Sara Dant - A Deep Dive Into the History of the West

Sara Dant is a historian, professor, and chair of the history department at Weber State University. She’s also the author of one of my new favorite books: Losing Eden: An Environmental History of the American West. Sara’s work touches many of the topics we discuss regularly on this podcast, including conservation, water, public lands, building consensus around divisive issues, historical figures of the West, and much more. As you’ll hear in our conversation, Sara has a unique ability to explain complex and potentially dry topics regarding the American West in an engaging and easy-to-understand manner. • Whether you’re like me and have read dozens of books on the history of the West or simply have a general interest the subject, I think Losing Eden should be mandatory reading. It lays out the history of the region, starting with human migration into North America 15-30,000 years ago and ends in the present-day West with our scramble to find solutions to natural resource shortages and climate change. For me, the book connected many different time periods and concepts into one cohesive narrative, while simultaneously introducing me to new ideas and people, all in just under 200 pages. • Sara and I had a great conversation covering key concepts from her book, as well as her life as a historian, teacher, and life-long Westerner. We chat about the concept of the "tragedy of the commons,” conservation versus preservation, and the myth that the West was a sort of Garden of Eden prior to European settlement. We also dig into some of the key historical figures of the West, including Brigham Young, John Wesley Powell, Theodore Roosevelt, and John Muir. Most of you know that I’m weirdly obsessed with Teddy Roosevelt—I’ve got a life-sized cardboard cut-out of him in my office, for Pete’s sake—so Sara gently offers a more “balanced" examination of his conservation legacy. We also discuss Sara’s upbringing in Arizona, love of trail running, favorite books, and much more. Be sure to visit the episode notes for links to everything we discuss, because there’s a lot. • And since many of you are members of the Mountain & Prairie Book Club, I wanted to let you know that Losing Eden will be the November/December selection. Sara has graciously offered to answer questions about the book or even participate in some sort of online discussion, so I’ll be sorting out those details in the coming weeks. In the meantime, start reading the book and visit the book club webpage for more information as it becomes available. But for now, please enjoy this fun and educational conversation with Sara Dant. ••• Episode Notes: http://mountainandprairie.com/sara-dant/ Losing Eden: An Environmental History of the American West: http://a.co/d/8rCRHS8 Book Club: http://mountainandprairie.com/book-club/ ••• TOPICS DISCUSSED: 3:55 - How Sara describes her work 4:45 - Where Sara grew up 6:15 - Background on the book 7:30 - The myth of the West as “Eden” 9:40 - The tragedy of the commons explained 13:10 - The Morman’s settlement of the West 17:00 - John Wesley Powell explained 22:00 - Ambition and the settlement of the West 23:00 - The significance of the 1890s 27:55 - Conservation versus preservation 34:00 - A more balanced view of Theodore Roosevelt 40:00 - Growing up in Arizona 41:25 - Early influences 44:15 - The book that most influenced Sara’s career 46:20 - Pursuing her Phd and the choice to teach 49:00 - Sara’s optimism about current college students 52:45 - Trail running 54:25 - Working at Grand Teton and Denali National Parks 56:30 - Public lands 1:01:30 - Favorite books 1:03:00 - Favorite films 1:05:00 - Hobbies 1:05:50 - Most powerful outdoor experience 1:07:25 - Favorite location in the West 1:08:00 - Best thing Sara ever learned 1:09:00 - Sara’s words of wisdom 1:10:15 - Connect with Sara online