Edward Abbey`s works consist of both creative non-fiction and fiction. His major interest as a writer was the western wilderness, especially the experience of being alone in the desert. His descriptions of the desert are especially beautiful and love for the western wilderness is one of his major themes. Another of his major themes is how greed is destroying the western wilderness. He debunks the myths of the independent westerners, constantly returning to the fact that ranchers and miners and loggers in the west are highly subsidized by the US federal government. He regards the damming of the Colorado and formation of Lake Powell as a major tragedy and returns to that theme frequently.

Guns don't kill people; people kill people. Of course, people with guns kill more people. But that's only natural. It's hard. But it's fair.
Abbey's Road in In Defense of the Redneck (1979), p. 168.

We're all undesirable elements from somebody's point of view.
Abbey's Road (1979)

All living things on earth are kindred.
"Serpents of Paradise", p. 22

Growth for the sake of growth is a cancerous madness.
"Water", p. 114

We need wilderness whether or not we ever set foot in it. We need a refuge even though we may not ever need to go there.
"The Heart of Noon", p. 116

My job is to save the fucking wilderness. I don't know anything else worth saving.
George Hayduke, Monkeywrench Gang, p. 200