Becoming an Advocate for Beauty
Frazier Haney
Executive Director
The Wildlands Conservancy
Every person who spends time in the outdoors has stories to tell about making memories with family, seeking adventures in the mountains, or watching the skies change color at sunset. For those who have enjoyed the benefits of wild places and the beauty of wide-open vistas only to later watch them become fragmented with development, the urge to protect the natural world can become all consuming. While it’s easy and enjoyable to appreciate the natural beauty of places as a visitor to them, when one becomes engaged in the public dialogue about their future, conflict is almost inevitable.
Recently celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Mojave Trails and Sand to Snow National Monuments, I reflected on my own path to becoming an advocate for natural beauty. The conflict that paved my path to advocacy revolved around industry-scale transmission lines and energy production across the California Desert. Proposed by multi-national developers and utilities, these developments would have carved through ancient pristine landscapes, sensitive springs and wetlands, and small communities. Dozens of advocates volunteered their time researching, writing, and speaking to promote the idea that these places should be protected, and development moved to appropriate locations. After enjoying the natural beauty of the California Desert for years as a visitor, I was pulled into the effort to protect its most special places as an active participant. The experience was incredible. My visits now often focus on sharing the beauty of these wild places with new visitors, speaking with media outlets on their value, and learning from those leading the efforts about how to be more focused and effective.
The inception of the Mojave Trails and Sand to Snow National Monuments developed over a decade before they were eventually proclaimed using the Antiquities Act in 2016. The years running up to the designation were full of smaller victories, gaining new support for the designation. Stories told to friends and family, co-workers, businesses, the media, and in public meetings spread to teach more and more people about the importance of these special landscapes and to support designation of the National Monuments. There is now an entire community across the California Desert and beyond that believes in protecting its landscapes through advocacy because they understand the intrinsic value of its beauty, both intellectually and spiritually.
Becoming an advocate for a cause you believe in is a way to rise above the troubles of daily life, and for many people can provide a path to personal truth. Opportunities to become involved in protecting the natural world are everywhere: championing new parks in your area, choosing native plants in landscaping, or keeping an eye on your County’s Board of Supervisors’ meetings where you can comment on relevant issues. All of these activities, and others, can pave your path to becoming involved today as an advocate for beauty. Perhaps the most important thing is to use your voice to help build the global community speaking to protect our natural world and its wild places.