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Brave New West: Morphing Moab at the Speed of Greed
When Jim Stiles moved west from Kentucky in the 1970s to make Moab, Utah, his home, that corner of the rural West had already endured decades of obscurity, a uranium boom and then a bust, and was facing an identity crisis. What kind of economy would prevent Moab from becoming yet another ghost town? For more than two decades, environmentalists in southeast Utah have had a simple answer to this question: replace extractive industries—mining, timber, and cattle—with an economy catering to “green” tourists with hotels, restaurants, and bars. They feel that if these lands can be spared further degradation by huge industries, the West could begin to thrive on something cleaner and more lucrative. But Stiles sees a downside to this seemingly idyllic vision. Bringing insight based on decades of residence in Moab, he makes a provocative and compelling argument that the economy most environmentalists hail as the solution to the woes of the rural West is in fact creating an unprecedented impact of its own. In recent years, Moab and other rural towns across the West have seen a massive influx of urbanites fleeing crowded cities in search of a simpler life. Yet Stiles also observes that these transplants are often unwilling to accept the isolation and lack of services that characterize genuine rural life. Believing themselves to be liberal, sensitive, enlightened environmentalists, they nevertheless bring with them exactly the type of lifestyle and ecological impact that they sought to leave behind and, in the process, create a community that no longer serves the native inhabitants. With a blend of travelogue, local color, and geography, Stiles engages readers with folksy humor while defending the lifestyle of the “pre-cappuccino rural Westerners” and exposing the paradox that underlies the professed good intentions of liberal newcomers.
272 pages, Paperback
First published March 29, 2007
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February 14, 2008Read this over the weekend, after visiting Moab and Arches Nat'l Park in southeastern Utah with my mom. The author has published the bi-monthly Canyon County Zephyr for 20 years; I love these small, angry and weird papers. There's less and less of them.
The book is half-autobiography, half social and environmental history of Moab and the region. An passionate cry against the ravages of "the amenities economy" (think ecotourism, and relations wilderness sports like mountainbiking). The amemities economy was supported by the enviro movement against the Old Economy of the extractive industries; but it's only led to an invasion of xtreme tourist yuppies, awfully inflated real estate prices, the takevover of the town by corporate chain food and retail, and general soullessness.
The book is half-autobiography, half social and environmental history of Moab and the region. An passionate cry against the ravages of "the amenities economy" (think ecotourism, and relations wilderness sports like mountainbiking). The amemities economy was supported by the enviro movement against the Old Economy of the extractive industries; but it's only led to an invasion of xtreme tourist yuppies, awfully inflated real estate prices, the takevover of the town by corporate chain food and retail, and general soullessness.
August 28, 2016
In the fall of 1987 I moved to southeastern Utah and quickly came to enjoy the open vistas, bright clear colors, and the untrammeled feel of the countryside. A couple of years later, amid rancorous debates over wilderness and the presence of cattle on public land, a new voice entered the fray in the form of the Canyon Country Zephyr. This privately published monthly newspaper was the brainchild of Jim Stiles and he used it like a bat to swat at pesky politicians and bludgeon public land agencies. I worked for the Forest Service at the time and thought the Zephyr would be good to have at the office, a way of learning what the environmental community was saying, but Stiles refused to let the agency buy a subscription. That kind of cantankerous commitment to values is prevalent in Brave New West (U of Arizona Press, 2007), written by Jim Stiles.
This book is a rock ‘em, sock ‘em stomp through the history of Moab, Utah, in which Stiles pulls no punches and spares no organization. But it also a poignant eulogy for a community now vanished, and a warning to other small rural towns of what can happen when you get what you wish for. Using personal experiences and stories from people he has known, Stiles leads the reader from the high times of the uranium and petroleum industry boom, to the bust that followed. He paints funny and engaging word pictures of a quiet Moab where no one need wait for a parking place, and offers haunting descriptions of once secret landscapes.
In an effort to save the local economy back then, someone brought in a mountain bike and an adventurous dream; Moab was never the same. The new West, as Stiles explains it, is an amenity economy in which the town and surrounding countryside are remade into whatever it is that tourists will pay to see, do, hear, or smell. It is geared to people with money. Lots of money. With unflinching grit, he takes on developers, tour companies, the movies, and local government. But as angry as this may sound, Stiles presents his heartfelt arguments with grace, humor, and style. His approach is pretty balanced and his what-if-it-were-different dreams gave me something to think about. I found the book much more entertaining, provocative, and interesting than I’d anticipated.
This book is a rock ‘em, sock ‘em stomp through the history of Moab, Utah, in which Stiles pulls no punches and spares no organization. But it also a poignant eulogy for a community now vanished, and a warning to other small rural towns of what can happen when you get what you wish for. Using personal experiences and stories from people he has known, Stiles leads the reader from the high times of the uranium and petroleum industry boom, to the bust that followed. He paints funny and engaging word pictures of a quiet Moab where no one need wait for a parking place, and offers haunting descriptions of once secret landscapes.
In an effort to save the local economy back then, someone brought in a mountain bike and an adventurous dream; Moab was never the same. The new West, as Stiles explains it, is an amenity economy in which the town and surrounding countryside are remade into whatever it is that tourists will pay to see, do, hear, or smell. It is geared to people with money. Lots of money. With unflinching grit, he takes on developers, tour companies, the movies, and local government. But as angry as this may sound, Stiles presents his heartfelt arguments with grace, humor, and style. His approach is pretty balanced and his what-if-it-were-different dreams gave me something to think about. I found the book much more entertaining, provocative, and interesting than I’d anticipated.
June 29, 2012
The thing I like about this book is Stiles' ability to reframe the debate on land use in the west. It's not as simple as the drill/no-drill binary. He makes the valid point that the amenities economy (eco-tours, hiking, biking, etc.) has it's own environmental impacts. Is there a difference between flattening a mesa for drilling, and flattening a mesa for a housing development? Yes and no. I think that there are less differences than most people think, but he still draws a false equivalency between the two.
Additionally, I think his eagerness to criticize the 'new westerners' is a little too gleeful and he constructs these wonderfully detailed straw men to take aim at. Lots of generalizations take place here. He'd make a stronger argument if he used actual data about emigration and its impacts, which could dramatically increase his point. Instead, he says things like 'new westerners need to be in packs' and 'they can't leave their phones at home.' He rails against labeling each other and not having dialogue immediately thereafter. At the end of the day, people aren't going to care about places they don't know. Away from concerned eyes, all the evils he fears will take place. In the meantime, as he posits, it's up to people who do care to speak up against exploitation, in whatever form it takes-- be it poorly-managed ranchland, or a water-sucking housing development.
But, he makes no pretensions to scholarly analysis. This is full of righteous rage and emotional appeal, and if nothing else, it's honest in his articulated rage for how the West continues to be exploited. For that, and how he obviously loves the land, I'll give a pass on the tiresome pot-shots at bikers and tourists. Definitely check this out, as it is very-thought provoking and hopefully induces some self-reflection, particularly if you do (like me) travel to these areas. Be humble.
And, his vision of the future is positively terrifying and entirely believable. As someone who loves the parks, I can only hope we don't love them to death like he illustrated. Gave me chills.
Additionally, I think his eagerness to criticize the 'new westerners' is a little too gleeful and he constructs these wonderfully detailed straw men to take aim at. Lots of generalizations take place here. He'd make a stronger argument if he used actual data about emigration and its impacts, which could dramatically increase his point. Instead, he says things like 'new westerners need to be in packs' and 'they can't leave their phones at home.' He rails against labeling each other and not having dialogue immediately thereafter. At the end of the day, people aren't going to care about places they don't know. Away from concerned eyes, all the evils he fears will take place. In the meantime, as he posits, it's up to people who do care to speak up against exploitation, in whatever form it takes-- be it poorly-managed ranchland, or a water-sucking housing development.
But, he makes no pretensions to scholarly analysis. This is full of righteous rage and emotional appeal, and if nothing else, it's honest in his articulated rage for how the West continues to be exploited. For that, and how he obviously loves the land, I'll give a pass on the tiresome pot-shots at bikers and tourists. Definitely check this out, as it is very-thought provoking and hopefully induces some self-reflection, particularly if you do (like me) travel to these areas. Be humble.
And, his vision of the future is positively terrifying and entirely believable. As someone who loves the parks, I can only hope we don't love them to death like he illustrated. Gave me chills.
December 30, 2017
A very personal read that hit all the insights I've collected about southern Utah over my lifetime. Brilliant writing, well edited.
Jim is outraged, like any romantic who sees the things they've loved destroyed by the the thing that made their life wonderful.
At times, some of the best writing on the modern west.
Highly recommend just reading to enjoy the writing. Highly recommend to understand the complexities of the modern world where leisure in the name of nature and peace is destroyed by the desire to find peaceful nature.
Jim is outraged, like any romantic who sees the things they've loved destroyed by the the thing that made their life wonderful.
At times, some of the best writing on the modern west.
Highly recommend just reading to enjoy the writing. Highly recommend to understand the complexities of the modern world where leisure in the name of nature and peace is destroyed by the desire to find peaceful nature.
October 22, 2009
Great look at the Moab area by an entertaining curmudgeon. It was especially poignant to read this after just being in Arches. Stiles is a prophet in his own small way. Made me want to get hold of a monkey wrench...
February 7, 2009
sad, yet able to make you smile, an important read.
March 11, 2020
Jim Stiles wants to convince you that recreation has destroyed his precious Moab at least as much as the extractive industries did before the mountain biking boom took over.
His book is a little too long for such a simple argument, and his solutions are lacking, but I’m glad I made it through his book before my next trip to southwest Utah.
As a former small-town newspaper editor, I think it's ironic that a fellow small-town newspaper editor spilled so much ink on his pretty simple argument. I've always thought I didn't have a book in me because my newspaper background has me condensing everything I write to 500 words or less. On the other hand, Jim Stiles spent a whole book writing what could have been a series of maybe 5 newspaper articles.
Though it could have used some tighter editing, it’s a pretty entertaining read about a place I also love — but only as one of those dreaded mountain biking tourists. It gave me some valuable local perspective heading into a trip there next week. I appreciate Stiles’ worldview, but more skilled writers kind of spoiled me.
He is not as entertaining as Carl Hiaasen, who has written similar diatribes about his beloved south Florida. He is also not as passionate or meditative about canyon country as his idol, Edward Abbey. It’s unfortunate that he mentions Hunter S. Thompson in passing because he also doesn’t measure up to the Great Gonzo (though his prose is certainly more believable).
I almost gave the book 2 stars until he finally offered his alternative to the mining and mountain bike industries that have wreaked havoc on Moab. I kept reading his complaints about the lycra-clad two-wheelers and thinking “what do you want instead, a dying ghost town?”
Finally, about 238 pages in, he starts ranting about his fever-dream nihilist presidential platform. He would intentionally and savagely torpedo the national economy in the name of lowering consumption and slowing resource usage. Ironically, he published this book in 2007, a year before the Great Recession created a natural laboratory for his plan. I had agreed with him, and had my own recessionary fever dreams of a new American economy based on minimalism and Gross National Happiness over growth and Gross National Product. Unfortunately, those dreams were dashed. I remain a minimalist and environmental idealist, but I also think tourism and recreation are one of the only healthy ways to keep the Western U.S. thriving.
PS. I know I also wrote too many words here in complaining about how many words Stiles wrote. Pot kettle black and all that crap.
His book is a little too long for such a simple argument, and his solutions are lacking, but I’m glad I made it through his book before my next trip to southwest Utah.
As a former small-town newspaper editor, I think it's ironic that a fellow small-town newspaper editor spilled so much ink on his pretty simple argument. I've always thought I didn't have a book in me because my newspaper background has me condensing everything I write to 500 words or less. On the other hand, Jim Stiles spent a whole book writing what could have been a series of maybe 5 newspaper articles.
Though it could have used some tighter editing, it’s a pretty entertaining read about a place I also love — but only as one of those dreaded mountain biking tourists. It gave me some valuable local perspective heading into a trip there next week. I appreciate Stiles’ worldview, but more skilled writers kind of spoiled me.
He is not as entertaining as Carl Hiaasen, who has written similar diatribes about his beloved south Florida. He is also not as passionate or meditative about canyon country as his idol, Edward Abbey. It’s unfortunate that he mentions Hunter S. Thompson in passing because he also doesn’t measure up to the Great Gonzo (though his prose is certainly more believable).
I almost gave the book 2 stars until he finally offered his alternative to the mining and mountain bike industries that have wreaked havoc on Moab. I kept reading his complaints about the lycra-clad two-wheelers and thinking “what do you want instead, a dying ghost town?”
Finally, about 238 pages in, he starts ranting about his fever-dream nihilist presidential platform. He would intentionally and savagely torpedo the national economy in the name of lowering consumption and slowing resource usage. Ironically, he published this book in 2007, a year before the Great Recession created a natural laboratory for his plan. I had agreed with him, and had my own recessionary fever dreams of a new American economy based on minimalism and Gross National Happiness over growth and Gross National Product. Unfortunately, those dreams were dashed. I remain a minimalist and environmental idealist, but I also think tourism and recreation are one of the only healthy ways to keep the Western U.S. thriving.
PS. I know I also wrote too many words here in complaining about how many words Stiles wrote. Pot kettle black and all that crap.
February 24, 2026
I left a little entertained and not much more informed.
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