Hello,
I am Jack Stauss, the new Executive Director of Save Our Canyons (SOC). It is a great honor to step into this role, and I feel the weight of responsibility as we work to build upon the 50 years of work SOC has accomplished.
We are on the edge of a new era in the West. The climate has changed: snowfall and spring runoff are unpredictable, whipsawing between feast and famine every season. Our democracy is teetering on the edge of collapse, and the management services that our beloved Wasatch relies on are threatened. An insidious vitriol has grown in our country, and it feels harder to work together and for each other.
While this future can be frightening, I choose to remain optimistic. SOC has long been the safeguard against terrible plans, and from that legacy of hard work, we can be hopeful. SOC provides the history and context to understand how we can move forward. The organization speaks for nature, both grand and small, alike. And, it has been the roof under which so many gather to work toward a resilient future. Through collaboration and patience, we can steward a new path forward for the mountains we all share. Over my years of working with SOC and other environmental organizations across the region, I have seen that this is possible.
I have spent the last decade fighting for a restored Glen Canyon and Colorado River. I have seen people from across all backgrounds and all political beliefs come together and ask for common-sense solutions. With good leadership, fact-based policy and management, and continuing to stay the course year over year, we have seen a groundswell of support for a free-flowing river.
But the reason I moved to Salt Lake City is the reason I have stayed here – the Central Wasatch. I have wandered the great drainages of Silver, Days, Cardiff, and Mineral Forks. I have crawled through gambel oak in Neffs and Millcreek. I have felt small while surrounded by the towering walls in Hogum and Broads. I have stood atop Mount Superior at sunrise after a long storm finally breaks and basked in that quiet blast of golden light exploding off of a million fresh stellars. I am, in every season, struck with awe by the place. I have also spent time working with SOC. Since 2015, I have interned, volunteered, attended events, and made comments at public meetings with the organization. I am excited to build upon that relationship for the range. Through all of it, I have witnessed what we are up against.
Over the years, we have seen big moneyed interests eyeing the last pieces of undeveloped land in the mountains, hoping that the idealist ski bums will run out of steam so they can stake their claim and put in a new lodge, parking lot, or… gondola. I have learned Western and environmental history of America using the Wasatch as the case study. Indeed, the range is a microcosm for other fights we see playing out around the nation today. At the core of it all is the question of what we want the future to look like. Do we want to exploit these lands for momentary monetary gain, or do we want to save, protect, and restore them?
To many of us, the answer has always been clear: we need to save what we can before it’s gone forever. If we collaborate, work together, find common ground – we can win this fight here for generations to come. Save Our Canyons is the organization to hold this great work. When we unify, we can stop corruption, mistruths, and exploiters of our shared home.
The Wasatch provides the context for our place in the world. Its skyline right on the edge of our built environment in Salt Lake City is a constant reminder of the crucial connection between humans and nature. It is a reminder of both our own power and fragility. When a wild Wasatch is imperiled, so too is our own existence.
When it feels like those challenges are too great, I turn to the mountains for guidance. I set out on a chunky trail, feeling the warmth of the sun mix with the fresh alpine air, listening to the rattle of aspen leaves, and far beyond catching a glimpse of a high granite ridge, soaring away into the sky. The panic of my fast-paced life starts to fade, and the quiet, deep knowledge the land holds slowly opens itself to me. What the mountains often tell me is what you all as a community do too: we are incredibly lucky to call this place home and must be bold in our vision for it.
Long has Save Our Canyons been the safeguard for the peaks, creeks, and glades. While the world shifts and changes, it is more important than ever that we work as one: to build a coalition of strong advocates, strive to be positive and creative, and give this land the protection it deserves and so desperately needs. SOC will continue to lead this charge into what uncertain future we may face. I hope you will join us.
Please consider donating today, or come meet the staff and me at one of our several upcoming events this autumn.
Thank you,
– Jack Stauss, Executive Director
