Description

One womans enlightening trek through the natural histories cultural stories and present perils of thirteen national monuments

Starting amid the sagebrush of Bears Ears National Monument on the eve of the Trump Administrations decision to reduce the site by eightyfive percent McKenzie Long climbs sandstone cliffs is awed by Ancestral Pueblo cliff dwellings and is intrigued by 4000yearold petroglyphs She hikes through remote pink canyons recently removed from the boundary of Grand StaircaseEscalante skis to a backcountry hut in Maine to view a truly dark night sky snorkels in warm Hawaiian waters to plumb the meaning of marine preserves volunteers near the most contaminated nuclear site in the US and witnesses firsthand the diverse forms of devotion evoked by the Rio Grande In essays both contemplative and resonant this book confronts an unjust past and imagines a collaborative future that bears witness to these regions enduring Indigenous connections

From climate change realities to volatile tensions between economic development and environmental conservation practical and philosophical issues arise as Long seeks the complicated and often overlooked stories of these incomparable places Her journey emphasizes in clear and urgent terms the unique significance of and grave threats to these contested lands