DeChristopher, who derailed an oil and gas lease auction — and earned the title "eco-terrorist" in some parts of Utah — by winning $1.8 million in leases he had no intention of paying for, called on an audience at Utah Valley University to use civil disobedience to protect the environment.

We need to start pushing a lot harder and taking a less compromising stand in defending our future. The movement needs to take a stronger stand, to push the boundaries. ... I did have the power to change. People were locked out of the process of how are we going to use our own public lands, the lands we all own. . . .

Our job as citizens is to stand up and make demands of our representatives and political leaders. The best way to do that, in my opinion, is with direct action.