Environmental Pioneer Remembered: The Legacy of Ken Sleight
In the late 1970s, Martha Ham embarked on a mission to find Ken Sleight, a renowned environmentalist and river guide, to seek his assistance in launching inclusive river trips for people with disabilities. Sleight, who inspired the character Seldom Seen Smith in Edward Abbey’s “The Monkey Wrench Gang,” was an elusive figure, living up to the moniker attributed to him.
“The first time I attempted to meet Ken Sleight, I could not find him,” Ham recalls. Known for his driving enthusiasm and steady nature, Sleight proved to be a pivotal figure in the environmental movement and beyond.
At 23, Ham sought Sleight’s expertise for her project, which aimed to create the first commercial river trips for individuals with disabilities. Despite his involvement in environmental causes, including the campaign to save Glen Canyon, Sleight agreed to support her initiative. “He made history in the state [by] providing those first trips,” Ham noted, a decade before the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
Born on August 16, 1929, Sleight’s environmental activism spanned decades. He co-founded the Western River Guides Association and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, combating projects like the Glen Canyon Dam and a proposed nuclear waste site near Canyonlands National Park. His efforts included regular protests against the White Mesa uranium mill.
Sleight’s collaboration with Ham led to the establishment of SPLORE, originally named Special Populations Learning Outdoor Recreation and Education. This nonprofit made whitewater rafting accessible on the Colorado and Green rivers for those with disabilities.
Ham’s initial impression of Sleight was of a “kind-hearted man,” unaware of his connections with Ed Abbey. Similarly, Susette DeCoster-Weisheit, a friend of Sleight’s, praised his foresight in environmental activism. “He just got it,” she said, recognizing the need to fight for the preservation of natural resources.
Sleight’s activism extended to protecting Rainbow Bridge National Monument from flooding by Lake Powell’s waters, a cause he pursued through a lawsuit. DeCoster-Weisheit described his efforts as pioneering in a state where such causes were not popular.
John Weisheit, leader of Living Rivers, fondly remembers meeting Sleight, noting his warmth and their shared disdain for the Glen Canyon Dam. “That’s what really bonded us,” Weisheit said, highlighting Sleight’s ranch as a hub for like-minded individuals.
Ken Sleight passed away in Moab on October 2 at the age of 97, as reported by The Salt Lake Tribune.
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