Butler Wash user created "play area.

It seems that I’ve been an Ed Abbey fan forever and a collector of most of his writings. Monkey Wrench Gang and Desert Solitaire not only inspired me to become “a part-time crusader,” but to also fulfill my dream of spending time in Abbey country—the red rock deserts of Utah. Thus, when Broads announced a Recapture Utah! monitoring event this spring, I couldn’t pass it up.

Over 20 people congregated on White Mesa Ute Tribal Land next to Arch Canyon, Utah with the objective of gathering data and documenting off-road vehicle (ORV) use and abuse on our public lands. After setting up tents and meeting other Broads who came from coast to coast just to participate, we jumped right into learning how to synchronize our GPS units and digital cameras, and reviewing the procedures we would use to monitor. With the formalities of training behind us, we settled in to a delicious meal provided by our wonderful camp cook, John Krueger, who would tend to our culinary needs throughout our stay.

A message we can agree with - found during this event.

Howling coyotes awakened us the next morning. We were anxious to pair up, receive our assignments and begin monitoring, knowing that all of our monitoring efforts would be compiled and used in the commenting process on the long overdue Bureau of Land Management (BLM) travel and management plans for the Monticello Field Office. Monitoring assignments included cruising down old jeep trails and jumping out of the vehicles (no less than a zillion times!!) whenever we spied ATV tracks leading off the main route. Sometimes the assignment required hiking down into canyons in the 90 degree heat. No matter where we were sent, we all had the daunting task of capturing undeniable proof of the incursions and impacts of motorized use, which unfortunately were visible time and time again.

Constructed trail on Lime Ridge.

We came back late that afternoon with many stories. Probably the most compelling was that of Pokey and Nancy’s overnight backpacking adventure into Arch Canyon where they ran into a pack of renegade and rude ATVers. Though these ladies were incognito as to their Great Old Broads affiliation and mission, they were still met with unpleasantness by one particular “bad apple” in the group. Apologies, however, were offered by his comrades and of course the ladies held their true “Broad” stalwart reserve and moxie. I couldn’t help but consider their experience in light of my reading that night from Bill McKibben on ATV’s and a culture of hyperindividualism—the idea that because “I” want to is sufficient reason for annoying others. McKibben writes, “To me, you get a certain amount of time, and then you get your memories. And if you’re driving into some place on your ATV, you’re messing it up for the people who are making their memories now.”

No monitoring assignment was without its hauntingly beautiful scenery. With my love for Abbey, I was also well aware I was traveling the Lime and Comb Ridge/Wash country of Hayduke, Seldom Seen Smith, Doc and Bonnie from the Monkey Wrench Gang—and in my rented blue Jeep Wrangler no less! As an eastern gal from Vermont, I was discovering new flora and land formations, from the fragile cryptobiotic soil (sensitive desert crust) and the various cacti to the difference between a mesa and a butte.

I often pondered what Abbey and his friends would have thought of how this country, our public land, is being abused, disrespected and neglected by our public land managers. In all fairness, with millions of acres to manage, a tight budget and insufficient law enforcement, the BLM has little recourse in curbing violations. However, one still wonders if they even have the desire to protect these places. We were able to get answers to many of our questions from engaging discussions with our guest speakers. One guest speaker, Lynell Schalk, a retired BLM agent, who brought a lot of the egregious abuses we were monitoring to the attention of Broads, spoke about being stonewalled by the BLM when she discovered violations that ranged from deliberate illegal construction of trails to destruction of archeological and historic sites. Broads, being an equal opportunity group, also invited Brad Colin, recreation planner and Maxine Deeter, realty specialist, from the Monticello BLM office to speak to our group and field some tough questions. On a lighter note, another of our honored guests was Mark Meloy, a recently retired BLM San Juan River Ranger whose efforts account for a much cleaner San Juan River. Mark read an eclectic and moving passage, from Eating Stone, his late wife Ellen Meloy’s book, depicting her feelings of this country.

Finally, we were at the end of our trip. We traveled through stunning country, worked tirelessly to monitor 23 separate areas, met new comrades and ate great food. We were blessed to have incredible weather and the opportunity to celebrate our lives on this rich planet with each other. Under an almost full moon, filtering down through the towering cottonwood trees, I read to the group from one of my favorite speeches by Dave Foreman (a Great Old Broad member too!):

“When Aldo Leopold was young he used to shoot any wolf he saw, and years later, in A Sand County Almanac, he wrote how the death of one of those wolves changed his life. ‘We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes. I realized then, there was something new to me in those eyes, something known only to the wolf and the mountain. I was young then and full of trigger itch. Fewer wolves would mean hunter’s paradise, but after watching the green fire die I realized that neither wolf nor mountain agreed with such a view.’

“What we need to do is remember how to think like a mountain. We need the green fire in the wolf’s eye. We need the green fire in the land. And God, how we need the green fire in our own eyes. … The wolf’s cry is the cry of wild defiant sorrow and contempt for adversity in the world. But it is something more. It’s the cry of joy, of pleasure in being alive on earth; this beautiful, flowering, evolutionary world, an incredible complex of ecosystems, beauty all around us. No matter how bad it gets, there’s still beauty out there, there’s still meaning. No matter how angry we get, we still have to be full of joy and happiness. That’s what keeps us going. So, yeah, howl with contempt for adversity. But howl with joy too. Robots don’t howl, but free, wild animals with green fire do. So howl with me. Aaooooooo!” And the Broads around the campfire did, raising their voices to the red cliffs glowing in the moonlight!