Back from the Boonies

So I have finally found some time to sit down and update the ‘ol blog-a-roo and boy do I have a few stories to tell from Southern Utah. For those of you who did not read previous posts don’t know the Young Democrats of Utah teamed up with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance to foster good will and learn more about the issues affecting our public lands.

First off the scenery was truly breathtaking; for the first time in a long time I was able to see the Milky Way and breath fresh air. Despite being quite the city slicker it was truly refreshing to see the beauty of nature. This is God’s country if there ever was one

Secondly, as part of the trip, the YD’s and SUWA peeps joined up to deconstruct paths and trails that were not legal or environmentally sound. I was amazed to see how easily off road vehicles and campers could have such an impact on the local environment when compounded. It felt good to know that, even in my own little way, I was helping to protect the wilderness.

The big shock of the trip was seeing Wave Uranium Holding staking its claim to (I would assume) look for, and eventually mine, uranium in the Utah wilderness. What really bothered me was the way that they went about it…dropping stakes from a helicopter. This company did not even have the dignity to actually walk on the land they were about to mine.

This act really highlighted the importance of awareness towards our natural resources. I support mines and the mining industry, but at the same time we need to work to find a balance between the needs of industry and of wide open spaces.

It is far to easy to ignore the types of things companies are doing in the name of the all mighty dollar, if only because it does make our lives easier. We need to have an honest and frank discussion about how we are going to treat the land and debate the value of intangibles such as wilderness and star filled nights. We need to think not only about the needs of today, but the wants of tomorrow; oftentimes those wants are not more of something, but less of the hustle and bustle of our daily lives.

You can call it what you will, a Zen like meditation, or a religious experience, all I know is that when the rain started pouring Saturday night I became keenly aware of just how small and insignificant we really are when compared to the whims of nature. We can not manufacture a world devoid of nature, and I would argue that that very thought is counter to human psyche.

Nature simply allows us to exist because it is so amazingly amoral towards us.