The path from “drive-by desert” skeptic to devoted pilgrim

Josh Jackson didn’t set out to become a champion for the Bureau of Land Management. But after stumbling into BLM lands in the deserts of California, he found himself transformed, first by the landscape, and then by the history behind it. In this episode, Josh joins Bill and Anders to talk about The Enduring Wild, his new book exploring California’s public lands, and the path that took him from “drive-by desert” skeptic to devoted pilgrim.

Together, they dive into what it means to slow down, listen to the land, and wrestle with the complicated stories that live in these places. Josh shares how a massive wall map and a quote from Terry Tempest Williams’s book Refuge became touchstones for his journeys. He carries the quote on a 3×5 card in his back pocket during every desert pilgrimage:

“If the desert is holy, it is because it is a forgotten place that allows us to remember the sacred. Perhaps every pilgrimage to the desert is a pilgrimage to the self.”

They talk about why the desert strips us bare, how the King Range helped launch a conservation revolution inside the BLM, and the power of returning to overlooked landscapes again and again. Plus, a little ode to Dr. Pepper and the beauty of a fridge stocked with intention.

Today, we explore:

• What makes the desert holy
• Walking vs. hiking – and what we miss when we rush
• Place attachment and public lands advocacy
• The backstory behind his new book: The Enduring Wild
  
• BLM history, the King Range, and “a Cinderella transformation”
• Finding beauty beyond the national parks
• The Forgotten Lands Project and what’s next for Nevada

🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, or at thewildidea.com.

Resources and mentions from today’s episode:

The Forgotten Lands Project:

• Website
• Josh’s book: The Enduring Wild
• The Forgotten Lands Project Newsletter
• Follow The Forgotten Lands Project on Instagram

Places:

• BLM’s King Range National Conservation Area
• Carrizo Plain National Monument

Authors and relevant works:

• Terry Tempest Williams
• Robert Macfarlane
• William Cronon’s “The Trouble with Wilderness”
• Nathan Sayre’s “The Working Wilderness” 
• Edward Abbey’s “Desert Solitaire”
• Baba Dioum’s quote “In the end, we will conserve only what we love…”

Vices: 

• Dr. Pepper – Bill
• Coca Cola Classic

Josh Jackson is a writer, photographer, and speaker whose work champions the wild beauty and overlooked value of America’s public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). He is the author of The Enduring Wild, a book of essays and photographs exploring California’s BLM lands.

As founder of the Forgotten Lands Project, Josh uses immersive storytelling and striking visual narratives to spotlight the nation’s least protected and most misunderstood places. He gives keynote talks on public lands, place attachment, and conservation history, and leads field trips through the USAL Project to help others experience these landscapes firsthand.

Josh lives in Los Angeles with his wife and three children.

The Wild Idea is independently produced by Wild Idea Media. If you believe conversations like this matter, you can help us keep them going by subscribing, leaving a review, sharing the episode, or signing up for our newsletter at thewildidea.com. Together, we can protect what connects us.