Sayer was described in "The Times" newspaper in 1971 as "a militant conservationist, who is a full-time thorn in the sides of those authorities and others who want to flood, fence, dig up, knock down and otherwise damage the Dartmoor national park." Crispin Gill wrote about her in his introduction to "Dartmoor – A New Study" published in 1970 as having "roused the conscience of a number of people" and he described her as an indefatigable worker with an enormous knowledge; he also referred to Henry Slesser's description of her as "the shield of the moor".