This is an updated version of a post that appeared on my Substack publication on October 9, 2025.
rayzimmerman.substack.com/p/the-hour-of-land-has-come-again.
Updates appear at the end of this article.
A few weeks ago, Donald Trump announced plans to complete the 211-mile Ambler Road project through the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve and adjacent lands to open the area for mining. The project has long been debated and was not approved by the Biden administration. I reread a portion of The Hour of Land by Tempest Williams shortly after hearing about the Project. I have never visited the park.
Among Williams’ comments on this National Park was this gem, “I return to the wilderness to remember what I have forgotten, that the world can be wholesome and beautiful, that the harmony and integrity of ecosystems at peace is a mirror to what we have lost.”
The Chapter was previously published as an Orion Magazine article, and a link to the online edition is available in the notes below. This is also true of the Chapter on the Gulf Islands National Seashore, which she wrote shortly after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The articles are well worth a read, but better yet, order and read the book. It is filled with lovely stories about our National Parks.
Portions of this book were originally published as articles in Orion Magazine. It included chapters on the following National Park Service units.
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota.
Acadia National Park, Maine.
Gettysburg National Military Park, Pennsylvania.
Effigy Mounds National Monument, Iowa.
Big Bend National Park, Texas.
Canyonlands National Park, Utah.
Alcatraz Island, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, California.
Glacier National Park, Montana.
Cesar E. Chavez National Monument, California, and the Future.
“The Glorious Indifference of Wilderness” in Orion Magazine is an earlier version of the Chapter, “Gates of the Arctic National Park, Alaska.”
“The Gulf Between Us,” in Orion Magazine, is an earlier version of the Chapter, “Gulf Islands National Seashore: Florida and Mississippi.”
Reviews of The Hour of Land appear on Goodreads.
Comments from the National Parks Conservation Association regarding the road through the Gates of the Arctic National Park appear here:
https://www.npca.org/articles/11036-gates-of-the-arctic-scenes-from-a-park-at-a-crossroads.
Comments from The Wilderness Society appear here:
https://www.wilderness.org/wild-places/alaska/road-building-gates-arctic-national-p
Other Recent Actions
The Trump administration sold oil leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, just as the first Trump administration did on January 6, 2021. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF12006
The administration plans to complete the road through the Izembec National Wildlife Refuge.
https://www.fws.gov/refuicle ge/izembek.
The administration has revealed plans to weaken the enforcement of the Endangered Species Act.
Acthttps://apnews.com/article/9bf4541d89e6444783814e53302ce479
The US Forest Service has announced its intent to rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule.
https://www.wilderness.org/articles/press-release/attack-roadless-forests-officially-underway.
rayzimmerman.substack.com/p/the-hour-of-land-has-come-again.
Updates appear at the end of this article.
A few weeks ago, Donald Trump announced plans to complete the 211-mile Ambler Road project through the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve and adjacent lands to open the area for mining. The project has long been debated and was not approved by the Biden administration. I reread a portion of The Hour of Land by Tempest Williams shortly after hearing about the Project. I have never visited the park.
Among Williams’ comments on this National Park was this gem, “I return to the wilderness to remember what I have forgotten, that the world can be wholesome and beautiful, that the harmony and integrity of ecosystems at peace is a mirror to what we have lost.”
The Chapter was previously published as an Orion Magazine article, and a link to the online edition is available in the notes below. This is also true of the Chapter on the Gulf Islands National Seashore, which she wrote shortly after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The articles are well worth a read, but better yet, order and read the book. It is filled with lovely stories about our National Parks.
Portions of this book were originally published as articles in Orion Magazine. It included chapters on the following National Park Service units.
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota.
Acadia National Park, Maine.
Gettysburg National Military Park, Pennsylvania.
Effigy Mounds National Monument, Iowa.
Big Bend National Park, Texas.
Canyonlands National Park, Utah.
Alcatraz Island, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, California.
Glacier National Park, Montana.
Cesar E. Chavez National Monument, California, and the Future.
“The Glorious Indifference of Wilderness” in Orion Magazine is an earlier version of the Chapter, “Gates of the Arctic National Park, Alaska.”
“The Gulf Between Us,” in Orion Magazine, is an earlier version of the Chapter, “Gulf Islands National Seashore: Florida and Mississippi.”
Reviews of The Hour of Land appear on Goodreads.
Comments from the National Parks Conservation Association regarding the road through the Gates of the Arctic National Park appear here:
https://www.npca.org/articles/11036-gates-of-the-arctic-scenes-from-a-park-at-a-crossroads.
Comments from The Wilderness Society appear here:
https://www.wilderness.org/wild-places/alaska/road-building-gates-arctic-national-p
Other Recent Actions
The Trump administration sold oil leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, just as the first Trump administration did on January 6, 2021. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF12006
The administration plans to complete the road through the Izembec National Wildlife Refuge.
https://www.fws.gov/refuicle ge/izembek.
The administration has revealed plans to weaken the enforcement of the Endangered Species Act.
Acthttps://apnews.com/article/9bf4541d89e6444783814e53302ce479
The US Forest Service has announced its intent to rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule.
https://www.wilderness.org/articles/press-release/attack-roadless-forests-officially-underway.
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