Grant arrived in southern Utah in 1973 and moved to Boulder in 1976. Before he and Sue formed ECO he worked in a variety of positions including stabilizing Anasazi ruins and mining reclamation. In the mid-1980s he and two others founded Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). His exploration of the Escalante, combined with extensive reading of archeology, geology and European American settlement of Utah, is rooted in a passion for this country.

Sue came to southern Utah in 1985 with a degree from Arizona State University in Outdoor Recreation. She has worked as a park ranger, is an organic farmer and has taught environmental programs to all age groups. Sue has worked as office manager since the inception of ECO and as a guide until the birth of their daughter, Claire, in 1996.