Michael E. O'Reilly

This interview was conducted around 2009, at Ken Sanders Rare Books , in Salt Lake City. MO: Take me through the early days of EarthFirst! The first event was on March 24, 1981 was the cracking of the Glen Canyon dam, which is now infamous. I know about this because about 2 weeks earlier Ed Abbey called me out of the blue. I had learned over the years of our relationship I never called Ed on the phone because Ed hated the damn things. He loved to correspond with people, particularly with his ubiquitous post cards. He loathed telephones. Unless he had something to say, it was like having this “zen” phone conversation. So unless you had something to say, you never called him, ‘cause he didn’t want to talk. So I never, ever called him, almost never. So he calls me up, ‘Ken, this is Ed. Going to be some kind of Spring rites down at Glen canyon dam, at the Lone Rock campground. If you want to talk about that silly calendar of yours come on down.’ And that’s all he said, ‘some kind of Spring...

A brief history of American conservation     One of the ugliest spectacles of the last two centuries was the unrestrained plunder of our nation’s wild animals, leading to the decimation and in some cases, extinction, of various species. Yet one of the most encouraging signs of responsible citizenship was the reaction of recreational hunters and fishermen. As wildlife management methods were refined by federal and state game officials, they, along with groups like Ducks Unlimited, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation would set an example for the rest of the world as to how humans can live with healthy populations of wild species, whether that means hunting them, photographing them, or leaving them alone.     The reason for overhunting was the existence of a market in which dead wildlife could be sold. The solution would be to take the value away from the product, and attach it to the experience of the hunt. Make it a ritual. Make rules. And charge a fee to ...