In 1980, environmental activists in the Southwest founded Earth First! as a form of radical activism. The group emerged in part as a reaction to dissatisfaction with efforts by mainstream environmental groups, such as the Sierra Club. Earth First! cofounder Dave Foreman emerged as a spokesperson. Foreman had previously worked as an environmental lobbyist, but became disillusioned with what he saw as an ineffective approach. In the Earth First! Statement of Principles, Foreman wrote that there could be no political compromise in defense of Earth and that all decisions should put Earth first before humankind. The group argued that illegal tactics were warranted, since they viewed democratic processes as having been corrupted by corporate interests. Earth First! prioritized direct action over formal political doctrine, which contributed to a diverse membership with often conflicting ideologies. Direct action entailed taking environmental protection into their own hands, rather than relying on political processes. They took inspiration from Edward Abbey’s writing in The Monkey Wrench Gang, in which a fictional group sabotages environmental development that they considered destruction of the Southwest. Ecosabotage and “monkeywrenching” are referenced throughout Earth First! literature. Earth First! began hosting the Round River Rendezvous in 1980, an annual meeting for members. The name of the meeting, according to urban legend, comes from an Ojibwe myth about a continuous river of life. They held the first rendezvous near Moab, Utah. Each year, the location of the annual meeting shifts to different locations throughout the West. According to the Earth First! Journal, the rendezvous sites are chosen based on remoteness, natural beauty, and proximity to a site being threatened with development. In 1980, the rendezvous coincided with plans by Utah’s Grand County Commission to send a bulldozer into a Bureau of Land Management Wilderness Study Area near Moab. The rendezvous served as an opportunity for community and celebration, as well as a site to discuss conservation issues and plan direct action. The rendezvous featured activist workshops, music and poetry, and demonstrations. The EF Journal also encouraged wilderness exploration, such as hiking in the area. By the end of the decade, the togetherness of the Round River Rendezvous shifted into a venue for intense factionalism. The group became divided on a number of issues, most significantly regarding the push towards increasingly extremist direct action including using illegal and violent means to protect the environment.  Other debates focused on racism, sexism within the group, and advocacy for animals. The 1987 rendezvous at the Grand Canyon was marked by especially harsh division between new leftist or anarchist members and older members of the group, including intense criticism of attendee Edward Abbey. By this point, Dave Foreman and other co-founders began to distance themselves from the group, as they became concerned with the new trajectory.  The Round River Rendezvous today still serves as an opportunity for environmentalists to gather in celebration. The Earth First! agenda has become more inclusive and diversified since the early years, and no longer focused on the environment as their sole issue.

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Beginning in the 1940’s, Negro Bill Canyon was an official place on the map, located just outside of Moab, Utah. The canyon was named after William Grandstaff. For the  past 20 years, questions have surrounded its controversial name and whether it should be changed out of respect for William Grandstaff or kept in order to maintain history. Ultimately, a federal board voted to change the canyon's name to Grandstaff Canyon in 2017.  William Grandstaff’s life was a bit of a mystery, although some basic facts are known. In the 1830s, William Grandstaff was born into slavery in Shenandoah County, Virginia. During the first 30-40 years of his life, Grandstaff made his way across the country. After a stop in Cincinnati, Ohio, where Grandstaff fought in the Black Brigade of Cincinnati during the Civil War, he made it to the Moab area in 1877. Grandstaff first resided in an abandoned LDS fort that had been constructed during a period of conflict between the settlers and local Utes. Grandstaff was a frontiersman and one of the first non-native settlers in the area. His presence in Moab helped to promote settlement in the area.   Grandstaff ranched, grew crops, and had a large herd of cattle. Due to the stream and trees that provided shade, the canyon was perfect for agriculture and ranching. Local Indigenous people visited the canyon to trade with Grandstaff. Today, this area is used as a beautiful recreational area for local hikers and visitors to explore. By changing the name  of the canyon, its visitors can now hold deeper respect, appreciation, and curiosity for William Grandstaff, one whose legacy is still remembered by the people of Moab.

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Situated about 40 minutes from Moab, Utah, Canyonlands National Park is the largest and most remote of all the National Parks in the state. Covering 337,589 acres, the park is split into three major districts by the Colorado and Green rivers known as the Islands in the Sky, The Needles, and The Maze. The Park is also famous for being the location where the two rivers meet, and home to many ruins and artifacts from ancient peoples who lived there thousands of years ago. Despite the area of the park being famous for its natural wonders, the creation of the park was a long and arduous process that included many controversies and compromises.

Serious consideration for creating the area into a National Park grew in the early 1960s after the election of President John F. Kennedy and his appointment of Stewart Udall as Secretary of the Interior. Udall believed heavily in conservation and was enthralled by the beauty of the area when he visited in 1961. Recruiting Utah Senator Frank Moss as an ally for the project, the two set out to preserve the Canyonlands area as a National Park. Immediately, Udall and Moss ran into opposition from other local legislators including Utah Senator Wallace Bennett. While Bennett was not completely opposed to the idea of a National Park in the Canyonlands region, he wanted a much smaller protected area in order to keep most of the region open for commercial use. Bennett thought that much of the area was better suited for mining, drilling, and grazing.

Senators Moss and Bennett fought for a few years before a final proposal was sent to the United States Congress in 1964. This proposal included most of the area that Moss and Udall wanted to have protected, but removed a portion from the north side of the park for commercial developments at the wish of Bennett and other local people. Moss continued to fight to protect more of the land around Canyonlands for the rest of his tenure as senator in Utah and is a large reason that the park is enjoyed by thousands today.

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Before World War II, uranium was considered an unlucrative resource to mine. However, the United States' dropping of the atomic bombs changed the worth of the element. Nuclear weapons, such as the atomic bomb, are made from uranium: a heavy element which, when split, causes extreme heat and pressure, and thus, astonishing damage. Shortly after World War II, the United States engaged in a cold, non-combatant conflict with their former ally, the Soviet Union. These superpowers engaged in competition on all fronts, including in sports, space, and nuclear build up. Four years after the United States dropped the atomic bombs, the Soviet Union successfully tested atomic bombs of their own, thus igniting an arms race.

During this time of nuclear build up, the value of uranium surged. The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission began offering huge sums of money for miners. In 1952, Charles Steen, an unemployed and unsuccessful geologist, moved his family into a trailer in the middle of the desert as he began the search for uranium near Moab. He discovered an ore bed worth more than $60 million dollars. His discovery drew many miners to Moab in search of uranium. Soon Utah was dubbed “The Uranium Capitol of the World.” Between the years of 1946 and 1959, there were 309,380 claims of uranium found in Utah, and by 1955, there were about 800 operating mines. The uranium boom brought other businesses to Moab and the city began to grow exponentially. Other uranium rich mining towns in Utah enjoyed similar growth. However, the uranium boom was short lived, peaking in 1958 and declining in the 1960s.

Today, Moab and other uranium mining towns are tourist destinations where people can hike, mountain bike, and rock climb. Nevertheless, Uranium mining has had long lasting implications for its communities. Many of these communities are affected by poverty, natural resource dependence for economic growth, and great social inequalities and divisions. Longtime residents have experienced serious illnesses such as cancer due to their exposure to Uranium. Despite these impacts, residents of the uranium regions continue to support the industry because of their tie to its history, their patriotism, and their ongoing hope for a booming economy.

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First designated a national monument in 1929, Congress declared Arches a national park on November 12, 1971. Arches National Park is one of the “Mighty 5” national parks of Utah, and in 2019, the International Dark-Sky Associated recognized the park’s work toward reducing light pollution within and outside of the park with its Silver Tier designation. (The Silver Tier is given when light glow is present along the horizon to a degree that wildlife and astronomy are impacted, but the Milky Way Galaxy can still be seen in summer and winter with over six thousand stars visible to the naked eye.) In 1999, a study of 376 parks discovered that half of all National Parks, 189 in total, were threatened by light pollution from encroaching cities. The National Park Service responded by forming the Night Sky Team to document the negative effects of light pollution with 104 photos taken in a short duration. Every photo was stitched together to form a wider picture, and then the Night Sky Team erased the light generated by stars to focus on how artificial lighting impacted the park. Arches National Park in 2003 had significant light pollution from Moab, Utah, and Grand Junction, Colorado, so the park created outdoor lighting codes with training workshops to reduce light pollution, intending to keep visitors safe while minimizing harm to wildlife. Arches National Park’s lighting codes implement several strategies for reducing light pollution and preserving a clear night sky as a culture heritage. First, Arches’ lights use motion sensors to provide visitors with light when they need it without leaving any running constantly. Second, Arches’ outdoor light fixtures are shielded with hoods and point toward the ground. Third, Arches National Park uses warm-colored light, as blue-colored light negatively impacts insects while amber lighting minimizes sky brightness while still providing visibility to guests. Fourth, Arches encourages nearby cities and households to plan outdoor lighting efficiently and use high quality lights. This includes striving to minimize nighttime lighting and only using what is strictly necessary for public safety.  Close to 100% of all exterior lights throughout the 119-square-mile park are night-sky friendly in accordance with Arches’ principles. The value Arches National Park places on its dark skies is not limited to lighting codes and stargazing within the park. Educational outreach programs have been created, like the Night Sky Ranger booklet that teaches children about astronomy and light pollution through stargazing and moon phase observation activities. Preservation can maintain the dark skies, but education about the value of dark skies is what will break through the night blindness created by brightly lit societies.

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