Redford’s Life: An Inspiration for Land Protection and Stewardship

By Nicole Adimey | Atira Conservation Founder

Last week, we learned of the passing of Robert Redford — a legendary actor whose impact extended far beyond the screen.  While his cinematic accomplishments are undeniable, at Atira Conservation, we also mourn his death as the loss of a true champion of land protection and stewardship.

Redford had been a passionate and dedicated environmentalist since the mid-1970s, when he opposed the construction of a coal plant in his adopted home state of Utah and began advocating for the rights of Native Americans and environmental protections. He also lobbied for landmark legislation, including the Clean Air and Clean Water acts, and was a long-serving trustee for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Throughout his career, Redford engaged lawmakers, journalists, and communities on myriad issues — from climate change and land conservation to infrastructure development, sustainability and environmental policy. He spoke eloquently and knowledgeably in both international and domestic forums, including during congressional hearings. As chairman of the Institute for Resource Management, he helped organize a global warming summit that brought together scientists and lawmakers from around the world.

Redford founded two nonprofits: the Robert Redford Center to merge storytelling with action, and the Sundance Preserve to support the harmony between art, nature and community, and foster independent, innovative thought. In 1997, he and his family donated 856 acres in Provo Canyon (Redford Family Nature and Wildlife Preserve) to Utah Open Lands. They donated another 316 acres to the land trust in 2020 (Redford Family Elk Meadows Preserve). In 2012, California’s Pitzer College created the Robert Redford Conservancy for Southern California Sustainability, dedicated in his honor to expanding environmental education and promoting environmental justice.

He used his celebrity to raise awareness, committed himself to being a good land steward and pursued ways to reach people on environmental issues.

Today, his legacy endures through the landscapes he helped protect, the organizations he built and supported, and the countless individuals — including us — he inspired through his advocacy and storytelling. Visionaries like Robert Redford challenged us to look beyond ourselves to recognize the beauty and value of wild places and to protect them. It’s a challenge we gladly took on when we created Atira Conservation and we encourage you to look around your own community and protect lands that matter in your own backyards.

As Redford says in this video from The Redford Center: “There are no easy answers; no clear solutions. There’s only what each of us is willing to do.”