In 1976 Bill Hedden completed his Harvard Ph.D. in neurobiology and, with wife Eleanor Bliss, built a home in Castle Valley. Hedden worked as a river guide and as a cement finisher during the construction of the Atlas Mining Company mill. Because of Hedden’s scientific expertise, he became a citizen member of a Governor-appointed task force to study nuclear waste disposal, a Grand County Commissioner, and former Executive Director of the Grand Canyon Trust. Hedden actively worked to expand Arches National Park boundaries, clean up emissions from a coal-fired power plant, and to remove radioactive waste from the Colorado River.