Robert Redford remembered as climate activist, steward of American Southwest

The world is mourning the passing of Robert Redford on Tuesday, an actor known for his deep ties to the American Southwest and decades of work in the environmental movement. 

A representative for Redford confirmed in a statement to Fox News that the Sundance Film Festival founder died at his home in Utah on Tuesday. He was 89 years old. 

"Robert Redford passed away on September 16, 2025, at his home at Sundance in the mountains of Utah – the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved," his representative told Fox News Digital. "He will be missed greatly. The family requests privacy."

While Redford’s acting career began in New York on stage and television, Redford fell in love with the Southwest after filming "Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid." 
 

According to The Salt Lake Tribune, Redford purchased two acres in Provo Canyon, Utah, and built a home there for his family. The Beehive State was Redford’s oasis away from Hollywood. 

"Other people have analysis," Redford would say. "I have Utah." 

He would later purchase a nearby resort, becoming Sundance Mountain Resort in 1969.

Redford was an outspoken advocate for Utah public lands and a champion for environmental groups, including the National Wildlife Federation and Natural Resources Defense Council(NRDC).

"The environmental movement has lost a giant," NRDC CEO Manish Bapna said at Redford's passing. The NRDC office in Santa Monica, California, was named in Redford's honor in 2003.

"One of my colleagues happily remembered Redford joking that he would ‘take care of the compost’ in exchange for NRDC naming the building after him. Over 50 years, he did far more than that—he was our biggest champion and our guiding light," Bapna said. "Even as one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, he was a tireless and humble advocate—always approachable, engaged and willing to roll up his sleeves. He did so much more than sign his name on countless letters to our supporters and decision-makers, Redford understood the issues and got to work. And he did it because he genuinely cared."

Bapna said 50 years ago Redford recognized the importance of storytelling to push for "ambitious change," helping to "transform, broaden and grow the environmental movement."

Through the years, Redford advocated for landmark environmental fights, starting in the 1970s. He fought for the passage of the Alaska National Interest Conservation Act, eventually becoming the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  According to the NRDC, he took on the fight against a massive coal-fired power plant in southern Utah. This area would later become part of the Grand Staircase—Escalante.

"Robert Redford was a lifelong champion for wildlife conservation, a trailblazer on increasing awareness of climate impacts, and an unwavering advocate for conserving our beloved public lands," NWF CEO Collin O’Mara said in a statement to FOX Weather.

Redford continued to dedicate his work toward environmental challenges through what he did best: filmmaking. 

In 2005, Redford and his son James Redford established The Redford Center, a nonprofit dedicated to environmental filmmaking.

"We felt that the pervasive, apocalyptic climate story we were hearing was helping create urgency and awareness of the climate problem, but it was not moving enough people into action," Redford wrote about the nonprofit. 

In 2017, The Redford Center released the HBO documentary "Happening: A Clean Energy Revolution," directed by and starring James Redford. 

"It is our most ambitious project and is a direct response to the climate crisis – answering the questions: What can we do? Where is the hope?" Redford wrote. 

More recently, Redford fueled support for the Inflation Reduction Act, according to the NRDC, one of the biggest climate and clean energy laws in U.S. history.