The Value of "Nothing"
- Haley J. Clark
- May 23, 2022
- 3 min read
noth·ing
/ˈnəTHiNG/
adjective informal
having no prospect of progress; of no value.
I'm afraid that when most Americans look at our open public and private lands this word comes to mind. Granted, I have mentioned many times, "There is absolutely nothing out here!," going across the Red Desert but I am here to tell you that this narrative needs to change. I've found that a little perspective and knowledge can give us an opportunity to view the world around us differently.
When New Yorkers look at Central Park do they see open ground ripe for the residential taking or does it make the area more valuable because it gives open green space for exercise, connection and memories? I suppose that could be argued, but I would say the real estate market around the park would tell us that the view is worth a million bucks. Sometimes, literally and that means something.
In the past year, I've been following the housing cost debacle in Jackson and each article I read makes me even more perplexed than the last. Someone could write a book titled, "How Money Killed Jackson Hole," and real estate prices would top that list. While the views are amazing, I've lost my enthusiasm for the valley and am nostalgic for a time that I didn't get to experience. A time when Jackson was really something to see. You see, my Grandma was born in Jackson in 1918 when the area was still very rural and untouched...beautiful and perfect. Is it such a radical concept to leave land open? After seeing spaces like this, I believe it is.
So why does this bother me so much?
For some reason, this property above did it for me. Beautiful irrigated hay meadows that helped sustain a family legacy since 1947 and now, for a Jackson Hole price, it could be yours. Don't get me wrong, I am all for individuals doing what they need to do with their land and selling it if need be, but what about the value of keeping it as close to untouched as possible? The thought of 40-acre plots covering this land makes me sad because I know what will be lost. I also know that agriculture will more than likely no longer be a part of this land's legacy. Just another chapter turning with a little foreshadowing of what this area, and many like it, will become.
Dear reader, please understand that I'm not anti-development in any way, I just would like to open your eyes to understanding what the "nothing" of open land means. To some, it will mean habitat for wildlife, fish, and migratory birds, to others a place to sustain a healthy ecological system, to others a place to graze cattle and other livestock in the summer months, and then to others, it's a place with such pristine beauty that it transports you back in time. It can be many things to different people, but the value of nothing is in the eyes of the beholder.
As for me, I'll keep reaping the joy that "nothing" brings to me. I'll find solace in dew-covered meadows filled with life we have to sit quietly to see and the knowledge that we alone have the responsibility of taking care of the land. I hope you explore some new land where the term "nothing" comes to mind. You may just find a trove of history, people, and animals who can't live without it that way.
So here's to "nothing" that holds everything for us out here in rural America.
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