Column
Along the Frontier: Chasing Moab
Writer Courtney White ponders the New West, as seen from Moab, Utah.By Courtney White, 12-10-09
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| Photo by Steven Damron and used under Creative Commons license. | |
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In an interview included in a new book titled “Voices of the American West,” I was surprised to read author and law professor Charles Wilkinson state matter-of-factly that the much ballyhooed New West “never happened.”
It didn’t? I thought the New West was exactly what did happen to the region over the past thirty years. What about all those mountain bikes, lattes, art galleries, jeep tours, spiritual vortexes, fancy megahomes, microbreweries, destination resorts, pink coyotes, crab cakes, traffic jams, telecommuters, bird-watchers, river runners, amenity buyers, downhill skiers, real estate agents, migrant housekeepers, foreign tourists, and myriad nonprofit employees?
You know what I mean: out with the cows, in with the laptops – that New West.
What did he mean it didn’t happen? After all, the New West even has its own Atlas, published in 1997 by the University of Colorado. In it are maps and essays charting the region’s rapid transformation from a wild place of big spaces, national parks, and cowboys to a landscape dominated by golf courses, walled estates, jetports, blue-ribbon trout streams, retirement hot spots, jazz festivals, and endless ranchettes – as plain to see as a For Sale sign.
Economically, the existence of the New West has been documented by Dr. Thomas Power, of the University of Montana, who co-authored a book in 2001 titled Post-Cowboy Economics: Pay and Prosperity in the New American West which dispelled the myth that the West is still dependent on logging, mining, and ranching for its economic well-being. In their place, his analysis showed, emerged a new economy based on environmental protection, amenities, services, and information technologies.
Even Wilkinson, in his classic 1992 study Crossing the Next Meridian: Land, Water, and the Future West, details how the “lords of yesterday” – the laws and policies created in the wake of the American West’s vigorous frontier era – had become out of sync with the public’s burgeoning interest in outdoor recreation and the protection of natural resources, resulting in a great deal of conflict between urban and rural residents across the region. From the “timber wars” of the Northwest, the “grazing wars” of the Southwest, and the “wolf wars” of the northern Rockies, he writes, the struggle between the “old” West and the “new” had kicked into high gear.
We know who won. Today, the New West is everywhere. So what does Wilkinson mean it “never happened?”
What he means is that the original sense of the term – “a hope for a new and better West,” as he describes it – never happened. “The New West was about a lighter consciousness,” he says in the interview, “a more environmental, more preservation-oriented approach toward the West. It partly came out of Wallace Stegner’s [oft-cited] maxim ‘We need a society to match the scenery.’”
Wilkinson says we didn’t get there.
“What has happened since then is that we’ve been overrun,” he argues. “The new population has not respected the land or the communities and has not searched for a slower way of life. Instead, they’ve searched for a place to get rich.”
In the process, we became too fast, too impersonal, too crowded, too jammed up, and too stressed, he insists. “Not that I know what to do about it,” he concludes, “but we ought to talk about it.”
The New West came to mind in August when I pulled in to Moab, Utah, for a pizza. My kids and I were driving home from a sojourn to Yellowstone, via Salt Lake City, and I wanted to fill in a blank spot in their map of the West by speeding through Arches National Park (I know, I know). By the time we exited the park, the kids needed a decent pizza and I needed a good cup of coffee. I knew Moab would have both.
Shortly, we were cruising through the former stomping ground of miners, misfits, cowboys, and reclusive activists, including wilderness advocate and social critic Ed Abbey. Few of them would recognize Moab today. Hell, I barely recognize the place and I’ve only been coming here sporadically. I don’t mountain bike, river run, climb, fish or bird watch – but I do like a latte, as well as a decent drive, and a good book store. That means we’ve dropped in on Moab enough times over the years to witness its conversion from sleepy backwater to bustling New West mecca. Despite its growth, however, visiting Moab always felt like pursuing a phantom, fleeting and vapory. In fact, I feel like I’ve been chasing Moab across the West’s psychic landscape most of my adult life.
But if Moab isn’t the poster child of the New West, what is it? And if we didn’t create a society to match the scenery, what did we do exactly?
I think we should definitely talk about it.
Courtney White is the executive director and co-founder of the Quivira Coalition and the author of Revolution on the Range: the Rise of a New Ranch in the American West as well as countless articles and essays on the region. His Along the Frontier column will run on NewWest.Net twice a month. Read more from Courtney at his Web site, www.awestthatworks.com.
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Comments
Here's a quote from a good website on the man:
"When Edward Abbey died in 1989 at the age of sixty-two, the American West lost one of its most eloquent and passionate advocates. Through his novels, essays, letters and speeches, Edward Abbey consistently voiced the belief that the West was in danger of being developed to death, and that the only solution lay in the preservation of wilderness. Abbey authored twenty-one books in his lifetime, including Desert Solitaire, The Monkey Wrench Gang, The Brave Cowboy, and The Fool's Progress. His comic novel The Monkey Wrench Gang helped inspire a whole generation of environmental activism. A writer in the mold of Twain and Thoreau, Abbey was a larger-than-life figure as big as the West itself."
http://www.abbeyweb.net/
Drive through the Bitterroot Valley or visit Sandpoint. Destroyed. Travel the 250 mile-long "Strip Mall" from Grand Junction to Denver. Destroyed. Drive from Grand Junction down to Ridgeway. Destroyed. Head south out of Ketchum. Destroyed. Look at McCall and Cascade north of Boise. Destroyed. Look around Bozeman and head towards Yellowstone. Destroyed. The Roaring Fork Valley between Glenwood and Aspen. Destroyed. Kalispell. Destroyed. Like a hundred other places, simply destroyed.
The trade for the "New West" was ranches for ranchettes, and tens of thousands of "second homes" safely ensconced way from the gates that guard them. The trade was one well and a single leaching field on ten thousand acres for ten thousand wells and ten thousand leaching fields on the same dirt. The trade was leather for laptops and a single pickup in exchange for thousands of little and not so little S.U.V.'s. The trade was golf courses for pastures and the invasion of Big Box merchandising every 100 miles.
Schools, stores, and statuaries to self, you know, "More people, more scars upon the land" type stuff. And yeah, Moab. Moab isn't Moab anymore.
We couldn't really undo what our predecessors did - all it takes is a trip through a reservation to understand that. But the land was still more or less there. As Hoskins points out, they're now just not in the more hospitable of places, but in every nook and cranny.
This sin will never be undone. To go Catholic on you,this is Mortal sin, not Venial. Felony versus misdemeanor. Concrete has a staying power to it, as do those lovely ribbons of asphalt, not to mention local governments dependent on increasing tax revenues.
Change the zoning.
And of Abbey and Stenger? They're rolling in their graves.
We started with the Bedrock West--the land itself and the native people who wove their lives into the place. Then we invented the Old West--where, first, we lived it, and then, we transformed that experience into myth.
The New West followed, and like Charles Wilkinson, I'm disappointed with the outcome. Only through conversation will we manage to take control of the details of the Next West, the People's West.
The history of the west is and has always been bound up in economic well-being. What many forgot was is that the “consumption” of amenities in the form of recreation, scenery, and quality of life has consequences. In that respect we have fulfilled Stegner’s hope. Unfortunately, it is not the inspirational governance he had in mind.
The surprising thing is that anyone would have thought this form of consumption would have resulted in any different outcome than any other common pool resource problem. In this, Wilkinson is right – we need to talk about it but now, we need to talk about the tangible institutional structures that might result in solutions. Let’s hope places like NewWest.net and other social entrepreneurs can help conduct productive conversations.
Power's premise was that the economies would be bolstered by politically-correct in-migrants who would come to town, invest their life savings in a business, dribble away the money and then go away making room for the next sucker. Read his book.
The "new West" model was, and is, completely screwed up. Economies and cultures and societies need to be based upon inherent strengths and available resources, not empty headed wishes.
RH
Be careful when you idealize Indian culture. What was the Oregon tribe that would feast on roasted bugs mixed with dirt? Would you honestly want to live that way? In a tipi, with no access to dental care, no eyeglasses, no deodorant, no Birkenstocks?
Never mind that the "conventional" Plains Indian horse culture didn't exist before white guys let some horses loose and the Indians figured out what horses were for. The implication is that Indians were not, and ARE not, averse to technological innovations that improve their quality of life.
If the Indians, or Africans, had beat the Chinese to gunpowder, had been seafaring, et cetera, perhaps we'd not be so white and we'd be arguing over reparation for pillaging the Vikings.
I'd vote for that! I grew up in the scruffy West...the polish is kind of what has worn off the engraving that makes life interesting.
Oh my, I remember Jackson Hole Wy when the Olde Timers still lived there. Back in the 50's. Octogenerians? Some in their early 100's. Lean, gristly, whatever.
Okay, some of their conversations would now be considered Politically Incorrect. Their references to "The Dem Injuns". Put their comments in Perspective of the time period they grew up in. Not my words, their's.
It was a time, that at the end of the Summer (Tourist Season) that Jackson Hole rolled up it's sidewalks, heaved a heavy sigh of relief at the departure of the "TenderFoots" and other assorted Tourists, and basically stated, "Thank Goodness they are gone", settled down into a very cold winter with a lone ski lift that the ski slope run ran right down into town.
Most of the Housies still functioned on wood burning stoves, telephones were still the Very Olde Fashioned, Dial Up? Heck No, Wind up, contact the telephone operator to place your call over, basically Party Lines.
Party Lines? Oh, well that was when several households shared the same phone line. Do any of You remember when the phone would ring, You would answer it and somebody would be asking for somebody else than you and not have dialed the wrong number?
In Ze Olde Hardy West, did there exist some Prejudice, Intolerance, etc. Greed? Well, that stuff has always existed ElseWhere as well.
What I still remember, and experience even now in remote areas, is the Olde Fashioned, Share, Care, and Help Out Attitude and Way of Life.
From my Experience, most folks in Wyoming, at least the ones that grew up there, and moved there for a rural atmosphere, and NOT Gated Communities, Truly Respect the Environment, Have a Healthy Sense of Community, in other words, Help Each Other Out, Don't Rely on Government HandOuts, The Plantation Mentality Economics.
Is this Attitude so Detrimental? Oh well, to paraphase one of my favorite writers, VOLTAIRE, (Since at my age, can't exactly remember Ze Exact Quote, must paraphase), "The only Truly Intelligent People in this world are People with Common Sense, that is why Truly Intelligent People are so Rare."
Sad Commentary on the state of the West. As for me, will go hiking with me Bear Pepper Mace and Heaven Forbid, a Polictically Incorrect Shot Gun!
PollyAnna,
P.S. Still visit Moab in the Winter Time. The town has definetly changed. So has Kanab. When I was a kid, No Lattes!!! In either Location.
People with no imagination flock to Utah, Montana and Arizona, thinking they have discovered something "New". The reality is that there are many wild places that remain relatively uncrowded and undiscovered by these people, like the Ouachitas, Northwest Nebraska and Southern Illinois, but I already say too much....we don't want these areas to have the same fate as Moab or Wind River. There are also still many areas west of the Divide that are untrammeled, but they are also un-Latte'd, which keeps them safe, for now.
Who the Heck are You Kidding? When the West was Won, with Wagon Trains, Oh My!!!
Started out along the route, er, what most movies never show, er, Going Potty (is this Accepted as Appropriate Language?)
How about, Bowel Movements? And How, Where, Do You Dispose of Them? Oh My Goodness! Hopefully, I am Not Disrespecting the Decorum of this Forum.
If you Truly Research the Western Migration of the Prairie Schooners, (er, Covered Wagons), You would discover, they started out okay.
Oh well, Plus or Minus Native Tribes, somewhat, possibly upset with Incursions into Their Hunting Grounds.
Over Time, with the amount of, am I allowed to refer to Human Waste as Feces? Defecated on the Ground.
Well, anyhow, all this waste Built Up. Over time, developed a Ripe Breeding Ground, for OOOOPS! DISEASE!!!
As the Western Migration Continued, Given the Copius Amounts of Defecation etc. on the ground, led to How Many Diseases that then started to make inroads into the Pioneering Emigrants?
Actually, I Consider it an ABSOUTE MIRACLE, that the West was ever Won?
The Good News is: There are still, a Ton of Great Folks Living in the West.
Take Care!
Polly Anna
Amazing lack of discourse re overpopulation. Guess it's bad for business.
Here's more Voltaire:
The only way to comprehend what mathematicians mean by Infinity is to contemplate the extent of human stupidity.
-CAMT-
Human Greed, Human Stupidity, and Everything that comes out of that Sort of Thinking?
At times, in the West, afore Incursions from Folks who came with $$$, and could afford to live without, er, exploiting? the land.
It used to be referred to as Earning a Living, Raising Your Family with Dignity and Hard Work. Making it through Brutal Winters, Helping out Neighbors, Being, er, Independent and Self Sufficient, even if you couldn't afford Designer Clothes and Birken whatever shoes. Tried a pair on in a shoe store, Once, Dang Near Broke Me Neck!
Anyhow, with the History of the West and Mining Boom Towns that came and went, Cattle Barons, Ooops, Ze olde Range Wars between Cattle and Sheep Herders. Not to mention the Pacific Union Railroad and their Right of Way and Water Rights. Hmmm!!!
Oh, Gee Whiz, left off the Rip Off Job of the Native Americans. Oh well, happened All Across the USA, Canada, Alaska, Mexico, and South and Central America!
Anyhow, look at my 3 Granddaughters, whose maternal families settled the West Long before Plymouth Rock. Ooops!!! At least, my 2 youngest, their other grandparents retain a very, very, small portion of an Original LandGrant under Spain in New Mexico.
Talk about Change and Over Population in the West? Well, I actually remember California when it was a very nice place to live. Beach Community, Race Track Community, DelMar, the Sidewalks rolled up at 6 o'clock. Long Time Ago.
Such as, marshes, Now Strip Malls, LandFills, now FreeWays.
Anyhow, the West, such as it is, still has folks, Would You Believe, still know how to raise crops, can food, ooops goes out and Harvests Animal Foods, helps each other, er,
Wyoming, still has kids that say Sir, Mam, and Thank You. Actually ask if they can shovel your deck and sidewalk. Must not be following the latest APPS on whatever cell phone is going.
And yes, Moab, through Ups and Downs, a neat town, Minus the Latte Thinking. Personally enjoy lattes occasionally, elevates the blood sugar levels, so don't indulge often.
As to Paul's answer to Adam. Perhaps You should have Truly Listened to, Heard, and Understood His Comments regarding Moab.
Out of the way place! The BullDozers Riding RoughShod, allowed individual families the Ability to live and thrive in an Out of the Way Place. Actually have a friend in the area that is Rough Hewing a Cave Experience to Live in. A Family Tradition.
For whatever it Counts, lives next door to an 89 year old polygamist from ze olde days.
Quite personally, would never have lived that way, however, he still has all 3 wifes. Interesting area and culture.
When folks, who Never Grew Up in The West, wax Eloquent, with their, Education, College Degree, in Ze Ivory Tower Mentalities, please, just take a hike with my Husband, Me, and Our Friends and their Children, who truly know what Bear Pepper Mace and Shot Guns are all about.
And Who Acturally Trully Respect the Land. Informed at a National Landscape Conference in Santa Fe, Friends of Rendevous or whatever, "Rural People don't know How to Respect the Landscape, You must be Misinformed."
My only experience is based on "Hands on Experience, Walking the Walk, etc."
With the EXCEPTION of the DESERT ENVIRONMENT, most RURAL FOLKS, are Exceptional Protectors of the Environment, for the Simple Reason, RESPECT OF THE FACT, THEIR LIVELIEHOOD DEPENDS ON IT.
Anyhow, Let Us All Dispell the Myth of Bumpkin Westeners Who Live in Rural Areas. At least they are Aware of a Pertinent Fact, Food Does not come from the Local Grocery Store. You actually go out, Raise It, Farm It, Hunt It.
Oh My, How Truly, Purely, Politically Incorrect.
Anyhow, Continue the Debate, as for Me, will enjoy the Holidays!!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year's to All,
Also Include,
Happy Hannakuh!!!