HOW WE USE THE WORD “CONSERVATION” MATTERS MORE THAN WE REALIZE.
There is, as yet, no sense of pride in the husbandry of wild plants and animals, no sense of shame in the proprietorship of a sick landscape. We tilt windmills in belief of conservation in convention halls and editorial offices, but on the back forty we disclaim even owning a lance. —Aldo Leopold
Conservation is quite the buzzword these days. The hashtag—#conservation—is trending nationwide. You see the term peppered throughout social media feeds in posts about protecting public lands. “Hunters are conservationists” is rhetoric heard anytime we discuss the need for hunter recruitment and funding.
I truly love to see how many people are carrying the flag for conservation and think we can all agree that protecting public lands, habitat, and wildlife is necessary. Good intentions notwithstanding, I wonder if the term is often misunderstood or used too flippantly—as it was during the time Aldo Leopold published A Sand County Almanac in 1949. His quote above says it all: We take no pride in conserving our habitat and wildlife and have no sense of shame when we fail to. We chase the imaginary goals of “conservation” in legislatures and media without doing anything real about it ourselves.
What does “conservation” really mean? You might be surprised, because the word and the way we use it matter to what happens—in terms of policy, funding, and real solutions—to the lands and the habitat that support the wildlife we pursue.
Basic classes in science or natural resources teach students about the three theories of land use: exploitation, preservation, and conservation. Let’s do a quick test to see whether you passed your class:
Read the rest of the story at https://coveyrisemagazine.com/conservation-fact-or-fairy-tale/
Story by Matt Soberg and originally published in Covey Rise magazine.
Matt Soberg 