A Note from our Chapter Chair
Susan Eastwood
April 2025
Happy Spring!
Seeing the snowdrops and crocuses peak out and the trees begin to bud is a refreshing change from the news about rollbacks of our environmental protections/laws. It makes me want to head outside and just wander, breathing the cool, fresh air. Nature can be healing!
Many studies have shown how being out in nature can aid our individual mental health, and keep us fit, but it is also a crucial safeguard and healer of our environment. Many ecosystems are designed to adapt to new conditions and maintain an equilibrium that allows the plants and animals there to thrive.
I learned more about this phenomenon recently when I volunteered with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) to lobby our Senators and Congressional delegation in Washington, DC, asking them to co-sponsor America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act (ARRWA). ARRWA would preserve millions of acres of unspoiled federal lands in Southern Utah, mostly surrounding Utah’s five national parks: Zion, Canyonlands, Arches, Bryce, and Capitol Reef. The gorgeous red sandstone formations of the Bears Ears National Monument are central to this area.
Photo: Bear’s Ear | Credit: David Silsbee
Photo: House on Fire Ruins | Credit: David Silsbee
I lived out West for several years, in the high plains of Wyoming; I love the stark, colorful lands there, and believe they should be preserved, for all of us to enjoy. These are federal lands that belong to us all. We are losing a football field’s worth of natural areas every thirty seconds in the U.S. There isn’t much wilderness left and if we allow these lands to be tainted it will be gone forever. Yes, Utah is far from Connecticut, and we have many beautiful state parks here. But those desert lands have benefits that go far beyond our need for recreation and beauty in nature. They have a surprising degree of benefits for the climate that reach far beyond state borders.
Photo: Valley of the Gods | Credit: David Silsbee
Desert ecosystems have evolved in difficult environments. They are adapted to hot, dry, windy conditions, where plant roots must reach deep to find water. A tree that looks like a scraggly bush may be thousands of years old, but its deep roots help to clean the air. What looks like soil is actually “biocrust”, a living ecosystem that sequesters huge amounts of carbon. Woody vegetation, shrubs, and biocrusts in the Red Rock Wilderness lands are estimated to currently sequester 247 million metric tons of organic carbon. Double or triple that amount of inorganic carbon may be stored below the biocrust, where fungi interact with plant respiration and microbes to form crystals of calcium carbonate.
Photo: View from Elk Mountain | Credit: David Silsbee
Photo: Fisher Towers | Credit: David Silsbee
Wilderness also protects biodiversity, providing wildlife corridors for migration and preserving climate change refugia, essential safe spaces that help plants and animals adapt to extreme conditions.
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Sierra Club is one of the key members in the Utah Wilderness Coalition. I’ve learned about this campaign through the Grassroots Network, which is something any Sierra Club member can explore and engage in. There are many topic groups you may join to receive news, events, and take action with a group of other Sierra Club members from around the country. Some of the Teams are:
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This is another benefit of your Sierra Club membership which I hope you’ll investigate and enjoy!
We are now posting events as a regular feature in the Quinnehtukqut. As always, all our events and outings can be found on our Events and Outings calendar.
Be sure not to miss our very active Hikes and Outings page (sign up for Meet Up required).
For nature,
Susan
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Susan Eastwood is Chapter Chair of Sierra Club Connecticut.
