Many of the most treasured places were saved because of the attention by those who had experienced the peace, excitement, beauty and astonishing value of the place \u2014 the true sense of place.<\/p>\n
John Muir with Yosemite, or Theodore Roosevelt with Yellowstone, Edward Abbey with the desert lands of Utah, or the Great Old Broads with Maroon Bells\/Snowmass Wilderness Area; the list goes on and on \u2014 to the special place in your hometown, the place with beauty and magic and meaning.<\/p>\n
And those who saved those special places from development or destruction were those who had been able to wander there, to step quietly in the wild places, to share the space with quiet and beauty and wild things. We do not learn to protect our special places from a book or a story or a regulation or a keep-out sign. We learn to respect and care for our special places when we create a bond with them.<\/p>\n
Our children, today, have lessons and classes and activities and play dates. Perhaps a walk, in quiet, along the old Ute Trail, the wagon road, the old railway might instill some of the magic and belief in the concept of “take only memories, leave only footprints.”<\/p>\n
It seems we need more of that.<\/p>\n
Dorothea Farris<\/p>\n