When the University students come to Castle Valley, Williams will take them to meet her neighbors. She knows a variety of people who, together, have raised $2 million to protect nearly 3,000 acres. Her neighbors are rock climbers and cattle ranchers, environmentalists and local politicians. "To me this is the greatest success story of how a community can be in conversation," she said.

It's easy to get overwhelmed thinking about the loss of species or global warming. If she thought she had to make a difference in the world, or even in this country, she would not be able to get out of bed in the morning, Williams said.

"But moving to Castle Valley has restored my faith in democracy," she said. "In the city it all seemed so big and abstract . . . however, when we live in community, in its smallest place . . . I find tremendous hope."

Not that what they accomplished was easy. It's scary and it takes faith to negotiate with people who see the world differently than you do, Williams said. She and the other people of Castle Valley had to find creative alternatives.

They had to keep asking each other, "What is the highest value of these lands?" They engaged in dialogue, dissent, civility and protest. And this kind of action is exactly what she urged in her commencement address at the University of Utah last spring.

In the latest edition of Orion magazine, Williams wrote about how hard it was for her to stand up in front of a conservative audience, one that included her own relatives, and encourage students to "Question. Stand. Speak. Act."

She told her audience, "Patriots act — they are not handed a piece of paper called by that same name and asked to comply." When her speech was over, she got equal numbers of jeers and cheers, she said.

She looked into the audience and saw Utah Sen. Bob Bennett, her former neighbor and LDS bishop, with his head bowed in disappointment. Later he wrote her a letter asking her what she was willing to die for. He invited her to go with him to visit Iraq.

Williams thought about his letter for a long time. When she answered, she listed all the points on which they do not agree and then wrote, "But I believe we can come closer to understanding . . . I would like to propose an exchange program between us. . . . "

So now she's in a dialogue with Sen. Bennett? Yes, she said, this is what she's talking about, dialogue between neighbors. "Really," you ask, "he's written back?" "No, I haven't heard back," she said, laughing.

But she thinks he will write again. She has hope as she watches his actions in Congress. She has hope as she waits and reflects.