Desert Subdivision: The Paradox of Naming a Development After Edward Abbey

[Brenda]

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The “Abbey Subdivision,” spearheaded by local developer Michael Bynum, was named for Edward Abbey, author of Desert Solitaire, which chronicles the two seasons the author spent in a government trailer while working as the lone seasonal ranger at what was then Arches National Monument from 1956-’57. Subdivision streets were named in honor of some of Abbey’s more controversial characters, such as “Hayduke Court,” named after George Hayduke, the ring leader of a fictional group of eco-terrorists who plant explosives on Glen Canyon Dam in The Monkey Wrench Gang. (The development is also home to a “Monkey Wrench Way.”) No shortage of digital ink has been spilled, pointing out the irony of naming a development after a famously anti-development writer. Still, the debate also amplifies a core tension that many environmental writers face. When artists and activists try to communicate what is unique and worth preserving about an ecosystem, their very success draws more attention to it, opening a fragile ecosystem to yet more visitation and degradation.

Abbey strongly opposed the development of Arches for fear of “industrial tourism.” At the time, Arches was a little-visited national monument at the dead end of an unpaved road. (Canyonlands became a national park in 1964; Arches was not designated until 1971.) According to the National Park Service, over 1.5 million visitors now flock to Arches annually, and the once-unpaved roads boast bumper-to-bumper traffic during peak season each summer. Today, Abbey’s passionate warnings read like an understatement, given Moab’s explosion in popularity both as a tourist destination and competitive real estate market.

What some call irony starts to sound like prophecy when you peel back the layers of history and economics to reveal why so many people flock to the landscapes captured in Desert Solitaire. The message is meant to appeal to those seeking solitude in the vermillion soil around Moab; the irony is that millions are seeking that solitude.

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/desert-subdivision-the-paradox-of-naming-a-development-after-edward-abbey/

[SarahD]

1. Wheeled locusts.

Abbey is famous for calling cattle "hooved locusts" because they have the same destructive effect as a swarm of locusts. If you visit the desert at the right (wrong?) Time of year, you can see the hordes of wheeled locusts - jeeps and similar off road vehicles. They create unbelievable traffic jams and provide easy access for vandals who deface rock art and steal artifacts. Their latest thing seems to be "rock crawling," a rather stupid waste of time and gasoline, but I guess no more stupid than many other things. We have become everything Edward Abbey warned us about.