Like all good Westerns there is a divide between what was and what will be, between the wild and the encroaching civilization. Washington County Utah lies at the heart of such a conflict. Surrounded by natural beauty, the cities of Southern Utah are flooded with human growth placing development strain on local ecology.

One such development is the Northern Corridor, a road proclaimed necessary for the future growth of Washington County by Local Leaders but considered short sighted and detrimental to ecology and economy by conservationists and recreationists.

While representatives of organizations like Conserve Southwest Utah challenge the otherwise unchecked development of Southern Utah, a beacon of hope burrows silently through the wild sands. Crawling at the front line of this conflict; the last unsung hero of the wild west, the
Mojave Desert Tortoise.