The Round River Rendezvous in Moab 1980
A newly formed environmental group, Earth First!, gathered for an annual rendezvous to celebrate and discuss action. Over the decades, the rendezvous became a source of political contention and factionalism.
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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