Ward Valley
Desert poet, writer, activist, scholar, defender, and hiker Ruth Nolan attended a gathering of desert residents and activists celebrating the 15th anniversary of the defeat of the proposed Ward Valley nuclear waste site. This place deep in the Mojave Desert provides a solace that is difficult to find in an age of 24/7 news coverage, tragedy and materialism. What is easy to forget is that each of these "viewsheds" - as we call them in environmental impact statements - has a meaning and a history that is different to each individual and each generation. Ward Valley is sacred to Native American tribes, and its conversion to industrial use would have been a significant loss. A sign points the way to the 15th anniversary of the victory that saved Ward Valley from becoming a toxic waste site. Photo by Ruth Nolan. Ruth Nolan captures the confluence of modern and ancient at Ward Valley in her poem that she wrote to commemorate the occasion of this victory: Dark Medalli