{"id":17168,"date":"2014-11-20T05:58:34","date_gmt":"2014-11-20T12:58:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=17168"},"modified":"2020-11-12T04:27:21","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T11:27:21","slug":"the-idea-of-wilderness-needs-no-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/11\/20\/the-idea-of-wilderness-needs-no-defense\/","title":{"rendered":"The idea of wilderness needs no defense"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/san-rafael-swell-ed-abbey-mia-mcpherson-1909.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter size-full wp-image-17167\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/san-rafael-swell-ed-abbey-mia-mcpherson-1909.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/san-rafael-swell-ed-abbey-mia-mcpherson-1909.jpg\" alt=\"The road to the San Rafael Swell\" width=\"900\" height=\"548\" data-id=\"17167\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27548%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20900%20548%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27548%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/san-rafael-swell-ed-abbey-mia-mcpherson-1909-150x91.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/san-rafael-swell-ed-abbey-mia-mcpherson-1909-200x122.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/san-rafael-swell-ed-abbey-mia-mcpherson-1909-246x150.jpg 246w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/san-rafael-swell-ed-abbey-mia-mcpherson-1909-250x152.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/san-rafael-swell-ed-abbey-mia-mcpherson-1909-300x183.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/san-rafael-swell-ed-abbey-mia-mcpherson-1909-400x244.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/san-rafael-swell-ed-abbey-mia-mcpherson-1909-600x365.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/san-rafael-swell-ed-abbey-mia-mcpherson-1909-768x468.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/san-rafael-swell-ed-abbey-mia-mcpherson-1909-800x487.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/san-rafael-swell-ed-abbey-mia-mcpherson-1909.jpg 900w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/a><span style=\"color: #808080;\">The road to the San Rafael Swell<\/span><\/p>\n<p>This past Saturday I watched the movie &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/wrenched-themovie.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wrenched<\/a>&#8221; with two dear friends so it seemed only fitting to share a quote from Edward Abbey some time this week.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>The idea of wilderness needs no defense,\u0003 it only needs defenders.<\/em> ~ Edward Abbey<\/p>\n<p>After watching the movie we all felt like throwing a wrench of our own to defend wilderness. I know I felt deeply inspired.<\/p>\n<p>Each time I take a journey into the wilderness I have mixed emotions because I am immersed in what I hold dear and each of my senses is elated by the wildness around and within me. But another part of me can not forget the daily and monumental assaults on the wilderness and its inhabitants.\u00a0 A part of me wonders what will be there in 2050.<\/p>\n<p>Still, I go there. I relish it. I am part of it.<\/p>\n<p>And in my own small way, I defend it.<\/p>\n<p>There are so many defenders of the wilderness and our voices are getting stronger. For those of us who can not get into the trenches to throw our wrenches we can still do that by writing our representatives, by supporting the groups that are defending the wilderness through donations, by protesting and volunteering to help. We can write about it on our blogs and through social media share what we can to enlighten people who may not yet understand&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>We need to defend the wilderness we have left.<\/p>\n<p>Mia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This past Saturday I watched the movie &#8220;Wrenched&#8221; with two dear friends so it seemed only fitting to share a quote from Edward Abbey some time this week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17167,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2152,1012,1254,1015,26],"tags":[988,4035,2517,4475],"class_list":["post-17168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservation","category-emery-county","category-environment-wildlife-ethics","category-san-rafael-swell-area","category-utah","tag-conservation","tag-nature-photography","tag-preservation","tag-wilderness"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/san-rafael-swell-ed-abbey-mia-mcpherson-1909.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-4sU","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":20332,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/02\/21\/the-love-of-wilderness\/","url_meta":{"origin":17168,"position":0},"title":"The Love of Wilderness","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I have traveled all my life and seen the most amazing cities and towns but it is nature and the wilderness that I find the most satisfying.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Capitol Reef National Park&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Capitol Reef National Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/capitol-reef-national-park-utah\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Capitol Reef NP on a clear day, Capitol Reef National Park, Wayne County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/capitol-reef-national-park-abbey-mia-mcpherson-8636.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/capitol-reef-national-park-abbey-mia-mcpherson-8636.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/capitol-reef-national-park-abbey-mia-mcpherson-8636.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/capitol-reef-national-park-abbey-mia-mcpherson-8636.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10831,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/11\/19\/good-news-on-the-san-rafael-swell\/","url_meta":{"origin":17168,"position":1},"title":"Good News on the San Rafael Swell","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 19, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Last Friday Juan Palma; the BLM state director, yanked most of the federal acreage within the San Rafael area that was slated to be on the auction block for oil and gas leases.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Conservation&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Conservation","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/conservation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"San Rafael Swell","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/san-rafael-swell-mia-mcpherson-5165.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/san-rafael-swell-mia-mcpherson-5165.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/san-rafael-swell-mia-mcpherson-5165.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/san-rafael-swell-mia-mcpherson-5165.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10127,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/11\/04\/the-san-rafael-swell-blm-keep-oil-and-gas-drilling-out-and-keep-the-wilderness-intact\/","url_meta":{"origin":17168,"position":2},"title":"The San Rafael Swell &#8211; BLM Keep Oil And Gas Drilling Out And Keep The Wilderness Intact","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 4, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"More environmental studies are needed before these lands in the San Rafael Swell are leased, before a well is drilled. Before it is too late to save a species from extinction.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Rattlesnakes&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Rattlesnakes","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/rattlesnakes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/san-rafael-swell-sculpted-by-time-mia-mcpherson-2259.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/san-rafael-swell-sculpted-by-time-mia-mcpherson-2259.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/san-rafael-swell-sculpted-by-time-mia-mcpherson-2259.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/san-rafael-swell-sculpted-by-time-mia-mcpherson-2259.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":43324,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/12\/02\/how-strange-and-wonderful-is-our-home\/","url_meta":{"origin":17168,"position":3},"title":"How Strange And Wonderful Is Our Home","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 2, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The earth deserves better than we have given her, future generations deserve better than we are currently leaving them.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Antelope Island State Park&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Antelope Island in a Winter Storm ~ Edward Abbey Quote","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/antelope-island-storm-edward-abbey-mia-mcpherson-3546.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/antelope-island-storm-edward-abbey-mia-mcpherson-3546.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/antelope-island-storm-edward-abbey-mia-mcpherson-3546.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/antelope-island-storm-edward-abbey-mia-mcpherson-3546.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16484,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/11\/02\/we-need-a-refuge-even-though-we-may-never-need-to-go-there\/","url_meta":{"origin":17168,"position":4},"title":"We need a refuge even though we may never need to go there\u2026","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 2, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Wilderness brings me peace, hope and the desire to immerse myself into it as much as I possibly can.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Antelope Island State Park&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Common Ravens in a storm, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/common-ravens-storm-mia-mcpherson-7870-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/common-ravens-storm-mia-mcpherson-7870-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/common-ravens-storm-mia-mcpherson-7870-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/common-ravens-storm-mia-mcpherson-7870-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15239,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/06\/20\/san-rafael-swell-state-park-or-national-monument-designation-in-the-future\/","url_meta":{"origin":17168,"position":5},"title":"San Rafael Swell &#8211; State Park or National Monument Designation In The Future?","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 20, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I also felt trepidation about the San Rafael Swell area because nothing within this state that is filled with stones is written in stone except the ancient pictographs and petroglyphs.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The San Rafael Swell, San Rafael Swell, Emery County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/san-rafael-swell-mia-mcpherson-1616.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/san-rafael-swell-mia-mcpherson-1616.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/san-rafael-swell-mia-mcpherson-1616.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/san-rafael-swell-mia-mcpherson-1616.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17168\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}