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In the waning days of the George W. Bush administration, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) received instructions to open up vast tracts of land near Moab Utah for oil and natural gas exploration. The flawed process included mineral leases scheduled for areas adjacent to the City of Moab and Arches National Park. Under the Barack Obama administration, then Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar voided some of the most egregious leases. Local BLM officials in Moab approved many other leases and the results are now obvious to any visitor to the Greater Canyonlands area.

Today, the previously pristine desert environment near Hatch Point features numerous potash exploration wells. A new natural gas pipeline now snakes down State Highway 313 from near Dead Horse Point State Park toward Canyonlands Field (Moab Airport). Even a casual drive along dirt roads north of Moab will yield views of industrial gas and oilrigs exploring within miles of Landscape Arch in Arches National Park. With the Moab BLM Office “rubber stamping” any and all mineral exploration and exploitation permits that pass over their counter, only public pressure will halt the full-scale industrialization of Greater Canyonlands, near Moab, Utah.

Rites of Spring in Moab, Utah - Peaceful Protest of the New Industrial Desert

Occasionally, one person rises up and makes a difference. At Moab, Utah, such a person is Ms. Kiley Miller. Over the past several years, Kiley has investigated and publicized the dangers of industrializing the desert in Grand County and Greater Canyonlands. Her latest attempt to gain both public and institutional support for saving Greater Canyonlands was in the form of a peaceful protest on March 20, 2014. That the protest took place in Moab on the first day of spring indicates the spirit of hopefulness that Kiley Miller and forty intrepid local citizens brought to this important debate.

Following, in her own words, is an account of the environmental protest that Kiley Miller organized:

“Thanks to All who showed up for the protest!!! It was awesome to see y'all there. About 40 people showed up! The BLM kindly sectioned off part of their parking lot just under the BLM sign as our "free speech" zone. Sarah & Emily Stock & I went in ahead of time & were greeted by Lisa Bryant. We let her know this was a peaceful protest & that it was not personal but that we are protesting the agency as a whole & do not approve of what is happening to our public lands.

John Weisheit & others spoke of national energy policy, pipeline safety, alternative energy etc. Carol Mayer pointed out that thankfully there are people out there in the community paying attention to what is happening in the region & raising the red flags.

We then walked over to the Fidelity Exploration office & they just happened to be closed so John Weisheit gave ‘em a call asking that someone please come down & talk with us but no one came. Members of the press were there & many of us were filmed & interviewed.

A participant named Judy came to me & said she got goose bumps from my Ed Abbey quote sign & that she was so happy to see so many young people there. She was new to protesting & wants to be more involved. It felt great to stand in solidarity with fellow citizens who were all there to show their love & support of protections for this beautiful place.

Canyon Country Rising Tide along with other groups & citizens will continue to have demonstrations in the future, I hope to see more of you at them.

‘My job is to save the f**king wilderness. I don't know anything else worth saving.’
- My new favorite Ed Abbey quote spoken through George Hayduke from the Monkey Wrench Gang.
For the Earth -
Kiley”

Author's Note: This article is representative of the time in which it was written. There are still good people standing against the mineral and developmental exploitation of Moab, Greater Canyonlands and Bears Ears National Monument. Ten years later, Kiley Miller is still in the news, opposing the 580 luxury home development on Kane Creek Blvd. near Moab, Utah.

Email James McGillis