Next time you see Heidi horsin' around on the Dugout or the rez or having coffee in Monticello say, "Good on you, girl."
She's not only been good for girls. Through her 50 or so years on the ranch, she's helped more than a few local boys learn the value of long, hard work in the summer.
She has a deep respect for the land and the people who live there now and those who lived there before. She says she "walks with the ancients."
This article written in 1998 by Anne Wilson, daughter of former Canyonlands National Park superintendent Bates Wilson, was published by Jim Stiles in his Zephyr.
EXCERPT:
"She is well-spoken about her beliefs and she is polished, but her passion belies any feeling that her words are simply rhetorical.
"Lest you think she is a closet 'tree hugger', read on. During her 31 years in red rock country, Heidi has seen a change in the visitors who come by this place that is the gateway to Canyonlands National Park. She has as hard a time with some of them as she does folk who use the land irresponsibly in the more traditional exhaustive ways.
"In the early years, days would go by without a car kicking up dust on the dirt road that led to Canyonlands. When they did, tourists would often stop by the ranch to chat or have a drink, and to share delight in the desert. Today, the road is paved and visitation is skyrocketing.
" 'They don't come for solace anymore,' Heidi says. 'They are as frantic in their recreation as they are in their jobs.' She concurred when I remarked that the land seems like a giant outdoor gym to many 'soft' recreationists - mountain bikers, climbers, etc. - who most probably would self-classify as environmentalists. 'It's something additional for them to conquer,' she agreed.
Not much has changed.
I had lunch with her a few days ago in Salt Lake City.
She's still kind of peeved at BLM management – paved parking lots and the toilet holes inviting hikers and climbers and other eco-recreationists into sacred spaces.
I consider her a friend.
– Bill Keshlear
She's not only been good for girls. Through her 50 or so years on the ranch, she's helped more than a few local boys learn the value of long, hard work in the summer.
She has a deep respect for the land and the people who live there now and those who lived there before. She says she "walks with the ancients."
This article written in 1998 by Anne Wilson, daughter of former Canyonlands National Park superintendent Bates Wilson, was published by Jim Stiles in his Zephyr.
EXCERPT:
"She is well-spoken about her beliefs and she is polished, but her passion belies any feeling that her words are simply rhetorical.
"Lest you think she is a closet 'tree hugger', read on. During her 31 years in red rock country, Heidi has seen a change in the visitors who come by this place that is the gateway to Canyonlands National Park. She has as hard a time with some of them as she does folk who use the land irresponsibly in the more traditional exhaustive ways.
"In the early years, days would go by without a car kicking up dust on the dirt road that led to Canyonlands. When they did, tourists would often stop by the ranch to chat or have a drink, and to share delight in the desert. Today, the road is paved and visitation is skyrocketing.
" 'They don't come for solace anymore,' Heidi says. 'They are as frantic in their recreation as they are in their jobs.' She concurred when I remarked that the land seems like a giant outdoor gym to many 'soft' recreationists - mountain bikers, climbers, etc. - who most probably would self-classify as environmentalists. 'It's something additional for them to conquer,' she agreed.
Not much has changed.
I had lunch with her a few days ago in Salt Lake City.
She's still kind of peeved at BLM management – paved parking lots and the toilet holes inviting hikers and climbers and other eco-recreationists into sacred spaces.
I consider her a friend.
– Bill Keshlear
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Canyon Country Zephyr, June/July 1998 |