Page 8 - Winter 2013 magazine 2 layout

By Aaron Leifheit
By Aaron Leifheit
By Aaron Leifheit

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B fore I moved to Nevada, I saw an ad for Nevada outdoor tourism and laughed at the idea. There’s nothing in the
desert! Who would want to go there?

After moving here I quickly realized my mistake. Nevada IS the outdoor state. In fact, approximately 80% of our
beautiful state is public land — more than any other state in the country.

To highlight this fact, Red Rock Canyon’s education staff begins all field trips by asking the same question: “Who
owns Red Rock Canyon?” Answers are predictably all over the place. “God!” “You, Mr. Aaron!” “The President!”
“The animals!”

Very few children know the real answer, but after a few minutes of prodding, they get there.
With a strange growing curiosity and excitement, they realize that they are the owners of the
Conservation Area. YOU own all this beautiful public land! YOU own Red Rock Canyon!
Although the land is managed by the federal government, it is owned by all Americans. The
general public elects officials, and these officials pass laws that instruct the Bureau of Land
Management to manage Red Rock on your behalf.

On its face, this idea doesn’t seem very exciting or revolutionary. However, imagine if you
lived three hundred years ago. The beautiful places of any country would still exist, but they
certainly wouldn’t be owned by the average person! Instead, every Red Rock Canyon in
every country would have been owned by the king or the rich (or the casino owners). Aver- Calico Hills Snowfall
Photo by A. Leifheit
age people, like most of us, would not be allowed to hike the Calico Hills or Pine Creek. If
you wanted to keep your head, you’d stay well away from the king’s land.

When our ancestors sailed from Europe, we twisted the tables on Amer-
ica’s natural treasures. From then on, the Yellowstones and Grand Can-
yons would not be owned by the powerful, but by all American people.
Places like Red Rock Canyon would belong to everyone, regardless of
color, occupation, or wealth. All would be free to travel to the nation’s
natural treasures regardless of their status or situation.

In this way, the Canyon represents more than just recreation or the chance
to see gorgeous scenery. Much more importantly, Red Rock Canyon
Sacred Eagle Rock at the Grand Canyon represents the essential American ideal: equality. Here, no one is better
Photo by Julius Reque
than anyone else. Here, no one is rich or poor, no one is foolish or wise.
Here, everyone plays by the same set of rules. Inside the borders of such
places, the ideal of the American democracy plays out.

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