteris actually a critical datapoint in the vast matrix ofhuman mind mojo. Which isthe long way of saying thatmost members of the speciesHomo erectus asphaltushave no idea where theywant to go in the first place.So wanting to get there isa patently absurd exercisedisguised as organized erudition.Add to that the absurd conundrum that most humans have little interestin taking responsibility for their own lives, preferring instead to leavethe unfoldment of their karmic destiny in the hands of Fate. Or, worseyet, to various forms of syndicated baloney posing as “the government.”Uncle Sham knows best, especially where your life is concerned. And inreturn for our collective willingness to play along, our benevolent Unclehands out candy, entertainment, and much needed medication as a tokengesture of the wisdom of complacency, to garble one of Cactus Ed’smore flavorful admonitions.It’s relatively hard to think for one’s self after slogging through anontogeny fueled by music videos, reality TV, junk food, pseudo-news,Super Pacs, trans fats, disco, Gears of War 3, and talk radio. As the wiseman said, “The proof’s in the pudding.” Clones R us.What’s weird about this scenario is how predictable it all is. Even theragtag anti-capitalist Occupiers are about as unique as a plastic Bobbleheadmade in Chongqing. You’d think the so-called “progressive” movementcould come up with a new costume by now. You know your Movementis in trouble when the average activist looks like a shroom victimfrom last year’s Bonnaroo festival.The situation boils down to a simple question: How does one think forone’s self in the Dimformation Age? It must not be easy, or everybodywould be doing it. Or would they?BBC News recently reported on exciting developments [no pun] atthe lovely Rio+20 Summit. Whereupon, a gaggle of science geeks decidedthat as a prerequisite to saving the world from a host of nefarioushuman-induced calamities, we must “take action on population and22consumption.” While demonstrating a keen sense of the obvious, thesesame Summiteers appear to suffer from a malady common to many inthe neo-Green community: Struthio camelus Syndrome.Even the dimmest light bulb can see that our blue green planet is beingwhooped up on by seven billion drunk monkeys. And the idea thatHomo erectus asphaltus is projected to reach upwards of nine billion intime for Super Bowl MML is FUBAR, to say the least. But we don’t needthe UK’s Royal Society to tell us which way the wind is blowing. We cansee for ourselves.Then there’s our species’ neurotictendency to consume for the sakeof consumption. If the old battlecry “Shop till you drop” makesany sense to you, please have yourmedication adjusted before youdo harm to yourself or others. Itdoesn’t take a calculus professor tofigure out that billions of primates are rapidly gobbling up the planet’sresources in a mad rush to acquire flat screen TVs, Nike Air Jordans,SUVs, iPhones, toaster ovens, mood rings, Patagonia fleece underwear,and a three car garage to put it all in. What is, is.On the other hand, Green Summiteers seem perplexed when it comesto viable solutions for what ails us. It’s hard to see the 3rd growth forestfor the plastic trees while neck deep in the proverbial sand. It’s onething to tell us what we already know, but workable fixes are anotheranimal altogether.“If the billion poorest people are to have adequate access to food,water and energy, the academies say, developed countries will have toreduce their own consumption of natural resources...... They say thiscan be done without reducing prosperity so long as different economicmodels are followed.”The world is chock full of facts,many of them meaningless.The ability to ignore a bogus factoidis a sophisticated skill, especially intoday’s cheeky Ballroom Data Dancing.Ah so -- all we need is a “new model” and the Game can go on! Poof,problem solved.Let’s have a vote: All who believe that the United States, China, theEuropean Union [no pun], India, Canada, Australia, Brazil, and Russiawill adopt a new economic model by the time Rio+40 rolls around, raiseyour hand. Drum roll....... as expected, no hands (except a few over atGrist dot org).Even assuming such models could be foreseen, how would they becreated? By whom? Are we talking about a World Government withpolice powers to enforce the new paradigm? What sort of “prosperity”are the Summiteers dreaming of? Who decides how natural resourcesare allocated, assuming we’re looking at some sort of “equitable” distributionof goods and services? I don’t know about you, but my bet isthat Ted Nugent might have something to say about this mumbo jumbobefore it’s all over. And I’m not talking about a “Journey to the Center ofYour Mind,” either. No matter what your political sensibilities, never betagainst Ted Nugent!

THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012Bottom line time -- take a gander at the world around you and ponderwhy it is like it is. Things don’t simply jump out of hats, like magic. Theyappear because some form of energy moved in a particular direction,guided by somebody’s hand, for better or worse. CNN doesn’t babble allday for nothing. We are a busy species, creating one hell of a freak show,24/7.And while it might seem like the world is a zany kaleidoscope, beyondanyone’s ability to fathom, the fact is that somebody, somewhere,is making decisions right this moment that will affect you in ways youcan’t imagine.Those who cultivate the ability to think for themselves, backed by thekind of data designed to add value to one’s existence (information!),tend to exit the wormhole in better shape than those who see themselvesas part of the herd. Of course, such evolutionary sleight of handis anathema to basic primate social engineering, where the Alpha malesets the tone for the rest of the troop as they swing through the junglein search of digestible protein. But there’s always an alternative to blindsubmission to our genetic predispositions. Otherwise, we all might aswell take up smoking asap.In actuality, we do need a new model. And not just where naturalresources are at stake. But, as always, the buck stops inside every oneof our bony noggins. We’re responsible for our actions, despite the factthat our present iteration of American culture has decided to divestitself of common sense, not to mention long-range strategic thinking ina world shakier than Elvis’ hips.Perhaps the answer will appear from where it usually does: the groundup. Every time I gulp down a bottle of micro-brewed IPA, or savor aplate of local turnip greens and corn bread, I sense the worm turningever so slightly. As we make our own choices, we spin the cosmic wheel,creating our world to come. Either we think for ourselves, or somebodywill do it for us.As the Unknown Pundit said, “Think global, drink local.”Salut!CHECK OUTOMAR TATUM’SAmeriCandyin LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKYhttp://www.americandybar.comROSCOBETUNADAWhiteWater,ColorawdoughTIM STECK-LINESpearfish, SDthe footprintsTOP 10LIST121 East 100 South...Moab, Utah 84532Top 10 Reasons We Don’t NeedUniversal Healthcare10. Sick people visit the emergency room and that’sgood for the economic recovery9. Only congress and government employees shouldbe forced to have socialized healthcare8. I’d rather give all my money directly to the drug andinsurance companies7. Long the lines at the doctor’s office will reduceemployee work hours6. Just like oil, if everyone has healthcare there won’tbe enough to go around5. Foreign doctors and researchers will try to sneakinto the country illegally4. Bankruptcy lawyers will lose business3. My retirement plan involves winning the lottery2. It’s worth getting sick just to lose the weight1. I feel good today. I’m sure I’ll never need it.984 BARRET AVE LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY!502.583.3447“Still only 1531 miles from Moab!”www.lynnsparadisecafe.comIT’S BACKtoSCHOOLTIME!!!Celebrate or Mourn Your Kids’Return to the class room...Take them to The Swirl for“Educational Materials!!!”For a good time call Patty “The Instigator” at 502-821-8888or email her Patty@lynnsparadisecafe.com to plan yournext celebration!23“One of the four most fun restaurantsin America” Esquire (June 2002)

THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012That was THEN...This is LATER.The La Sal Loop Road1973 & 2000Until the late 70s, the La Sal Loop Road was mostly dirt andgravel. Dramatic improvements to the entire road, including majorrealignments and paving, were implemented in 1979. It was alsoduring that period that a massive exploratory well in Gold Basin,compliments of Exxon, seriously altered the terrain in that part ofthe La Sals. Whether the road improvements were connected to thewell...I have no ideaMill Creek Drive in Moab: 1978 & 200824Mill Creek drive almost looked like a country lane in 1978, because it was. The building that would becomeDAVE’S CORNER MARKET was already there, known briefly as The GO-FER STORE. Just up from Dave’s wasthe Country Cleaners Laundromat. When the updated photograph was taken in 2008, SE Elementary Schoolwas still open. It has since been torn down

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THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012Unsung Heroes of the Canyon Country #1PETE PARRYPete quietly took on the D.O.E and the planned Canyonlands Nuclear Repository...AND WON.Jim StilesWhen I was in my early 20s, the National Park Service hired me as a seasonalranger at Arches National Park. I had virtually no qualifications for the job,other than an unbridled enthusiasm for the canyon country and a self-righteousdesire, inflamed by my third reading, cover-to-cover, of Ed Abbey’s “The MonkeyWrench Gang,” to be the Protector and Guardian of my beloved red rocks.I started my tour of duty at the Devils Garden campground and lived in asmall rat-infested trailer that many tourists mistook for Abbey’s; I once hung asign that read, “This is NOT Edward Abbey’s Trailer,” but the gesture was futile.Tourists continued to knock on my door.I managed to stay out of trouble for about six weeks. Then one day I got riledabout an article that appearedin the local weekly,The Moab Times-Independent,and immediatelyput pen-to-paper with acaustic reply. I can’t recallthe specifics but the issueof development and pavingroads probably playeda role in my passion. Myfiery letter to the editor wasso annoying that the editorand publisher, and to manythe moral compass of Moab,Sam Taylor, devoted hisentire editorial that week torespond. Sam whacked meabout the ears for the betterpart of 500 words. He oftenreferred to me as “this youngranger” who had only beenliving in Moab and SoutheastUtah for the better part offour months, who was nowtaking time out from hisbusy schedule as a left-wing,bearded, hippie ranger totell all the good residents ofGrand County how to livetheir lives.It was the first time I hadever been forced to consider my own mortality. I was sure someone wouldshoot me.The day after the T-I hit the newsstands I wandered into the visitor centerand could not help notice that most of my co-workers were avoiding eye contact.Not a good sign. Finally, the park’s unit manager, Larry Reed, spotted meand called me into his office. He had a copy of the paper rolled up in his hand.“You sort of went overboard don’t you think?” he asked. I didn’t know whatto say and before anything came to mind, Larry shook his head and said, “Petewants to see you.”rangers with big mouths. I expected the worst.I was escorted into his office where I found Pete behind his desk, reading orre-reading my letter. He motioned me to sit down, studied my rant a bit longerand finally laid the newspaper aside. I looked hard for a hint of his mood butthe man was inscrutable. He gave me that even gaze...“Your letter to Sam is getting a lot of attention this week,” he said. “Today, Iwent to the Chamber of Commerce luncheon, out at the Sundowner, and theyeven read your letter there. How can I put this...your letter was not well-receivedby the Moab business community. I think there might be one or two ofthem that would like to hang you..at least by your thumbs.”All I could do was grimace.At 22, I thought Imight even start to cry andPete sensed I was losing it.Pete measured me slowly.Had I suffered enough? Petedecided that I had. “Well,”he said chuckling, “First ofall we’re not going to fireyou. These kinds of thingsdo make my job harder, butI’m not ever going to censorany of you when it comes toexpressing an opinion.”I breathed a sigh of relief.“But I am going to giveyou some advice,” he added.Pete leaned back in hischair. “I’ve been known towrite a letter like this myselffrom time to time. SometimesI know it’s worth theeffort and sometimes I knowI’m just blowing off steam.So here’s what I do—I writethat letter, get it all off mychest. And then I take theletter and put it in a drawerfor 24 hours. If, a day later, Istill want to mail it, I do. Butit helps to give yourself aday to think things over, to let the cooler side of your own brain have a chance.”It was advice I’d remember and appreciate, if not always apply, for the next30 years. And it was the first of many conversations I’d have with my fearlessleader and the man I’ve been able to call my friend for the past 35 years. Oneafternoon last month, Pete and I got together to talk about his time at Canyonlands.Few realize how dramatically his leadership altered the future of thecanyon country. Some, even today, still bitterly disagree with the direction Petetook the park. But for most of us, Pete was a visionary.Pete leaned back in his chair. “I’ve been known to write a letter like this myself from time to time.Sometimes I know it’s worth the effort and sometimes I know I’m just blowing off steam.So here’s what I do—I write that letter, get it all off my chest. And then I take the letter and put itin a drawer for 24 hours. If, a day later, I still want to mail it, I do. But it helps to give yourself a dayto think things over, to let the cooler side of your own brain have a chance.”“Pete?” I gulped. “Pete Parry?” I sank into a chair. Pete Parry was the groupsuperintendent of Canyonlands National Park, Arches National Park andNatural Bridges National Monument. He had come to canyon country only ayear earlier and so far, nobody really knew what to make of him. Pete was quiet,even taciturn, maybe a bit remote...very different from the first Canyonlandssuper, Bates Wilson, who had only retired a couple years earlier. Where Bateswas gregarious and social, Parry tended to be the master of understatement,and from my lowly perspective, a man who most likely didn’t care for skinny26Pete Parry came to Moab in 1975. His Park Service career had begun in thelate 40s when he took a seasonal job at Grand Teton National Park. Pete recalls,“I never considered working anywhere else. I liked what the Park Servicedid. I liked who they were...and besides I met my wife in the Park Service.” Heand Joyce met at Natchez Trace in the mid-50s and married in 1957.. Less thantwenty years later, they found themselves in this remote but controversial partof the Colorado Plateau.

The timing of his arrival could not have been more significant--- SE Utah’snational parks were experiencing the most turbulent period in their history.On a wider scale, much of the rural west was in a near state of revolution—formillions of rural westerners, the Sagebrush Rebellion was a serious movement.No place was more divisive or more visibly in revolt than southeast Utah.Until the 1960s, westerners had, to a great extent, a free run of the publiclands that spread almost limitlessly across the west. Environmental restrictionswere few and enforcement of what rules did exist was almost non-existent. Butthe 1964 Wilderness Act began to change all that. The new law called for theestablishment of wilderness areas across the country. A decade later, in 1974,the Federal Land Management Policy Act (FLPMA) was introduced in Congressand enacted into law two years later. FLPMA created the mechanisms to findand designate wilderness. It also provided a new set of regulations and proposalsfor the management and use of federal lands across the country. These newlaws were handed to the agency in charge, the Bureau of Land Management(BLM). In addition to a wilderness inventory, new mining and grazing ruleswere established, road rights-of-way were scrutinized. And for the first time, aserious effort to enforce these regulations was put in motion. The politics of theWest would never be the same again.At BLM’s Moab office, district manager Gene Day attempted to steer theTHE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012The first issue ofTHE CANYON COUNTRYZEPHYRwent to press onMarch 14, 1989.It containedEd Abbey’slast original story.We have a smallcache of that firstissue available forpurchase.$55 includingpostage.The timing of his arrival could not have beenmore significant--- SE Utah’s national parkswere experiencing the most turbulent period intheir history. ..for millions of rural westerners,the Sagebrush Rebellion was a serious movement.No place was more divisive or more visiblyin revolt than southeast Utah.send a check or money order to:THE ZEPHYRPO BOX 271MONTICELLO, UT 84535agency and rural Utah into this new age, but his efforts were doomed from thestart. After a century of laissez-faire treatment from the feds, BLM’s new highprofile restrictions set poorly with the populace. Fighting back, the county commissionersin SE Utah, according to writer Ray Wheeler, “had a strategy thatoffered the elegant simplicity of a sumo wrestling match.” When they didn’tlike a new rule, they simply disobeyed it, encouraging their constituents to dolikewise. When a local canyon was closed to vehicular traffic in 1979, the countyfired up its bulldozer and opened it back up again. The BLM got a court order,the county ignored it. On July 4, 1980, county commissioner Ray Tibbettsmanned the D9 Cat himself and tore down the BLM blockade.Manager Day lashed back, attacking the local politicians and their followersin the local paper. The Washington Post wrote a piece about the uprising andidentified gen day as “The Most Hated Man in Southern Utah.” Eventually hewas transferred .Into this fever-pitched battle came Pete Parry. As Pete says, “I had no ideawhat I was walking into.” While much of the anger was aimed at the ParkService’s federal cousins at the BLM, the NPS faced challenges of its own. Petetook the reins at Canyonlands in mid-1975. He arrived in Moab at a time whenattitudes toward the parks and the environment were changing nationally.National Parks had always been developed with an eye to accommodate theour palBILL BENGEGREG CAUDILLLouisville, KYOMAR TATUMLouisville, KYBILLSTOKESSt PetersburgFLMATT ROBERTSAustin, TXSUE GREENFlagstaff, AZgreatest number of visitors. It was, for many park managers and for the agency,a measure of success. A park that failed to show steady annual increases in parkvisitation had a problem and efforts to boost tourism were encouraged. Parksbecame known more for their spectacular paved roads and lodges than theirscenery. But in the 70s, as environmental issues became more prominent andas efforts to preserve parks in a more pristine state were embraced, the ParkService began to re-evaluate its objectives. At Canyonlands, that was a problem.Canyonlands National Park had been established barely a decade earlier, innext pageSAM CAMPBig Bar, CA27LEWIS PAISLEYLexington, KYChris CarrierPaonia, CO

PETE PARRY (continued)1964, in part due to the efforts and influence of Bates Wilson, the first superintendentof Canyonlands and a lifelong booster of Southeast Utah. Bates,through sheer will of his personality, established a personal friendship withthen-Secretary of Interior Stewart Udall in the early 60s. After countless packtrips and Washington visits, Canyonlands National Park was established by anact of Congress. The compromise bill created a park of 257,640 acres and wasexpanded in 1971 to 337,570 acres, or 527 square miles.Local opposition to the new park had been fierce—ranchers and minersfeared a national park would severely limit grazing and mineral extraction andthe community feared such restrictions would adversely affect their economy.The Park Service presented a development plan that called for major developmentsat both the Needles District and in the Island in the Sky sections of thepark, complete with scores of miles of paved roads, loop tours and on-site touristdevelopments like lodges and cafes. In addition, a massive scenic highwayalong the west side of Canyonlands, all the way to the upper reaches of theGrand Canyon was proposed and under serious consideration. With some reservationseven Bates Wilson supported the new tourist highway. Grand and SanJuan Counties accepted the park plans with a grain of salt but embraced theplans for a high profile park that called for dramatic increases in tourism. Thelocal businesses prepared for the changes and the crowds. But neither came.A decade after the park was established, few changes had occurred. The Islandin the Sky was still reached by dirt road and the Needles pavement endedat the district “visitor center,” a surplus tin trailer that the park had acquired ata government surplus auction. The remoteness of the Canyonlands was intact,and to the business community, its continued isolation and lack of amenitieswas the betrayal of a promise.Congressman Gunn McKay demanded Pete submitto the demands of his local constituents. In a voicethat could be heard throughout headquarters,Rep McKay bellowed, “I’ll have your job for this!.”Pete, always the master of understatementreplied softly, “You’re welcome to try.”By 1976, Grand and San Juan Counties demanded action. In November,Utah’s only (and last) Democratic senator, Frank Moss, was defeated by newcomerOrrin Hatch and congressional pressure to force massive developmentat Canyonlands intensified. Pete walked into the middle of all this, aware thatwhen he arrived, “there was no General Management Plan at all for the park.There was nothing.”Canyonlands was adrift, with extreme pressure from local and state politiciansto embrace big money and big roads and, in the process, transform oneof the most remote and pristine places in North America. It would have beeneasier, in the political climate of the time, to either support the expansion ofroads and amenities, or at least take a bystander’s role, but he didn’t. Pete hadto choose between the future and the past. He opted for the future.While many Utahns blamed the lack of development on an obstructionistagency, few wanted to acknowledge that, in fact, the world was changing.A greater environmental awareness was replacing the growth at full-speedmentality of the post-war era. For the first time in its history, the National ParkService paused to re-evaluate its dual mandate. For daces the NPS had pursuedtwo often conflicting goals, “to preserve and protect” national parklands, and“to provide for the enjoyment of the people.” Clearly the two stated objectiveswere at crossed swords with each other. Until now, the “enjoyment” trumpedthe “preservation” almost every time they were put to the test. But now, moreAmericans weren’t so sure they wanted paved roads and concession stands cuttingthe park to pieces in the process.For the next several years, Pete moved quietly, and occasionally not thatquietly, but deliberately to include a scaled back option. The NPS offered thepossibility of Canyonlands as a “backcountry” park. That management planalternative proposed a limited park roads system that would scrap plans for the“Kigalia Highway,” the dream project of San Juan County Commissioner CalBlack. Black’s plan was to build a 40 mile highway that would wind its way outof the park via Bobby’s Hole to Elk Ridge, then pass between the Bears Earsand descend to its junction with Utah Highway 95 at Natural Bridges NationalMonument. Pete agreed to a short extension of the paved road to the edge ofBig Spring Canyon, but as far as Parry was concerned, the road ended there. CalBlack called it the Road to Nowhere.. (In 1975 Cal would become the basis forthe character ‘Bishop Love’ in Ed Abbey’s novel, ‘The Monkey Wrench Gang.’).Public hearings were held in Denver, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Moab andBlanding, Utah. Support for the backcountry park vision received enthusiasticsupport from citizens in the larger cities and split evenly in Moab. Only in Blandingwas public sentiment still strongly opposed to scaling back the develop-THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012ment of the park.Cal Black was furious. So were, almost unanimously, the Grand and San JuanCommissions in their entirety. Pete could not recount the number of timeshe and Black squared off, but it was more times than he could count. He oncefound himself confronted by both Cal and Reagan’s Interior Secretary JamesWatt as they did an all day flyover of the park. “It was a very long day,” Peterecalled. “Besides,” Pete added, “I could never understand why Cal wanted thatroad so badly. Just look at the map. If tourists left the Needles by way of hisKigalia Highway, they would have bypassed both Monticello and Blanding andall the businesses that would have benefitted from the tourist traffic. It made nosense.” It was also why Parry avoided the construction of amenities inside thepark as well. He got very little argument from the Chambers of Commerce onthat point.Still the war of words and roads continued. He found himself confronted inhis office one day by Congressman Gunn McKay who demanded Pete submit tothe demands of his local constituents. In a voice that could be heard throughoutheadquarters, Rep McKay bellowed, “I’ll have your job for this!.” Pete, alwaysthe master of understatement replied softly, “You’re welcome to try.” Twoyears later, McKay was defeated for re-election, though it was hardly the kindof defeat most environmentalists cheered. His opponent was Jim Hansen, whowould become an anti-wilderness fixture in Congress for the next 20 years.Meanwhile, Pete avoided the distractions when he could and moved forward.He resisted the paving of the Island in the Sky roads and came up with a novelalternative to pavement. He noticed that the park trail crews used a materialcalled “soil cement”–the crew mixed the local soil with cement to create a hard,non-dusty surface for the walking trails. Pete wondered if it might work onvehicular surfaces as well and for two years, a test patch of soil cement was laiddown on the Delicate Arch road at Arches. Unfortunately, the soil cement didn’thold up as well as many had hoped and Pete was forced to consider paving atleast part of the Island.Some kind of compromise was inevitable. The road was paved to GrandviewPoint but along much narrower rights-of-way than had been originallyproposed. And where the old dirt road wound left and right, Pete insisted thatthe new road follow the same alignment. For the modern traveler who passesthrough Gray’s Pasture on his way to the Green River Overlook and encountersa series of tight curves, those are Pete’s handiwork. I still think the NPS shouldplace a sign there that reads: “PETE’S CURVES.” It sure slows down the highspeed traffic.The Plan was implemented over the next decade. And as Pete says, “A quartercentury later, that General Management Plan is still in place and essentiallyuntouched..”But there was scarcely time to appreciate the accomplishment. In the late70s, rumors circulated in Moab that the Department of Energy (DOE) wasseriously pursuing a location for the long-term storage of the country’s highlevel nuclear waste. Locations adjacent to Arches and Canyonlands NationalParks were rated among the top choices for the nation’s first nuclear repository.The plan was to hollow out huge caverns from the massive salt domes that laythousands of feet beneath the surface in southern Utah, but after preliminarytests, the Arches site was deemed too unstable. DOE officials were disappointedbecause logistically the location was perfect–it was less than five miles from amajor rail line and Interstate 70.The other sites, near the Canyonlands boundary in the Needles would be difficultto access. But DOE moved ahead with its tests and plans were announcedto build a railroad spur from Moab to the site, via the table lands above theColorado River in Lockhart Basin. One of the sites eventually became a top 3finalist.Pete caught wind of the giant project long before the public did. In the beginning,his concerns were not shared by the Park Service at the regional office andso Pete pursued information on his own, With resource management specialistKate Kitchell, Pete regularly attended quarterly meetings of the DOE in Columbus,Ohio. “We were there just to gather information, “ Pete explained, “so thatwhen the right time came along, we’d be ready.” Eventually, the NPS did seethe threat and Pete became the Park Service point man.Again Pete found himself and the park at odds with the local population.By 1982, the economy was sputtering, the Atlas uranium mill was a year fromshutting down, and locals, desperate for a ne economy to replace the one thatwas dying saw the repository as a godsend. They saw jobs, regardless of the environmentalthreats. A straw poll vote showed that almost two-thirds of GrandCounty citizens supported the repository. Commissioner ray Tibbetts arguedthat, since uranium was mined and milled in southern Utah, its citizens shouldbe willing to accept the waste as well.(For a great story on the waste repository and the controversy it generated,follow this link to a 1982 Deseret News piece by Joe Bauman: http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=336&dat=19820901&id=RzcpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=H4MDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5287,790640 )Armed with a stunning amount of information, Parry worked to gain thesupport of the predominantly Republican Utah congressional delegation andthe State of Utah.. “We ran VIP river trips a couple times a year,” Pete recalled,

“and when the elected officials couldn’t come along, we’d always invite one oftheir staff members. In ways it was easier to talk to them and gain their support.Their recommendations were usually given serious consideration.”In 1985, comments for the Draft Environmental Assessment were submittedto DOE for consideration. (Here are links to comments from the InteriorDepartment and the State of Utah:)http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML0320/ML032050660.pdfhttp://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML0320/ML032050695.pdfLater that year, President Reagan announced that three sites, at Yucca Mountain,Nevada, Hanford, Washington, and Deaf Smith County, Texas, were stillunder consideration and in 1987, the DOE chose Yucca Mountain as its finalchoice. Almost 30 years later, the Yucca Mountain site is still being debated andthe country’s growing pile of high level waste remains in “temporary” storage atvarious locations around the country. But...Canyonlands was out of the competition.Pete’s years of hard work and gentle persuasion had paid off.THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012131 East 100 SouthMoab, UT 84532435.259.4384800-635-5280http://www.footprints-inc.com/another FAKE ZEPHYR ENDORSEMENTJOHN BOEHNER!(SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE)Speaker John...You look ORANGE.It’s OBAMA’sFault...!!!Pete retired from the Park Service in 1987. He and Joyce continued to livein Moab, in the same home they bought when they arrived in Moab a decadeearlier. They both stayed active. Pete worked with his former political rival, RayTibbetts to create the “multi-agency information center” in downtown Moab.Instead of a mini-mall or another fast-food chain, the center of Moab, Utah isnow a shady green visitor center, in part, thanks to Pete.And Pete publicly expressed alarm and offered a warning when the BushAdministration demanded “loyalty oaths” from its employees. In 2006, Petewrote:“Gone will be the days when the upper management of this nation’s parksmade decisions that were best for the parks and their visitors, not for the politicalparty currently in Washington. Now, the political creep is moving downinto the working ranks. A long-held ethic of good, science-based decisionswill be overturned for politically expedient solutions that last only until theresults of the next election. The National Park Service’s mandate “to preserveand protect... for future generations” has no chance to succeed if civil servantsswear to say yes to every political whim.”(http://moabtimes.com/bookmark/66447-Pete-Parry-points-out-park-employees-oath-of-allegiance)Joyce stayed busy with the League of Women Voters and for years served asdirector and co-director of the Moab Valley Voices. When Joyce died in December2010, she and Pete had been married 53 years and had seen and served thecountry, from its most beautiful locations---from Natchez Trace to Isle Royalto Great Basin to Joshua Tree to Washington DC to Moab. It was a spectacularjourney.From my own perspective, I’ll always be grateful for the big decisions Petemade, the ones that affected all of our lives for years and decades to come.What would Canyonlands National Park look like today, had Pete Parry notbeen there to slow down the development juggernaut that, at the time, seemedunstoppable? For many of us, much of the SE Utah/Moab “Scene” has in the21st Century become the thing Pete detested the most–the Disneyfication of anatural area. Canyonlands, with its limited tourist infra-structure, remains ahaven from much of that madness.And imagine a nuclear waste repository, just a couple thousand yards froma national park boundary. Imagine a new 27 mile highway and a 37 mile traincarrying millions of tons of nuclear waste, 24 hours a day, for decades. THAT iswhat Pete Parry helped stop.Those are the BIG things. But for me, I will also cherish the little gestures aswell---the way I could stop by his office and always get a friendly hello. “Havea seat,” Pete used to say with a chuckle. “What kind of trouble have you got usinto now?” He was always patient. He always gave good advice. And best of all,I always thought he gave a damn.Quiet integrity...that’s Pete.Thanks to ourwebmaster:RICKRICHARDSONwho, each issue,manages to moveThe Zephyr intocyber-space, withoutcausing the editorto have anervous breakdown.29

THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012from Mudd, Stiles &the Heath MonitorFiles...“As is everything in Vegas, the FleurBurger5000 is over the top with a hefty price tag of$5,000.00…... It is a Kobe burger containingfoie gras, a special truffle sauce, and isserved on a brioche truffle bun with blacktruffles on the side. The burger is servedwith a bottle of Chateau Petrus 1990 pouredin Ichendorf Brunello stemware (you get tokeep the stemware) imported from Italy, anda certificate of authenticity will be mailed toyour home………” Trend Hunterhttp://www.trendhunter.com/trends/fleurburger-5000From 2001 to 2009, the average annual number of vehicle-miles traveledby people ages 16-34 dropped 23 percent, from 10,300 to 7,900,the survey found. Gen Y-ers, also known as Millennials, tend to ridebicycles, take public transit and rely on virtual media.More than a quarter of Millennials - 26 percent - lacked a driver’slicense in 2010, up 5 percentage points from 2000, the Federal HighwayAdministration reported. Yahoohttp://news.yahoo.com/americas-generation-y-not-driven-drive-145632280--sector.htmlEnvironment and development charities saythe Rio+20 agreement is too weak to tacklesocial and environmental crises. Gro HarlemBrundtland, author of a major UN sustainabledevelopment report 25 years ago, said corporatepower was one reason for lack of progress.The UN had billed the summit as a “once in ageneration chance” to turn the global economyonto a sustainable track. “It absolutely did notdo that,” said Barbara Stocking, chief executiveof Oxfam GB. BBC Newshttp://www.canyoncountryzephyr.com/blog/2012/06/27/from-msnbc-some-offshore-arctic-waters-to-be-leased-for-energy-drilling-us-says/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/scienceenvironment-18561223(from NYTimes) “(The Sierra Club)Answering for Taking a Driller’s Cash’“The recent disclosure of the Sierra Club’s secret acceptance of $26 millionin donations from people associated with a natural gas company has revived anuncomfortable debate among environmental groups about corporate donationsand transparency….The gifts fromthe company, Chesapeake Energy, havedrawn criticism from some environmentalists.“Sleeping with the enemy” wasa comment much forwarded on Twitterposts about the undisclosed arrangement.”http://www.canyoncountryzephyr.com/blog/2012/06/27/from-nytimesthe-sierra-club-answering-for-taking-a-drillers-cash/Parts of America’s Arctic waters, long a battlegroundbetween environmentalists and the energyindustry, will be open for oil and natural gas drillingin four years, the Obama administration said Tuesday-- the same day Shell announced it had successfullytested a new spill containment system for itsplanned Arctic exploration this summer.Details will be released Thursday, but Interior SecretaryKen Salazar told reporters the idea is to adopt“targeted leasing” -- opening some areas in the Chukchiand Beaufort seas for drilling while protectingothers critical for native subsistence and ecosystemhealth.People’s Summit militants view the“green economy” concept touted byorganizers of the official Rio+20 gatheringas just “another stage of capitalistaccumulation” after the failure of thecurrent model. Yahoo News(from yahoo) “Women march in Rioto protest ‘green economy’”AN EXCERPT: Thousands ofwomen representing social and farmmovements marched in central RioMonday to rail against the “greeneconomy” advocated by the Rio+20conference on sustainable development…Behinda large banner fromthe international peasant movementVia Campesina proclaiming “thepeoples are against the mercantilizationof nature”, they marched severalmiles to the Flamengo park, the venue for the “People’s Summit” organizedby civil society groups on the sidelines of the Rio+20 event…Several hundredmen closed off the march to show their solidarity….Perched atop a truck fittedwith loudspeakers, a female activist howled: “This is a march of urban and ruralwomen against this Rio+20 charade.”“No to green capitalism! Yes to an economy based on solidarity, yes topeople’s sovereignty,” she added.http://www.canyoncountryzephyr.com/blog/2012/06/23/fromyahoo-women-march-in-rio-to-protest-green-economy/http://ca.news.yahoo.com/women-march-rio-protest-green-economy-174353168.html30

THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012SALMON RUN!Since Bonneville Dam outside Portland was built in 1938, therehave been plenty of times there weren’t 38,000 sockeye salmonswimming over the fish ladders in a whole year. But on Monday thatmany passed the Columbia River dam, and another 41,000 swamover the dam on Wednesday — a rate of nearly 30 a minute. Thatbought the total so far to 290,000.A record run of more than 400,000 of the Columbia Basin’s farthest-swimmingsalmon are expected to return this year, almost allof them wild fish bred in rivers, instead of the hatcheries that producemost Northwest salmon.Biologists credit habitat improvements in the Okanagan Basin ofnorthern Washington and Canada, improved dam operations, andfavorable ocean conditions for the numbers. Okanagan sockeyeswim more than 500 mils to spawn.http://news.yahoo.com/northwest-sees-record-returns-sockeye-salmon-214721088.htmlLIFETIMEBACKBONER...TERRYHEARDNICK PERSELLINCorpus Christi, TXBILL STOKESSaint Petersburg, FL(from msnbc) ‘At National Parks,where are all the young people?’AN EXCERPT: At Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, rangers areseeing more than green this spring. They’re also noticing a little more gray.The average visitor to national parks is getting older. Cyclist John O’Malley,61, of Summit County, Colo., has enjoyed the trails for almost half a century.“You do get close to nature,” Malley said.But apparently, not everyone shares that fondness anymore…Back in 1996, atDeath Valley National Park, almost a third of visitors were in their 20s. But inthe last few years, that number has dropped to just 11 percent at Yosemite andsix percent at Yellowstone, according to a University of Idaho analysis of ParkService attendance figures.STEVE LESJAKThe SonoraJIM CASEFlagstaff, AZBECKYMORTONOakland,CAGARYMEEKSPrice UTCHRIS HELFRICHSalt Lake City, UTJOHNDINSMOREThe OtherSideTOMBECKETTDenver, COJOHN TAPPONCorvallis, ORKAY & TUCKFORSYTHEEllensburg, WA31TOM PATTONLawnchair Point, UTJOHNHARRINGTONSLC, UTJUDY MULLERPacific Palisades, CA

THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012“Tread softly, because you treadon our Dreams...”Jim Stiles(From the May 1989 issue of The Zephyr)Edward Abbey once said, “We can have wilderness withoutfreedom; we can have wilderness without human life at all; but wecannot have freedom without wilderness.”Anything precious and valuable in this life comes to us at a price.Nothing that we ever treasure is free. We have always paid dearlyfor freedom, and the same can be said of wilderness. When I talkabout wilderness, I’m not referring to the political, bureaucraticdesignation that the word evokes in people’s minds. I’m not talkingabout Congressman Owens’ five million acre bill, or CongressmanNielson’s one million acre bill, or Earth First’s! Sixteen millionacre proposal. Forget labels and designations, “wildernessstudy areas,” and proposed legislation. Forget all that. I’m nottalking about that.I’m talking about wilderness as a state of mind, a feeling, anbegins to emerge from the leaves, and it turns out to be a beautiful,sleek, mountain lion, whose muscles ripple in the sunlight asit walks silently in front of me, and then vanishes into the ravinebelow, isn’t that a wilderness experience? If I sit down on the rimnear Muley Pt., or on top of Mt. Ellen in the Henry Mountains, orWindy Point on the Uncompahgre Plateau, or the Mollie Hogans,or North Long Point, or UFO Hill or a thousand other lonely,lovely places, and I sit there for hours, and all I hear is the wind,and the humming of my own brain, isn’t that wilderness?What I’m struggling to say is, wilderness is anywhere that wefind things wild and free and solitude that is long and unbroken.All these places deserve our respect and our reverence and ourconcern, or they will surely die.We are watching a significant change in the way the canyonForget labels and designations, “wilderness study areas,” andproposed legislation. Forget all that. I’m not talking about that...I’m talking about wilderness as a state of mind, a feeling,an emotion. Wilderness is any place where we find silenceand solitude or adventure and surprise.emotion. Wilderness is any place where we find silence and solitudeor adventure and surprise. If I’m picking through the ruins ofan old mining cabin in the Yellow Cat, and I look up through thedarkness to the exposed rotting rafters and find myself eyeball toeyeball with a Great Horned Owl, who never blinks, and out-staresme, and backs me out the door, isn’t that a wilderness experience?If I’m walking down the dirt road between the Bears Ears with mydog, and suddenly the oak brush in front of me rustles, and a form32country of southeast Utah is used. It is becoming a recreationarea and it is earning a worldwide reputation. People come hereto backpack, to ride their mountain bicycles, to run their kayaksdown the Colorado River, to challenge the sheer, vertical sandstonewalls with ropes and pitons, and carabiners. It is importantto enjoy being outside, and breathing clean air, and testing one’sphysical and mental endurance. But it’s not enough.

THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012It is not enough to be an “outdoor enthusiast,” or a “recreationist.”It’s great to come here to play, but this is not a playground.Nobody is going to pick up after us. The people who bask in thedesert sun, beneath pellucid skies, are the ones who must ultimatelybe ready to protect it. Those who use it the most must beready to pay the price. Every time we venture into the canyons,or scale a cliff, or cross a valley, or run a river, we have to askourselves: how will our presence here affect the next person whocomes along? If we do it right, they’ll never know we were there.It’s our privilege to be a part of these rocks and rivers, and tohave a good time, but it’s our moral obligation to care enough toassure that the rivers run wild and free, and the red rocks glow inthe sundown sky.SEE THEWORLD!(while it’sstill here)* “Tread softly because you tread on my dreams,” from a poemby William Butler Yeats. 1899.Healdsburg, CA 1.800.852.7085www.walkabouttravelgear.comPLEASE JOIN THE ZEPHYR BACKBONEdetails on our home pageJEFF NICHOLSSLC, UTRICK LARSENSanta Cruz,CAThe Desert Rat’sFASCINATING FACTOF THE MONTH!!!Collective dumb-assbehavior emerges in lovelyFrance…… smells likestinky cheese.BILL STOKESSt Petersburg,FLorida“For Europeans, it’s not uncommonto take a whole month of vacation inthe summer. But the season can bea deadly time for the many pets leftbehind — permanently......In fact,every summer an estimated 100,000domestic animals are abandoned inFrance by owners who say they areunable to take them along or findsomeone to look after them.”NPRhttp://www.npr.org/2012/07/11/156609037/in-france-the-abandoneddog-days-of-summerSTEVEN SMITHLouisville, Kentucky‘The World’s MostInteresting Man”KEEAN & DANIELSalt Lake City, UT33Paid for by THE DESERT RAT COMMANDO

THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012THE ‘GREEN’ CIRCLE that EATS ITS OWNWhat do oil companies & environmentalists have in common?Sometimes their money comes from the same ‘donor.’Jim StilesA few years ago, High Country News and Writers on the Range published anessay by Gary Wockner called, “Can Billionaire Philanthropy Save The Earth?”The tongue-in-cheek story noted that, “the future is in capital, connections toit, and then wielding that power eco-accordingly.” Wochner says it, “pointblank:‘Billionaire philanthropy is the only thing that can save the earth.’”I loved some of Wochner’s proposals:“I picture myself camping on the NorthRim of the Grand Canyon,” he wrote, “at the pristine, free, and spacious Wal-Mart campground. A noiseless helicopter flies past, giving free rides throughthe Canyon, its side emblazoned with the Rockefeller Foundation logo. Andthen a clean-fuels shuttle bus passes through the parking lot, its side coveredwith the Patagonia insignia.”Much of what Gary proposed in 2005 is already coming true. Corporationshave become park sponsors. Patagonia, the alleged greenest corporation inAmerica and the company that every enviro group worth its non-profit statuswants a donation from is teaming with Wal-Mart to do new, good things for theplanet and Wal-Mart is loving the image enhancement, all the way to the bank.Wochner concluded his essay with a challenge: “C’mon you rich boys, are youman enough? Who’s gonna save the planet first?” (1)But can it really work this way? Can the wealthiest among us, who are surelythe most consumptive and extravagant as well, lead the planet to sustainablity,a reduction of our fossil fuel use and a simpler and less polluted world?Can the rich save the planet for us? Or are there contradictions in this kind ofmarketing strategy? Some would call this hypocrisy, but can hypocrisy workto the earth’s advantage in the 21st Century? Recently I stumbled upon a seriesof seemingly unrelated facts that led me in a very slippery green circle. Lookwhere I started and look where I ended up...I begin with...who else..my favoriteleveraged buyout king, environmentalistDavid Bonderman. Mr. Bonderman sitson the boards of directors of the GrandCanyon Trust, the Wilderness Societyand the World Wildlife Fund and is a“major financier” of the Southern UtahWilderness Alliance and other greengroups. He is also one of the most successfulventure capitalists in America.He is a founding partner of TPG Capitaland its Asian affiliate, NewbridgeCapital. TPG “is a leading global privateinvestment firm with $51.5 billion ofcapital under management.”Within its vast portfolio, TPG hasinvested heavily in the energy sector.Previous commitments by the firm inthe energy sector include Alinta Energy,Amyris, Beta Renewables, Belden &Blake Corporation, China RenewableEnergy, Copano Energy, Delta Dunia, Denbury Resources, Elevance RenewableSciences, Energy Future Holdings (formerly TXU Corp.), Greenko, MaverickAmerican Natural Gas, MI Energy, Northern Tier Energy, Texas Genco andValerus Compression Services. (2)In addition, inOctober 2010,TPG Capital announcedthat, “ithas formed a newventure, Petro Harvester Oil & Gas, LLC, to invest in oil and gas producingproperties in North America. TPG expects the company will acquire substantialexploration and production (“E&P”) assets over the next several years.”A year later Petro Harvester announced that it had, “acquired a packageof producing properties in the Williston Basin of North Dakota. The assetsinclude production and acreage in over 20 fields with most of the current valuein four concentrated areas where we have high working interests and operationalcontrols. The acquisition includes interest in 145 wells that produce fromdepths of 3,000 feet to 6,000 feet...Additional upside potential includes deepertests, enhanced fracturing techniques, and field extension through 3-D seismic.”(3)34In March 2011, Petro Harvester gained membership in the Western EnergyAlliance. The WEA was “founded in 1974 as the Independent Petroleum Associationof Mountain States, (and) is a non-profit trade association representingmore than 400 companies engaged in all aspects of environmentally responsibleexploration and production of oil and natural gas in the West.”(4) WEAhas its own facebook page and among its “likes” are the Coalbed Natural GasAlliance, the Western Slope Colorado Oil & Gas Association, the Petroleum Associationof Wyoming and the CongressionalWestern Caucus. (4)In September 2011, Spencer Kimball, WesternEnergy Alliance’s Manager of GovernmentAffairs appeared before the Environmentalprotection Agency to discuss proposed NewSource Performance Standards and NationalEmission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutionrules for the oil and natural gas sector.Clearly WEA opposes new rules and restrictionson the energy extraction industry by thegovernment regulatory agencies.Mr. Kimball complained that, “These new rules are one of many EPA actionsthat focus limited government resources on regulation, often with limited environmentalvalue, at a time of high unemployment and slow economic growth.”He added, “These rules will further divert investment from energy developmentinto regulatory compliance, thereby resulting in less domestic energy production,particularly of clean-burning natural gas that offers real solutions on a fulllife-cycle basis to reducing air emissions and greenhouse gases.” (5)Can the wealthiest among us, who are surelythe most consumptive and extravagant as well,lead the planet to sustainablity, a reductionof our fossil fuel use and a simpler and lesspolluted world? Can the rich save the planet for us?Or are there contradictions in this kindof marketing strategy?And in October, WEA addressed the Society of Environmental Journalists.Here WEA expressed its opposition to new taxes on the industry. KathleenSgamma, Director of Government & Public Affairs, explained that, “Policiesthat increase taxes on the domestic natural gas and oil industry are especiallycounterproductive at a time of high unemployment and slow economicgrowth,” said Sgamma. “Many of the proposed tax increases coming out ofWashington would disproportionately impact the small, independent companieswho provide 82% of America’s natural gas and 68% of its oil production.These proposals would result in less domestic energy, higher energy costs,domestic job losses, and increased dependence on foreign energy sources.” (6)

THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012And in June 2011, this press release was issued by WEA:“Western Energy Alliance Applauds Secretary Salazar’s Local WildernessInitiatives”WEA had long fought efforts by environmentalists to establish vast wildernessareas on public lands in the West, insisting that such designations wouldseriously impact their industry and reduce efforts to increase production of oiland gas.The press release stated: “Many proposals for wilderness designation havefailed in Congress because far-away politicians and special interest groupspropose them without regard to local communities that would be directly impacted,”said Kathleen Sgamma, Director of Government & Public Affairs. “Forexample in Utah, the Red Rocks Wilderness Act has failed over two decadesbecause politicians outside the West propose huge areas without considerationof conditions on the ground, such as whether the lands even meet wildernesscriteria, or the impacts on jobs, economic activity, and local recreation. On theother hand, Utah also provides us with a positive example of local communitiesand stakeholders coming together to protect over 130,000 acres in WashingtonCounty after several years of building support within the communities directlyimpacted.” (7)BUT...REQUESTS:259.5968LISTEN TO USANYWHERE ON THEWORLD WIDE WEB.100%solarpoweredcommunity radio90.1 & 106.7 FMThe Red Rock Wilderness bill is the 25 year old creation of the Southern UtahWilderness Alliance, handsomely funded by Mr. Bonderman, and strongly supportedby the Grand Canyon Trust and the Wilderness Society, who not onlyreceived significant donations from Bonderman but also provide him a seat ontheir board of directors.WEA hailed the Washington County wilderness bill, but SUWA had a differentopinion. In a December 2009 email to SUWA members, Executive DirectorScott Groene made it clear that the Washington County wilderness bill hadnothing to do with “stakeholders coming together.” He wrote, “The WashingtonCounty wilderness legislation enacted earlier this year was not the result ofconsensus as some now claim, but rather a multi-year political fight in Washington,D.C. Two different versions of the bill were blocked over the courseof four years. In the end, because of changes forced by the political fight, thelegislation was transformed so that it became a step forward for wilderness thatwe could support. Importantly, because it was not a consensus bill, there wasno agreement to remove lands from America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act thatwere not protected by the Washington County bill.”KZMU is a grassroots, community, public radio stationisolated in the dramatic landscapes of Canyonlands andthe Colorado Plateau country. KZMU is truly an aural oasisin the desert airwaves of southeast Utah.www.kzmu.orgNEXT PAGE...John Fogg35

The Green Circle (continued)In other words, while other participants in the Washington County processfelt some sort of compromise had been reached , SUWA insisted that thoselands not included in the bill were still on the table.And while the WEA, supported by Petro Harvester/TPG Capital opposesnew EPA regulations, a consortium of environmental groups, including SUWAwrote to the EPA, complaining that the new rules didn’t go far enough. Theywrote:“Oil and gas development threatens local communities by emitting smogformingcompounds that can lead to serious respiratory illness as well as toxicchemicals that cause cancer. Drilling and development also pose a threatnationally and globally by emitting substantial amounts of methane, a potentgreenhouse gas that causes global warming. In this rulemaking, EPA has anAnd while the WEA, supported by Petro Harvester/TPG Capital opposes new EPA regulations,a consortium of environmental groups,including SUWA wrote to the EPA, complainingthat the new rules didn’t go far enoughimportant opportunity to protect the public from these significant threatsunder the Clean Air Act. With respect to EPA’s two new proposed rules, we appreciatethat EPA has taken significant steps to reduce smog-forming pollutionand toxic air emissions from oil and gas operations. As a result, EPA’s proposedrules will provide critical protections to local communities from the current oiland gas development boom happening throughout the country. However, theproposed rules do not go far enough to protect the public health and welfare.”(8)Finally, while WEA insists that, “Policies that increase taxes on the domesticnatural gas and oil industry are especially counterproductive at a time of highunemployment and slow economic growth,” SUWA has another view. It notesthat, “A recently released report by Headwaters Economics highlights howUtah’s oil and gas industry is thriving and largely recovered from the 2008recession.” It also explains that, “Utah’s severance tax rate is the lowest of fiveBonderman gives money to green groups,thus giving the impression that he supports theircauses like wilderness and stronger EPA regulationsand higher taxes on energy development...BUT then Bonderman also owns companiesthat oppose wilderness, oppose strongerEPA regs and higher taxesintermountain west states surveyed. In other words, the state’s effective 3.3%tax rate means that Utah is not reaping all the benefits for its citizens that otherstates are seeing from this surge in oil and gas production.” In other words,Utah’s tax rates on the industry are too low. (9)THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012The fact that the Western Energy Alliance and the Southern Utah WildernessAlliance are at odds with each other on practically any environmental issueimaginable should, of course, come as no surprise. Western Energy’s goal is tosupport and increase the extraction of oil and gas from wherever producers canfind it; environmentalists exist to limit or minimize the impacts from that kindof resource extraction. What should give everyone pause is the fact that bothsides of this debate are being funded by the same donor, i.e, David Bonderman,via the various components of his multi-tiered empire. It boggles the mind...Bonderman gives money to green groups, thus giving the impression that hesupports their causes like wilderness and stronger EPA regulations and highertaxes on energy development...BUT then Bonderman also owns companies thatoppose wilderness, oppose stronger EPA regs and higher taxes. Bonderman,many would say, is a hypocrite on a massive scale.But is that fair to Bonderman? The companies are his. Being a billionaire andmaking global deals is what Bonderman loves to do. He chooses to contributelarge sums of money to “green” causes for reasons of his own. But certainly heisn’t forcing money on anyone.The real responsibility here must fall with the mainstream environmentalorganizations. Can they have it both ways? Can they seriously address issuesthat threaten the very life of our planet and still be funded by corporations andindividuals whose stated goals are antithetical to the organizations they contributeto?Wendell Berry once said, “The problem with the conservation movement isthat it has a clear conscience.” At a critical moment in our planet’s life, whenmany fear we are approaching a “tipping point,” environmentalists need toshow an extraordinary kind of courage and integrity and be willing to addresshard uncomfortable Truths. Can they speak the Truth and still hide behindthese kinds of contradictions? The stakes are too high to keep avoiding thequestion.LINKS AND SOURCES:(1) http://www.hcn.org/wotr/15570/print_view(2) http://www.tpg.com/portfoliowww.tpggrowth.com/portfoliohttp://petroharvester.com/http://petroharvester.com/news/petro-harvester-oil-and-gas-acquiresadditional-long-life-oilproperties-in-southeast-us(3) http://www.milliondollarwayblog.com/2011/04/petro-harvester-llcenters-bakken-north.html(4) http://westernenergyalliance.org/wildcatter/march-24-2011/http://westernenergyalliance.org/about-us/(5)http://westernenergyalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/Media-Advisory-Western-Energy-Alliance-To-Testify-Before-EPA1.pdf(6) http://westernenergyalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/Media-Advisory-Western-Energy-Alliance-to-Present-to-the-Society-of-Environmental-Journalists.pdf(7)http://westernenergyalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/News-Release-Western-Energy-Alliance-Applauds-Secretary-Salazars-Local-Wilderness-Initiatives.pdf(8)http://www.scribd.com/doc/74404768/Environmentalists-Commentson-EPA-s-Proposed-Oil-and-Gas-Emission-Rules(9)http://www.suwa.org/2012/02/10/independent-think-tank-confirmsthat-utah%E2%80%99s-oil-and-gas-industry-thriving-but-notes-thatutah%E2%80%99s-tax-rate-is-low-compared-to-other-western-states/www.sorenomore.cominfo@glogerm.comSore No More! is a fastacting pain relieving gel thatbegins to work immediatelyonce massaged onto affectedareas. For years Sore No More!Has provided temporary reliefof pain associated with simplebackaches, arthritis, bruisesand sprains with its uniqueheating and cooling ingredients.Our special blend of six naturalplant extracts in combinationwith menthol, capsaicin andwitch hazel will get rid of painthe natural way36

THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 20121460 North Avenue.....suite NGrand Junction, CO970.241.7610Official Zephyr Hairstylistsince 1995...WE CUT TO PLEASE!LYNNWINTER!Lifetimebackbone memberSOLUTIONSOFMOAB!!LIFETIME BACKBONEMEMBERJENNIFERSPEERSI’m not as GRUMPYas I look...Stiles justdraws me like this.Are you DIRTY?take a showerfor THREE BUCKSThe Lazy LizardInternational HostelOne mile south of Moab on US 191435.259.6057www.lazylizardhostel.comreservations@lazylizardhostel.comcheck out our nightly rate:THE BEST DEAL ON THE PLANETThe Solutions of Moab promote the Respect, Rethink, Reduce,Reuse and Recycle lifestyle through a variety of hands-on projectsthat anyone can help with, including regular recycle/cleanup activitiesin streams, on trails, and along roadwaysof this gorgeous regionDonations to SOLUTIONS are welcome!All donations made to Solutions go directly toward expenses in our effortsto provide“Respect, Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle”activities and education.Please mail your contribution to: Solutions,P. O. Box 1549, Moab, UT 84532http://www.moab-solutions.org/index.htmlChris Muhr’sALL METALS WELDING & FABRICATION CO.1707 I-70 Business Loop Grand Junction, Colorado970.243.6310 fax: 241.5917allmetalswelding.comCustom Fabrication Dry BoxesBoat & Prop RepairsRaft FramesLET’S LOOK at the BRIGHT SIDE!!!As tedious as this campaign is, when was the lasttime you heard this from guy??? SMALL MIRACLES!!!LIFETIMEBACKBONEMEMBERANNESNOWDENCROSMAN37

THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012Tom Till Photography is celebratingits 35th anniversary this year!AND...the Tom Till Galleryis 15 years oldThanks to all of you for your kindness & support.http://www.tomtill.com/publishers/index.cfmTom Till is proud to present his 15th book depicting thewonders of Utah. Canyons of Utah is a stunning presentationwith the kind of unique imagery that has made TillUtah’s photographer laureate. Till’s photographs offera new vision of the Southern Utah National Parks, andglimpses of wilderness areas few have seen. From theburning reds of the Colorado River in flood to the lush greens of Zion Narrows, Canyons of Utah is a celebrationof color and drama, photographed in Till’s inimitablestyle--35 years in the making. Complementing the photographsare four essays by Till’s writer/daughter MikennaClokey, with subjects as diverse as meteor impacts,amazing archeological finds, and bear attacks on humanvisitors to the wilderness. Canyons of Utah will finda treasured place on your Tom Till bookshelf. Full color,softbound, 138 pages, 110 photographs.61 North Main StreetMoab, Utah 84532435.259.9808 888.479.9808http://www.tomtill.com/gallery/index.cfmwww.tomtill.comKen Sanders Rare Books is a full service antiquarian bookshopin downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. We carry an ever-changinginventory of art, ephemera, maps, photography, and postcardsin addition to a vast selection of used and rare books along witha few new books. We also purchase and appraise books. Newarrivals and acquisitions are posted to the KSRB website first onSaturday mornings. The inventory will then be posted to the othersites we use abebooks.com, alibris.com, biblio.com, and amazon.com later in the following week.268 South 200 EastSalt Lake City, Utah 84111(801) 521-3819www.kensandersbooks.com38

THE ZEPHYR/ AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012Vlachos’ ViewsPaul Vlachos is a New Yorker who understands The West. He alsounderstands New York. His work celebrates the differences and thesimilarities.Here is volume #1 of Vlachos’ Views...Copyright © Paul Vlachos 2012Meghan, in the West Village. Hair version 5.0The Joy-O RV Park,East of MemphisFort Stockton, Texas. Out back of a radiator shop in a quiet part of town.On the rez. Southern Ute Nation.SW Colorado - 201239