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THE MEANING OF WILDERNESS
DISSERTATION
Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University
By
Anthony Paul Murphy
*******
The Ohio State University 1996
Dissertation Committee: Approved by R. Fortner N. Andrew B. Dervin Adviser J. Heimlich College of Education UMI Number: 9620050
UMI Microform 9620050 Copyright 1996, by UMI Company. All rights reserved.
This microform edition is {notected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code.
UMI 300 North Zed> Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 To my family, friends, and mentors who helped me in defining my meaning of wilderness; to the wilderness preservationists who went before me; and to the planet that sustains and influences me. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I express sincere appreciation to Dr. Rosanne W. Fortner for her guidance and insight through the research. Thanks go to the other members of my advisory committee, Drs. Neil J. Andrew, Brenda L. Dervin, and Joe E. Heimlich, for their suggestions and comments. The technical assistance and constructive criticisms of Dr. Eric J. Dolin and Jennifer R. Dolin is gratefully acknowledged. Gratitude is expressed to Julie Hunt, and the staff of the GLOBE Program for their support and encouragement throughout the process. A sincere thanks to Kate Kelsch, for your unshakable faith in me and your willingness to endure with me the vicissitudes of my research. I express deep gratitude to the participants in the study who gave so much of themselves in the interviews and made the research enjoyable and interesting. Finally, a word of thanks to all those people along the way, including my family, who expressed excitement in the research and shared with me their meaning of wilderness.
m VTTA
August 25, 1963 ...... Bom — Killamey, Co. Kerry, Ireland
1985 ...... B. Sc. (Ed.), Thomond College of Education, Limerick, Ireland
1985-1989 ...... Outdoor/Environmental Educator, Cappanalea Outdoor Education Centre, Co. Kerry, Ireland
1988 ...... Leader, British School Exploring Society Expedition to Northern India
1989 ...... M. Sc., Thomond College of Education, Limerick, Ireland. (Incorporated into University of Limerick in 1992.)
1991-1992 ...... Enviroiraiental communicator/ educator, Audubon Center of the NorthWoods, Minnesota.
1992-1994 ...... Graduate Associate, Ohio Sea Grant, The Ohio State University.
1995-1996 ...... Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellow at The GLOBE Program
1996-Present ...... Science and Environmental Education Specialist, The GLOBE Program
IV PUBLICATIONS
1995 ...... Landis, G.E., T. Murphy, T. Schretter, and D. Haury. An exploratory study of educators’ use of the Internet. Journal of Science Education and Technology. 3 (4’). 181-190.
1995 ...... Murphy, T. P. That’s Entertainment! ! — Or Is It? Science Activities. 32 (1), 20-23. Spring.
1993 Murphy, A. P. The Portrayal of the Environment and Development in Two Commercial Movies. Journal of Environmental Education. 2 5 (1). 30-36. FaU.
1993 Fortner, R.W., Mayer, V.J., and Mu^hy, T.P. ACES— Activities for the Changing Earth Svstem. Funded with a grant from the National Science Foundation. ISBN: 1-883756-00-6.
1987 Murphv. T. One Step Into the Outdoors. Published through Cappanalea Outdoor Education Centre, Killorglin, Ireland, with support from ^ Department of Education and County Kerry Vocational Educadonial Committee.
FIELDS OF STUDY
Major Field: Education TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...... üi
VITA ...... iv
LIST OF TABLES ...... vii
LIST OF FIGURES ...... x
CHAPTER PAGE
I. INTRODUCTION ...... 1
II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ...... 21
III. METHODOLOGY AND METHOD ...... 82
IV. RESULTS ...... 109
V. CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION ...... 310
APPENDICES
A. Sense-Making Instruments for Visitors and Non-Visitors to Wilderness ...... 359
B. Codes for Analyzing Data ...... 375
LIST OF REFERENCES ...... 381
vi LIST OF TABLES
TABLE PAGE
1. Definitions of the Aspects of an Individual’s Meanings for the Term Wilderness ...... 4
2. Assumptions on which Quantitative, Qualitative and Sense-Making Theories are based ...... 93
3. Sampling Frame for Interviews of Judgmental Sample ...... 105
4. Techniques for Establishing Trustworthiness Utilized in this Study .. 108
5. Characteristics of the Participants in the Undergraduate Visitors (Fish) Group and the Number of Wilderness Trips Experienced 114
6. Characteristics of the Rrst and Most Recent Wilderness Experiences for the Undergraduate Visitors (Fish) ...... 116
7. Media which made the Undergraduate Visitors (Fish) Most Concerned about Society’s View of Wilderness, and Media which had an Indirect Impact on the Participant’s Meaning of Wilderness. Events which had the Most Important Impact on the Meaning of Wilderness are also shown ...... 136
8. Methods Used by Undergraduate Visitors (Fish) to Demonstrate the Different Values Placed on Wilderness ...... 142
9. Areas Considered to be Wilderness which were Visited, and Specific Wilderness Areas Listed by the Undergraduate Visitors (Fish) ...... 151
vu 10. Characteristics of the Participants in the Graduate Visitor (Mammals) Group and the Number of Wilderness Trips Experienced ...... 160
11. Characteristics of the First and Most Recent Wilderness Experiences for the Graduate Visitors (Mammals) ...... 163
12. Media which made the Graduate Visitors (Mammals) Most Concerned about Society’s View of Wilderness, and Media which had an Indirect Impact on the Participant’s Meaning of Wilderness. Events which had the Most Important Impact on the Meaning of Wilderness are also shown ...... 182
13. Methods Used by Graduate Visitors (Mammals) to Demonstrate the Different Values Placed on Wilderness ...... 192
14. Areas Considered to be Wilderness which were Visited, and Specific WUdemess Areas Listed by the Graduate Visitors (Mammals) ...... 201
15. Characteristics of the Participants in the Undergraduate Non-Visitor (Birds) Group and Reasons for Not Visiting Wilderness ...... 211
16. Media which made the Undergraduate Non-Visitors (Birds) Most Concerned about Society’s View of Wilderness, and Media which had an Indirect Impact on the Participant’s Meaning of Wilderness. Events which had the Most Important Impact on the Meaning of Wilderness are also shown ...... 226
17. Methods Used by Undergraduate Non-Visitors (Birds) to Demonstrate the Different Values Placed on Wilderness ...... 238
18. Areas Considered for Possible Visits and to be Specific Wilderness Areas by the Undergraduate Non-Visitors (Birds) ...... 254
19. Characteristics of the Participants in the Graduate Non-Visitor (Trees) Group and Reasons for Not Visiting Wilderness ...... 263
20. Media which made the Graduate Non-Visitors (Trees) Most Concerned about Society’s View of Wilderness, and Media which had an Indirect Impact on the Participant’s Meaning of Wilderness. Events which had the Most Important Impact on the Meaning of Wilderness are also shown ...... 270
vm 21. Methods Used by Graduate Non-Visitors (Trees) to Demonstrate the Different Values Placed on Wilderness ...... 283
22. Areas Considered for Possible Visits and to be Specific Wilderness Areas by the Graduate Non-Visitors (Trees) ...... 296
23a. Summary of the characteristics of the Undergraduate Visitors (UGV) and Graduate Visitors (GV) ...... 307
23b. Summary of the Characteristics of the Undergraduate Non-Visitors (UGNV) and Graduate Non-Visitors (GNV) ...... 308
IX LIST OF HGURES
FIGURE PAGE
1. Western constructions of living nature ...... 66
2. Wilderness as Sacred Space ...... 73
3. The Transactional Approach ...... 76
4. The Sense-Making Metaphor ...... 91
5. The Sense-Making Triangle ...... 94
6. Natural Environment Spectrum which emerged from the data of the participants ...... 316
7. The Recreational Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) ...... 317
8. Wildness Environment Continuum (WEC), based on the requirements of a new ‘ecosystem management’ where humans are visualized as an integral part of the ecosystem, not only as managers, and where environments allow a reconnection to place and identity ...... 319
9. A combination of the WEC and ROS ...... 320
10. Axiomatic Structure of the Wilderness Ethic ...... 331
11. Fields of Wilderness Experience Model ...... 353 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
“Not everything that counts can be counted and not everything that can be counted counts" Reportedly posted on Albert Einstein’s Office Wall.
“To define wilderness, in other words, as wilderness defines itself, and in that way restore and perpetuate the biotic well-being of our homeland” (Daniel, 1994,106).
Statement of the Problem Wilderness, as a term, seems to conjure up a variety of images for many people. For some it may be a landscape of large open spaces with a backdrop of mountains showing very little, if any, human disturbance. For other people “wilderness provides quiet and solitude and is most frequently viewed as a green forest” (Heberlein, 1982, 175). It may be visualized as a seascape, the last earthbound wilderness known to humans. Other researchers define wilderness as a ‘state of mind’ (Nash, 1982) or ‘an island within’ (Nelson, 1989), while some write of the ‘wilderness of dreams’ (Bulkeley, 1994). Such definitions may have been influenced by a physical place that does not necessarily conform with the stereotypical, large scale image of wilderness, by an experience in a natural setting, by a media event, by a combination of all these occurrences, or by some other incident. Wilderness, the physical element, has always been an integral part of human existence. Indeed it was from such areas that the human species evolved, making the critical transition from an animal living in huge forested areas to the forest margins and finally to the open plains where civilization was to begin (Lemonick, 1994; Martin, 1992). Had the concept of wilderness existed as Homo sapiens was evolving during this primeval time, probably all the world’s landscapes would have been considered wilderness. An increasing human population coupled with the development of a system 1 of a^ri-culture began to alter the environment (wilderness areas) for food production (Oelschlaeger, 1991; Ponting, 1991). This process continued with the development of established societies, craft specialization, the appearance of cities, the ascent of omnipotent religious and political elites and became known as the Neolithic Revolution (Ponting, 1991). “Although the consequences of all these changes were clearly revolutionary...the timescale over which these changes took place was long, at least four or five thousand years” (ibid., 37). In addition to the physical characteristics attributed to wilderness (“beauty, wind, and desolation” (Heberlein, 1982, 177)), the term also evokes both positive and negative emotional words such as “freedom, darkness, peaceful, lonely, free, solitude, alone, happiness and loneliness” (ibid.). The ability of a wilderness setting to provoke positive feelings and emotions has resulted in its use for therapy and as a restorative experience (Greenway, 1993; Hammit, 1993; Hartig et al.. 1993; Hollenhorst et al.. 1993). Some researchers state that the 'wilderness within’ is threatened by the stresses of the post-modern society (Greenway, 1995; Smith, 1990). To regain this ‘wilderness within’ people need to travel to the physical wilderness and transcending onto a higher plain of existence leave behind the old concepts of Euclidian geometry (space) and Newtonian physics (time). An understanding is required “that there is a wilderness beyond...and there is a wilderness within” (Smith, 1990, 8-9), or in other words, what is outside of the body influences what is inside and vice versa. However, Sikorski (1993) seems to suggest that the location—a definite area of wilderness—may not be as important as the characteristics it possesses, a special place or ‘dwell-ing’ which reminds people of their role in nature and connection to the earth. Indeed, Sikorski (1993) contends that wilderness can be located in urban settings just as in vast rain forests, and in traveling to the wilderness people are on a voyage home because here “the things that are most ourselves, but that we have denied, repressed, (or) forgotten” (29) are recovered. The process is similar to dream interpretation, in which an otherness is encountered which “is not really so other because it is our own Being” (ibid.). Emotions evoked by the term wilderness may result from childhood memories and experiences, many of which occur in the formative years (Palmer, 1993; Roggenbuck et al.. 1990; Sebba, 1991; Tanner, 1980) and lead to a greater environmental sensitivity (Sia et al.. 1985/86). However, “the outdoor environments need not be wilderness, but (natural environments which) often seemed to produce feelings of awe and wonder” (Roggenbuck et al.. 1990, 120). Therefore, in a time when the available amount of wild space is continually diminishing, are large scale wilderness areas necessary to promote awareness of the environment and a person’s role in the ‘dwell-ing’ or should wilderness redefine itself—as intact, dynamic landscapes and ecosystems in the full display of their diversity? “To define wilderness, in other words, as wilderness defines itself, and in that way restore and perpetuate the biotic well-being of our homeland” (Daniel, 1994,106).i People often return to wilderness for the physical challenges, to reap the psychological benefits espoused by many eco-psychologists, and to reestablish their earthly connections, creating one of the biggest problems facing federally designated wilderness—people and people management. Yet while many of the research studies examine the users of wilderness and their management, few try to understand the individual and the meaning that person gives to wilderness. How does wilderness fit into her life? What does it mean to/for her? What is the perception of wilderness? In addition to the user, what of the non-user, that person that has never visited a wilderness area but has a concept of wilderness? How does this person view wilderness? How does it fit into his life-story? Does the latent value of wilderness outweigh any materialistic benefits of that area? Is merely knowing that such areas exist worth retaining them? Do people simply require the availability of wild country even if they just drive to its edge and look in? Is it, as Stegner states, “a means of reassuring ourselves of our sanity as creatures, a part of the geography of hope?” (Stegner, 1960, 197). The question remains: is this ‘geography of hope’ crucial to the continued existence of wilderness? The continued existence of places where we can escape to or from, wilderness and wild places, is dependent on a person’s interpretive landscape of wilderness. Wilderness areas and all natural environments will continue to come under mounting pressure as outdoor recreation numbers continue to grow, as the population visiting
1 Of course the big question here is how does wilderness define itself? If it is a social construct, then it is a result of our cultural back^ound and can only be defined by humans. However, I believe that what Daniel is referring to here are areas of nature that are unhampered by negative human interference, areas that possess integrity and a wholeness which many ecosystems have lost. Table 1 Definitions of the Aspects of an Individual’s Meanings for the Term Wilderness
Cognitive Emotional Spiritual refers to the ‘knowing’ that a denotes the ‘feelings’ evoked represents any person possesses concerning by wilderness. spiritual and/or wilderness. religious characteristics or beliefs attributed to wilderness.
Imaginatory ‘State of mind’ referent refers to the images conjured up by implies a state of mind or memory where wilderness. Also termed ‘imaging.’ individuals may be in any location and yet imagine themselves in a wilderness setting. This condition may be aided by sensory experiences, such as listening to music, reading, or a particular aroma.
areas increases, 2 and as the search for natural resources and commodities (minerals, timber, etc.) continues to expand. Indeed, this pressure was visible in some wilderness areas in the early seventies with the result that visitation permit programs had to be instituted.) Curtailment of access is continuing to encompass many national park areas, which may influence visitation patterns to wilderness areas.4 As a result of this, conflict between the various multiple uses perceived for wilderness areas by different sections of the community may multiply. The future of wilderness will hinge on how
2 In 1993, “the national park system’s 367 areas drew 273 million visitors, more than double the crowds of 30 years ago, and the throng is expected to double again in just a decade” (Seideman, 1994,26/27). However, visitation to designated wilderness areas is considerably smaller. “Wilderness recreation accounted for only 5.3 percent of all outdoor recreation within the national forests in 1985” (Maiming, 1989,27). 3 Rafting on the Colorado is but one example; between 1849-1940 a total of 73 people rafted the river, thirty years later this had increased to over 16,000 people. A permit system is now in operation and in some cases it could take up to nine years to receive a non-commercial permit (Nash, 1982). 4 In 1994, the Secretary of the Interior allowed plans which would curtail facilities and areas available to tourists in many of the more popular national parks. people interpret wilderness, whatever it is. Because of this the term needs to be explored phenomenologically.5 Table 1 represents the definitions used to describe the different aspects composing an individual’s meaning for a term, such as wilderness. In addition, meanings alter through time-space for an individual. These points recommend the utilization of a holistic approach to explore the meanings attributed to the term by an individual, realizing that the person operates not in a fragmented manner but as a unit.6
Research Questions This study examined the interpretive landscape of wilderness and how a person makes sense of or gives meaning to that concept within her view of reality. Specifically, the research questions addressed in this dissertation were: 1. How does an individual make sense of the term wilderness—and how does it fit into her view of reality? What patterns exist in and between people’s interpretive landscape of wilderness? 2. At what point in a person’s life-story does the initial experience/event occur laying the foundation for the interpretive landscape of wilderness? Is it an experience that involves media or a natural setting? What is the relationship between each experience/event/setting and the person’s interpretive landscape of wilderness? 3. In what way does the interpretive landscape alter over time and what events/ experiences are related to the refinement? Does this modify a person’s view of wilderness? 4. How do the meanings that people have for wilderness relate to the situation, the material conditions of their lives, and exposures?
5 Phenomenology is an attempt to understand the ways in which people give meaning to particular events and interactions in specific situations. In this case, the phenomenon is the term wilderness; the research represents an exploration of its meaning in relation to the participants’ world views. 6 This assumption and others concerning the methodology of Sense-Making will be elaborated in Chapter HI, Methodology and Method. Purpose of the Study While this researcher was perusing academic research and other writings on wilderness, it seemed strange that apart from the legal definition of wilderness, some discussion on the etymological and philosophical roots of the word, the term wilderness had rarely been explored. In fact, implicit in the work of researchers and writers is the assumption that wilderness consisted of a particular type of landscape and experience.
In the 1990s, the very existence of wilderness—the cradle of biodiversity and life itself—is endangered by pressures from various sectors of civilization. Threats emanate from industries that desire the natural resources; the overuse, misuse and abuse by recreational groups (hunters, mountain-bikers, horse-riders, etc.) and the general public; environmental organizations that offer wilderness tours for large numbers of people, and an increasing human population. In addition, some environmental organizations fight to conserve and preserve existing wilderness areas and promote the designation of new areas through environmental education, action and legislation. Such groups tend to base their description of wilderness on its legal definition, as outlined in the Wilderness Act, 1964.7 However, the legal definition of wilderness does not correspond with the definition held by many people (Hummel, 1982). In addition, archaeological evidence and ethnographical studies of the remaining contemporary indigenous hunter-gatherer societies support the belief that humans did not always possess such disregard for the wilderness which sustained them (Martin, 1992). Indeed, indigenous peoples generally do not possess a term equivalent to wilderness in their vocabulary and “do not consider the tropical forest environment to be wild; it is
7 Section 2(c) of the 1964 Wilderness Act defines wilderness as follows: “A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain. An area of wilderness is further defined to mean in this Act an area of undeveloped Federal land retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions and which (1) generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man’s work substantially unnoticeable; (2) has outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation; (3) has at least five thousand acres of land or is of sufficient size as to make practicable its preservation and use in an unimpaired condition; and (4) may also contain ecological, geological, or other feamres of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value” Wilderness Act, Public Law 88-577. their home” (Gomez-Pompa and Kaus, 1992, 273). Nash (1982) presents a similar view (p.xiv. Preface to Third Edition) as do other writers, such as Ponting (1991) and Martin (1992). While the body of scholarship and research performed on the users of wilderness areas 8 (Ewert and Hey wood, 1991; Heywood, 1990; Williams et al.. 1991), therapeutic value and restorative effects of wilderness (Bateman, 1990; Claggett, 1992; Kennedy and Minami, 1993; Klorer, 1992), wilderness experiences (Beck, 1987; Segal, 1988) and personal development through wilderness experiences (Easley et al. , 1990; Scherl, 1989; Shin, 1993) is abundant, 9 research on the interpretive landscape of wilderness is extremely limited in the literature. In addition, this research is often quantitative and reductionist (or specific) in nature with some use of narratives. Very little research has been conducted on the wilderness as a ‘state of mind’ and even then it concentrates on the preference and perception of natural places (Kaplan and Kaplan, 1989), not how people give meaning to the interpretive landscape of wilderness. Nash, in his doctoral work (1965) and later in his book, produced an in-depth and lengthy description of the historical evolution of the term, leading to the legal definition of wilderness. Few research studies relate to the holistic idea of wilderness, indeed studies of this nature are lacking in the literature. Wilderness, it seems, is generally thought of as a social setting; few people have solo experiences in such areas, and what most people seek in getting away from clammering crowds is ‘selective solitude’ rather than complete seclusion. Ability to control the number of people and who they interact with is an advantage of wilderness experiences. Wilderness users generally are protective of their own groups and prefer not to meet strangers on trails. Encountering other users in such a manner may generate a sense of crowding in places devoid of people. Most visitors are not ‘‘solitary nature lovers, but sociable middle-class citizens seeking companionship, intimacy, and the sharing of experiences” (Gallagher, 1993, 212). Because of this social aspect to the experience, planners think it is imprudent to assert that a park’s main attraction is its
8 Research includes characteristics of users, social grouping in wilderness situations, and interactions between individuals and groups in wilderness and national park environments. 9 Research has also been conducted on the physical characteristics of wilderness, monitoring the impact that users have on the facilities available and the natural environment 8
pristine condition. “Along with pristine areas, parks need beaches and educational programs. They must be user-friendly to survive, because people won’t support what they don’t understand’’ (ibid., 213). Kaplan and Kaplan (1989) also point to the restorative effects of short- and long-term natural experiences, but realize that a dialectic exists for humans between an instinctive pull toward and a fear of nature. lO Balancing this dualism varies across time, space and place. While realizing the positive rewards of such experiences, researchers also point to the stress resulting from exposure to wilderness areas or rugged natural environments, especially for individuals unaccustomed to this type of environment (Ewert, 1986; Kaplan and Kaplan, 1989). Roderick Nash has contributed significantly to environmental and wilderness ethics and wilderness philosophy over the last three decades; indeed to many people he is the 'wilderness guru.’ Probably his single largest contribution to wilderness philosophy and ethics has been his book, WUdemess and the American Mind. Nash (1982) contends that “one man’s wilderness may be another’s roadside picnic ground” (1) and that “wilderness, in short, is so heavily freighted with meaning of a personal, symbolic, and changing kind as to resist easy definition” (ibid.). > > He also states that with these dilemmas and as wilderness is often considered a state of mind, that accepting those places which people call wilderness, or allowing the word to define itself, is a temptation. The significance of this is not so much “what wilderness is but what men think it is. The obvious advantage is an accommodation to the subjective nature of the concept” (Nash, 1982,5-6; emphasis in original). This focuses on belief rather than the actuality or reality of wilderness, which may be useful to some academicians but “the limitation of this procedure...is the way it makes definition an individual matter and hence no definition at all” (ibid., 6). Nash (1982) then continues to illustrate how this quandary could be solved; he proposes “a spectrum of conditions or environments ranging from the purely wild on the one end to the purely civilized on the other’ (ibid.). Employed as a justification for
10 Even though Kaplan and Kaplan (1989) explored the perception of natural environments and examined wilderness experiences, their research rarely considered the meaning that people gave to wilderness in their world view. 11 All of this is quite true, as it is for so many terms in the English language. Witness the debates in the 1980s and 1990s on the terms ‘family,’ ‘sexual harassment,’ and the definition of ‘normal.’ 9
classifying environments, the spectrum places a priority on differences in purity rather than on absolutes. “Vast, largely unmodified regions would be close to absolute wilderness: the North American continent prior to settlement serves as an example” (ibid., 7). Clearly Nash (1982) was laying the foundation here for the subsequent discussion in his book, leading to the legal definition of wilderness, which uses similar terms to ‘vast’ and ‘unmodified.’ However, he seems to believe that there can only be one definition of wilderness and even though he writes of a spectrum with levels of ‘intensity rather than...absolutes,’ his definition of wilderness lies at one of the poles of the spectrum, therefore it is an absolute. On the other hand, Tuan (1974) states that wilderness cannot be “defined objectively: it is as much a state of mind as a description of nature” (112). According to this author, people who speak of preserving and protecting wilderness have already domesticated it, diminishing its power and awe. Wilderness has become the “symbol of the orderly processes of nature. As a state of the mind, true wilderness exists only in the great sprawling cities” (ibid.). In addition, Nash’s (1982) statement that the significance of wilderness is not so much what it is but what people think it is seems again to speak of a definitive, knowable, and absolute reality of wilderness. Nash (1982), while admitting that a spectrum of environments exists, still uses an empirical-analytical approach to defining
w ilderness. >2 Yet, the subjective nature of the concept, which focuses on belief rather than actuality (reality), is especially important. Was it not the subjective judgments of wilderness advocates such as Aldo Leopold and John Muir that separated them from conservationists, Gifford Pinchot and Eric Julber? This subjective interpretive landscape of wilderness led to the belief in its preservation, which promoted its actuality. Indeed, Nash (1982) illustrates the reshaping of a person’s interpretive landscape of wilderness with the example of Eric Julber, a wilderness ‘purist’ who following a trip to Switzerland, stated that the lack of access to American wilderness areas was elitist. His subjective view of the concept had been altered from a “purist
12 While this may be necessary for legal purposes, as shown in research people do not know the legal definition of wilderness and restricting the term to this positivistic definition may not be adequate for facing many of the issues related with and evoked by this term. 10
position” (ibid., 243) to that of “an access philosophy” (ibid). • 3 Clearly, the subjective interpretive landscape of wilderness is as important as any legal definition and it is no less important in the present or the future as it was in the past. This study examined the subjective landscape and searches for the meaning of the phenomenon of wilderness. But why should there be any concern over the way people give meaning to the interpretive landscape of wilderness? With the establishment of the National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) and a legal definition of wilderness in 1964, the agencies with jurisdiction over such areas were mandated by Congress to manage these protected lands. The step in formalizing wilderness had evolved over decades and its roots lay in the writings of the Romantic era and later in the works of Leopold, Muir and many others. Many people claim that wilderness helped mold the American consciousness and psyche. Indeed, this was one of the arguments for the preservation of wilderness (Stegner, 1960), yet the struggle was not easy. That same conflict continues in the 1990s, visible in the struggle to pass the California Desert Protection Act and the deregulation of lands through the Utah Wilderness Bill, is It is possible to locate the interpretations that people gave to wilderness in past writings and the influence this had on the genesis of a legal definition of the term (refer to Hendee et al.. 1990; Nash, 1965, and 1982; Oelschlaeger, 1991; Ponting, 1991). Currently, it is also possible to pinpoint a range of interpretations given to wilderness; such meanings are generally discovered in opinion pieces in magazines, newspapers, philosophical treatises, or from environmental groups. Such discourse is important to
13 The Swiss Alps accessible with tramways were used extensively by people, but according to Julber tiiese mountains were still beautiful and satisfying. He used the aerial tramways, “lunched at 10,000 feet on cheese fondue, white wine, and pastry” (Nash, 1982, 243) and believed “his thoughts were ‘just as beautiful’ as they had been on an isolated Sierra peak with a peanut-butter sandwich” (ibid.). 14 During 1994, the creation of a national park and designated wilderness areas in certain tracts of the Californian desert met with opposition from environmental groups and multiple-use advocates. In the California Desert Protection Act passed by Congress in October 1994, to appease various groups some federal land was designated as wilderness, thus permitting hunting in these regions, an activity prohibited in national parks. 15 Following the sweeping changes in the political representation of the 104th Congress, a move began to declassify much of the federal land in Utah from its wilderness status, allowing it to be returned to state control. Many people fear that such a move would open this land to development, destroying its wilderness character. 11
the interpretive landscape of wilderness at present, just as in the past, however, the academic community seems to have settled on the legal definition of wilderness as the single interpretation for research purposes. In more recent times, an attempt to deconstruct the term wilderness has added a new dimension to the debate. In addition, Kaplan and Kaplan state that the concept of ‘nature’ may need to be redefined in an increasingly urbanized population—“relatively small pieces of it (nature), even a single tree, can have great meaning for people” (as cited in Gallagher, 1993, 213). Gallagher (1993) believes that if people are to understand and support nature, then “our definition of ‘nature’ must include not just vast stretches but small bites of it, from the trees on our sidewalks to backyard gardens” (213). Kaplan and Kaplan (1989) refer to this as ‘nearby nature’—an area that is not only utilized as a social setting, but as “‘a place apart,’ a setting where tranquility is possible even in the midst of the urban bustle” (152). However, they caution against equating nature and wilderness, stating that it may be a serious fallacy to do so. Yet, definitions change over time and space, they are dynamic, just as our language and cultures are ever-changing. We do not live in a static world, even the protected wilderness ecosystems change in response to Nature’s (including human) influences. As we have become more widespread in our influence on the planet since the passage of the Wilderness Act, some would speculate that wilderness does not exist anymore. Many wilderness areas suffer the influence of overcrowding, the problems of acid rain, air pollution, noise pollution, and threats from the extractive industries. Ultimately what happens to wilderness will be influenced by the meaning people give to wilderness. Therefore, “the fate of wilderness will be determined not by Congress or the President or any government agency, but by the way we live” (Daniel, 1994,40). In 1994 the thirtieth anniversary of the Wilderness Act was celebrated by environmental groups, some legislators, the agencies in charge of legally defined wilderness areas, and certain members of the public. This legislation “sublimely contradicts every tradition of land use in our history” (Watkins, 1994, 36) and the “system stands as a landmark of collective self-restraint on the part of the American people and the human species” (Daniel, 1994,38). Now is the ideal time to reflect on the idea of wilderness. 16
16 Reflection on the wilderness philosophy of agencies and legislators would be appropriate at this time, but is beyond the scope of this present study. 12
People may put pressure on Congressional representatives to treat wilderness areas depending on their concept of it. Indeed, Congress people will produce legislation depending on their own concept of an area, interest groups, and that of their constituents. While performing research on the type of recreational activities conducted in these areas, people’s enjoyment of the wilderness experience, and the restorative impacts of wilderness areas is important, the fundamental question of a person’s interpretive landscape of wilderness and how she makes sense of this requires examination. This research arises out of a personal interest in wilderness and the absence, in the wilderness literature, of qualitative research on the term wilderness, and how it relates to a person’s life, world view and reality. My interest in wilderness stems from a number of encounters with nature and various wilderness areas. During my early childhood I visited, on many occasions, a national park area near my home in Ireland with members of my family and friends. Such experiences had a profound influence not only on my concept of wilderness but my relationship to the natural environment. Enthusiasm was sustained during my school years with some class trips to the same area. Also during these years (9-11), one elementary teacher organized biking trips to different places such as state operated commercial monoculture plantations. Such areas were very different in nature to the national park, they were smaller, but more densely packed with trees and consequently darker. Such encounters further shaped my idea of wilderness. During the elementary grades, I learned about many exotic areas through books, radio, and television. I became an avid viewer of nature programs, particularly those concerning the Aftican and Australian ‘bush’ and the North American wilderness. During my teenage years, a television program that had a major influence on my desire to visit wilderness was called Sierra. This short-lived drama program portrayed the daily lives of rangers in a national park located in the North American Sierras (Wilkinson, 1995). The images of immense snow-capped mountains, large numbers of wildlife, people involved in adventurous sports heightened my interest in visiting similar areas. During this time I also experienced camping for the first time.
One of the memories I have about family vacations is that we always visited natural sites, however, we did not camp in such areas. Even though my parents did not have any formal training in a natural science, they always encouraged us to look at the 13 rocks, trees and wildlife. They imparted to us any information they possessed— folklore, Gaelic idioms, natural cures—concerning the plants and animals in an area. During my undergraduate program, fieldtrips occurred to various habitats around Ireland. Also, around my early twenties, I watched the television mini-series production of James Mitchener’s Centennial. A number of episodes had a particular influence on my wilderness idea. The voyageur episodes created a desire in me to visit the canoeing areas of either the U.S. or Canada, while the episodes depicting the western U.S. created a similar desire to visit a desert setting. Following my graduation, I began working in a residential outdoor education center in south-western Ireland. This was my first encounter with many adventure activities, such as kayaking, canoeing, rockclimbing, rappeling, and orienteering. Also, taking groups out on the windswept, wet heathlands and mountains in the area gave me a new sense of the term wild and wilderness. I began to realize that weather conditions, in addition to the physical characteristics of the land, often had a profound influence on meanings associated with terms. This was highlighted by conversations with some of the students, many of whom had never been outside of a human constructed environment. They considered this area to be ‘wild;’ for them it represented wilderness. In 1986,1 decided it was time to visit the U.S. to experience the country and wilderness areas. During the trip, I did experience canoeing in northern Minnesota, not in a wilderness, but in an area which came close to my concept of wilderness. I also visited New Mexico and drove to the top of Sandia Peak outside of Albuquerque. While both of these excursions were short term visits, they added an extra dimension to wilderness for me. One important addition was the concept of space and the difference between the two wilderness areas—one contained many lakes and trees, the other possessed wide open space with few trees. Following my return to Ireland, I knew I had to experience more wilderness areas. Two years later, I was selected as a leader for a self-development/scientific expedition with the British Schools Exploring Society. The group consisting of over 100 individuals traveled to northern India for six weeks. Dividing into smaller parties allowed us to become more intimate with the environment. Two types of environment were visited on the trip, an alpine valley and high altitude desert. This trip had major personal significance and further enhanced my wilderness concept, particularly in relation to wilderness views in other countries. 14
On my return to Ireland, I decided that I wanted to work in an area that would correspond with my idea of wilderness and attempted to join the Yosemite Institute in California. However, this prospect did not materialize. Following an unsuccessful effort to establish a trekking company near Killamey National Park, I received an internship with a residential nature center in northern Minnesota. Over the 18 months that I worked there, my concept of wilderness underwent radical changes. Leading groups in the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area and the Badlands/Black Hills of South Dakota had a particularly significant impact on me and my wilderness concept. My idea of wilderness has changed substantially since my early childhood years, some similarities still present. In addition, my graduate program has included courses on federal and state wilderness policy and management which has also contributed to this altered image of wilderness. In this society, information transmission is mainly dependent on language but increasingly on image. “Humankind is language...conventional language enframes the human project” (Oelschlaeger, 1991, 57). Language is inexorably coupled with the evolution of human culture and history. As society evolved, culture and language also changed. Indeed, “civilization created wilderness” (Nash, 1982, xiii). Wilderness then is a social construct—“wilderness is a cultural construct rather than an intrinsic biophysical reality” (Stankey, 1989,10). During the evolution of the human species in nature various significant events occurred which would become important parts of ‘human nature.’ Omstein and Ehlrich (1989) state that “our ‘mental structure’ evolved in large part to deal with... (the)...environmental opportunities and dangers” that faced our ancestors (29). As an integral part of this evolution, “selectivity of human perceptions” (ibid.) developed, allowing humans to concentrate on certain information deemed important to survival. The natural environment which once sustained people through hunter-gatherer collectives had to be perceived differently as the population increased. A new system of food production evolved, one which called for the direct harnessing and alteration of environments. Eventually, the dialectic of civilization and its antipode wilderness would evolve. Wilderness areas result in part from this dualism. Using the work of Heidegger, Sikorski (1993) elaborates on the idea of “Enframing (Heidegger’s name for modernity)” (26) and its influence on the perception of nature. The dominant Western 15 scientific paradigm with its associated views of knowledge has created a separateness between humans and nature. Yet, Sikorski (1993) believes that the wilderness of ‘Being’ is not the antipode of civilization, but the place where people find a reconnection with the web of life which humans have attempted to elude. “These perceptions are rooted in social attitudes and beliefs formed and evolved over many generations” (Stankey, 1989, 10) and may have become so deeply ingrained in human culture that they have become part of ‘human nature’ or our world v ie w . 17 Therefore, to understand the present meanings and values identified with wilderness, it is necessary to understand the cultural context within which the concept originally was situated and is still imbedded. This study proposed to perform the task of understanding the concept of wilderness through an examination of its historical development and a phenomenological analysis.
A Phenomenological Examination of Wilderness Wilderness then is a term which does conjure many images and emotions for people, in other words, it means a variety of things to different people. How can these meanings be explored? One way of exploring the meaning that people impute into terms is through a phenomenological study. As a result of this philosophical stance, a number of presuppositions are inherent in the dissertation. The first concerns beliefs regarding knowledge and reality—which
“we inherited from the framework of positivistic physical sciences. The core value we inherited is the belief that information describes a reality that can, given proper controls, be knowable in an unbiased way. The production of unbiased information is a goal of science. Since information is assumed to describe a knowable reality, then each bit of information has some necessary isomorphic relationship with that reality. Information can be seen as cumulative” (Dervin, 1983b, 160).
17 World view is the particular paradigm that people use when viewing their world. “The central concept of any world view involves explanation of the perceived relationship between culture and nature,” (LaFreniere, 1985, 308) or, in other words, between humans and the environment. A world view can be visualized as a dynamic construct that has social, cultural, historical, and personal dimensions, which changes over time. Therefore, it is “more than just opinions and attitudes: it is the interpretive structure...(people) have acquired to make sense of their...experiences” (Evert-Jan Wals, 1991, 19). 16
Science has sought a set of universals that aid in the prediction and control of nature, which includes humans. Segregating the knower from the known, creating a “discursive archy-itecture [sic]” (Sikorski, 1993, 28) that is based on denial, isolation, marginalization and control, and searching for ubiquitous underpinnings for action has caused the modem critique to detach human existence from itself and the rest of the earth. This has placed “everything under the governance of a politics of cold distance—of rules, systems, laws, principles. Things have to be the same for everyone, everywhere” (ibid.) However, things are not exactly the ‘same for everyone, everywhere’ as reductionist science would have us believe. We know this because of the different perspectives individuals and groups have on issues, perspectives which change over time. More important than predicting and controlling humans is to understand the meaning they give to these issues or phenomena. Herein lies the secret—instead of defining information and cognition as something absolute, it should be viewed as
“nothing more than the sense made by someone earlier that was shared and found useful. The important thing about knowledge or any information that has not been made our own is that it fits another time and place. If it is to fit our time and place, it must be treated like clay The understanding created for one time and place doesn’t transplant willy-nilly to another” (Dervin, 1983b, 170-171, emphasis added).
More important to this concept is that individuals perform a similar process in creating their own reality, in molding this clay. Therefore, patterns exist in this process. Ergo, a new focus on ‘knowing’ is required. Dervin calls for a ‘re-cognating’ of and re-focus on ‘knowing’ as beyond mere cognition (1983a; 1983b; 1993). A summary of Sense-Making, the methodology selected for this research, as developed by Dervin (1983a), appears in Chapter 3. Pines (1985) states “meanings do not reside in the world, only potential meanings do!” (102). However, Dervin (1983a; 1983b; 1993) transcends these other researchers in creating a theoretic and methodology that allows the exploration of the construction of meaning. “In the most general sense, sense-making...is defined as behavior, both internal and external, which allows the individual to construct and design his/her movement through time-space” (Dervin, 1983a, 3). In addition, “reality is neither complete nor constant but rather filled with fundamental and pervasive discontinuities or gaps” (ibid., 4); 17
information is visualized not as a “thing that exists independent of and external to human beings but rather is a product of human observing” (ibid.). It is part of the human condition to make sense of the world, to give meanings to objects, experiences, and thoughts across time and space. The process by which a person gives meaning to a term is labeled Meaning- Making. Meaning-making, as with Sense-Making, goes beyond the traditional definition of cognition, encompassing all aspects of an individual’s meaning for a term—including cognitive, emotional, spiritual, imaginatory, and sensory—and how that meaning relates to her world view and ‘lifestory.’ There are, of course, myriad meanings for the word ‘meaning.’ It can be interpreted from the most narrow dictionary definitions of “purport, import...or significance” (Neufeldt, 1989,389) to the broadest, i.e. sense-making or the sense that people make of the world. I position myself toward the latter. This implies imputing into meaning-making more than mere cognition, a larger theory of the subject, that accepts incompleteness as well as completeness, that accepts cognition as well as emotion, physical knowings, etc. Suffice it to say, at this point, that relatively little research has been directed toward the manner in which people make sense of their environment through their mundane relationships with(in) the “lifeworld,'* the kind of world they create for themselves, (and) the extent to which this world is shared with others” (Evert-Jan Wals, 1991, 4-5). In addition, what meaning is assigned to concepts important to environmental education such as wilderness and environmental issues. The second assumption is that as a qualitative approach is used to explore the term, a definition of wilderness is not imposed on the participants. The exploration of the term wilderness is conducted through phenomenological inquiry, based on the interpretive science tradition which through the verbalized reflections (and in some cases, the manifested actions) of the participants attempts to comprehend their view of the world. Such a task is completed without imposing the researcher’s meanings, theories, views, or ideas of the phenomenon under consideration on the participants.
18 Lifeworld originates with the German word ‘Lebenswelt’ and describes a person’s individual and socially constructed reality. It is a personal orientation towards the world which allows us to decide how we give meaning to situations, the way we look at and perceive things, “what we believe to be true, valuable and real. In short; the kind of world we create for ourselves” (Evert-Jan Wals, 1991,5). 18
While extensive studies have been conducted on wilderness users, wilderness experience, even word association studies on wilderness, the term itself has not been explored and certainly not in a qualitative manner. Clearly, an exploration of the meaning given to any term requires an approach which accounts for the complexity of the human being and her constructed reality and ‘life story’ >9 (Brower and Nurius, 1993). Coming to know and understand a person’s reality, or ‘lifeworld,’ the daily experiences and challenges of that reality, is possible through phenomenology and language. Therefore, I am exploring an actor-oriented interpretive meaning-making study of wilderness. Language, the system that has developed in and enframes human culture, allows the exploration of our meanings, our realities of the world, our ‘lifestories.’ Tobach (1987) defines language as a “socialized means of communication of thinking, using arbitrarily socialized rules of symbolism, referential systems, and expressive of spatial- temporal relationships among individuals, categories and events’’ (258). Efran et al.. (1990) state that languaging dictates a close communal interaction that allows the development of intricate systems of living. Yet, language has been systematically used to define the human project and nature, aspects of which are divided into portions such as “ego, self, impulses...that can presumably control the whole... However, a system operates as a unity—component parts are not hierarchically arranged’’ (50). Reality, then, does not occur “‘behind the back’ of language, it happens rather behind the backs of those who live in the subjective opinion that they have understood ‘the world”’ (Gadamer, 1986,292). Or as Gadamer assumes “reality happens precisely within language” (ibid., emphasis in original). This study proposed to explore the term wilderness as defined by a number of respondents through their language and the manner in which an individual gives meaning to the term. In addition, the experiences, events, and/or people that influenced the respondent’s meaning given to this term are highlighted. As this is an exploratory
19 Brower and Nurius (1993) state that “it is evolutionarily adaptive for us to make sense of our world” (34). It permits people to believe that they wield some control and predictability in their lives, allowing them to generate a rational life story from events in their lives, and it pacifies curiosity about how the world works. The ability to create coherent life stories, making sense of the events in daily life is a significant characteristic of the human project. Such life stories accommodate the fundamental concepts used “to understand the world and ourselves, and the rules that we use to figure out how to behave when we enter various situations” (ibid.). 19 study on the term wilderness and the influences on its meaning-making, the respondents were purposefully selected. Both groups selected for the study stated that they possessed an interpretive landscape of wilderness (i.e. had given meaning to the term), however one group had visited that landscape/place/area which they considered to be wilderness, while the remaining respondents had never visited that landscape/place/area. The research is based on the belief that there will be variability across time and person, but that variability can be patterned if one examines situation predictions. The third presupposition concerns the Sense-Making methodology utilized in the research. It is assumed that this methodology will be effective in the exploration of and reflection on a person’s interpretive landscape of wilderness and the meanings associated with the term. Respondents’ narratives are analyzed through the process of text analysis, which “consists of an orderly search for internal relations; the meaning of phenomena may become apparent if we look at their context and history” (Terwee, 1990,3). This dissertation is based on the assumption that the process of text analysis is as valid an analysis technique as an empirical approach. Adopting this technique and position, allows the researcher to investigate any relations between the dialectic of the physical landscape of wilderness and the interpretive landscape of wilderness.
Dissertation Overview The remainder of the dissertation is diviaeo into four chapters as follows: • Chapter 2 examines the historical development of the concept of wilderness. In addition, some research studies are highlighted and new ideas on the necessity of reconnecting with Nature through wilderness are investigated. • Chapter 3 focuses on the methodology and methods used in this study. I establish the assumptions underlying the methodology of Sense-Making and present an exegesis of this central construct applied to the problem, the term wilderness. • Chapter 4 contains the foundational data of the research. It represents the perspectives of twenty respondents whom I interviewed concerning the meaning attributed to wilderness. In addition, I refer to the outline of my own position and ‘lifestory’ in relation to wilderness (stated in Chapter 1) as part of this chapter. This information is essential to the reader as it undoubtedly has a bearing on credibility of the study. As Evert-Jan Wals (1991) states “human 2 0 science can not exclude the knowledge of the inquirer from an understanding of how knowledge is generated” (19). The researcher also has “a consciousness, world view and language that are a product of the history of ideas, social and cultural development and my individual encounters with the world” (ibid.). Chapter 5 entails an interpretation of the data and reflects on the term wilderness. Differences between individuals and the two groups of respondents are analyzed, exploring how their ‘life stories’ influence the meaning attributed to wilderness. Conclusions based on the data, and recommendations for future research are also presented. CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
“Nature itself is a dynamic mental construction that is the result o f our own interactions with a changing world. One could even say that even though we tend to associate nature with physical surroundings, the concept itself is part of our social construction of reality. Phenomenologists in the social sciences are interested in the lifeworld which is made up o f people's inter-subjective experiences. Through our meaningful personal, social and cultural interactions with the world we create our own socially constructed realities” (Spiegelberg, 1972,104-105).
“The singing wilderness has to do with the calling of the loons, northern lights, and the great silences o f a land lying northwest o f Lake Superior. It is concerned with simple Joys, the timelessness and perspective found in a way o f life that is close to the past. I have heard the singing in many places, but I seem to hear it best in the wilderness lake country o f the Quetico-Superior...the music can even be heard in the soft guttering o f an open fire or in the beat of rain on a tent” (Olson, 1956, 5-6).
The review of the history and development of wilderness is based on literature subsequent to Nash’s Wilderness and the American Mind, originally published in 1967. While Nash’s book is an excellent reference on the topic at hand, additional research has shed some new light on many of the issues discussed in his book. This review represents Nash’s insights on the topic combined with the innovative ideas which have surfaced in more recent years and their impact on the meaning of wilderness. The chapter is divided into a number of sections which deal with (1) the progression of civilization and wilderness over different time periods; (2) a discussion of wilderness writers; (3) the evolution of the 1964 Wilderness Act; and (4) recent wilderness research.
21 2 2
A Chronological Description of the History and Evolution of Wilderness Wilderness is a cultural construct; indeed without civilization wilderness would not exist. According to Nash (1982) between these two conditions, civilization and wilderness, a spectrum of environments exists ranging from urban parks and gardens, to national parks. However, this term has had a significant history and evolution and has influenced the way in which people view wild places and the environment in general. To trace this evolution, the past and present requires investigation through a ‘lens of history,’ a return to the prehistoric time of our human ancestors to examine, through archaeological perspectives and information, their perceived landscape of wilderness. In addition, the rise of consciousness in human development was important to the genesis of the nature/human dualism. However, before that, the possible evolution of the word itself needs to be examined.
Wilderness: the word For the last few decades, researchers have explored the origins of the word wilderness. Many tend to agree with Roderick Nash’s explanation in his book. Wilderness and the American Mind, although more recent research has pointed to other interpretations. Nash (1982) basically states that “etymologically, the term means ‘wild- deor-ness,’ the place of wild beasts,” basing this definition on the three segments of the word (2). The adjective ‘wild’ meaning disordered or confused is derived from will or willed, denoting “willful or uncontrollable” (ibid.). ‘Deor’ in Old English means animal or deer and “was prefixed with wild to denote creatures not under the control of man’ (ibid., 1). Nash believes that ‘ness’ suggests a quality “that produces a certain mood or feeling in a given individual and, as a consequence, may be assigned by that person to a specific place” (ibid.). However, Oelschlaeger (1991) points out that Indo-European etymologies can be deceptive and that words with similar meanings to wilderness “were in use long before the Old English wild-deor-ness" (356). He cites the word midbar, originating in the Semitic language, which is used constantly in the Bible and translates “in virtually all connotations as our own wilderness” (ibid.). Vest (1985) also takes issue with Nash’s interpretation stating that he “fails to deal adequately with the ‘ness’ suffix” (324). Examining both Scottish and Viking influence on the English language. Vest believes that wilderness means ‘self-willed land’ or ‘self-willed place’ stressing its own intrinsic resolve. Therefore, in wilderness. 23 there is “‘will-of-the-land;’ and in wildeor, there is ‘will of the animal.’ A wild animal is ‘self-willed’...wildland is ‘self-willed land’” (ibid.). Vest concludes that as the word has its roots in the ‘‘ancient Celtic notion of will” the primal peoples of northern Europe created a word which revealed ‘‘their ‘will-of-the-land’ conception—wilderness” (ibid.) —demonstrating a recognition of land and its intrinsic value.
The Rise of Human Consciousness and the Nature-Human Dualism Human history has been deeply affected by nature; at present human history is profoundly affecting nature, the consequences of which are unclear. An increasing human population and expanding consumption of natural resources could threaten human existence. Human food production now dominates the planet’s ecosystems. However, up until the last few thousand years of the two million years of human existence, we had obtained our subsistence by a combination of gathering foodstuffs and hunting animals until the development of agriculture about 10,000 years ago (Pouting, 1991). Consequently, people have become separated from intimate contact with nature with possible dire consequences for human culture and the diversity of life on the planet.
The Paleolithic Lifestvle Recent revolutions in archaeological and ethnographical thinking and techniques have altered the previous image of the cynegetic (hunting-foraging) lifestyle. Pouting (1991) points out that, as opposed to previous beliefs, hunters and gatherers did not live under continual conditions of famine. Indeed, available foods provided them with a nutritionally adequate diet. Securing food from the wide variety of convenient sources and other tasks within the daily routine would have demanded a small proportion of time, allowing free time for ceremonial activities and leisure. In addition, because of the nomadic lifestyle, accumulated goods would have become a hindeiance to the people. Coupled with this mobility were four important factors which distinguished humans from all other primates. These were (1) an increase in brain size, (2) the ability to stand upright, (3) the development and use of speech (language), and (4) adoption of technology to conquer obstacles imposed by the natural environment (Pouting, 1991). This allowed the early humans to spread to virtually all environments around the globe. 24
Because the cynegetic lifestyle permitted such a large amount of free time, it is probable that contemplation occurred on the role of humans in the environment. The rise of consciousness was important to the genesis of the nature/human dualism and this separation became progressively stronger as human culture evolved. Ceremonies and mythology are suspected to have played a crucial role in the life of the Paleolithic mind. Perceived through the ‘lens of history’ modem people viewed Paleolithic culture (and many contemporary indigenous peoples) as primitive because the people believed in myth and practiced magic. On the other hand, modem people are considered rational and consequently superior, as they have “achieved a factual and lawful scientific understanding of the world, dominated nature through technology, and abandoned mythological belief and magical practice” (Oelschlaeger, 1991, 9). However, post- historic primitivism 1 contests the idea that “belief in myth is proof of irrationality, subjectivity, and even derangement....Modemism itself...is a fictive mythicity and, like all myth, is tied with language. Our modem myths live on in our world: in the way we speak of the world, calling into being those meanings that define our existence” (ibid., 10). In the prehistoric time period, myth and mythology were important in the transmission of cultural ideas and beliefs. Myths helped people to make sense of certain aspects of their life which they could not explain, creating understanding of what would otherwise remain unfathomable. Joseph Campbell, one of the most important and world renowned mythographers, has illuminated links between different mythologies of various cultures. Campbell (1949) stated that myth was the mysterious entrance through which the infinite forces of the cosmos flowed into human culture. Arts, philosophies, religions, “the social forms of primitive and historic man, prime discoveries in science and technology, the very dreams that blister sleep” (Campbell, 1949,3) bubble up from the elemental, mystic circle of myth. Of course, myths are without exception revealed in language, initiated in an effort of extreme creativity in an attempt to explain what was missing: “an account of the origin, of the human place in the world” (Oelschlaeger, 1991, 10). Since myth is
1 Shepard (1992) defines post-historic primitivism as a “reciprocity with origins, a recovery misconstrued as inaccessible by the ideology of History” (88) rather than a deranged, primitive way of life. For a more detailed account of this view, refer to Shepard (1992) and Oelschlaeger (1991). 25 language, its meaning is incessantly open and ubiquitous “only because the absence of a final meaning is recognized...for language is nothing if it is not a system of open meaning” (Gould, 1981, 6). Yet, in the ensuing ‘civilized’ time periods, science became one of the dominant myths, and explained the world in a supposedly ‘rational, objective’ way. But science has created its own myths, such as the ‘techno-fix;’ an extreme belief in the ability of science through technology to save humans from all of the ecological problems and issues facing us. Contemporary mythographers (social scientists) are frowned upon by many modernists, yet their research is extremely important in examining both the past and modem context of linguistic terms. The hermeneutic instruments of the social scientist dissect thoroughly what the modem mind believes in: “the reality of what is paradoxically only a world-in-force: a socially constructed reality enmeshed in linguisticality and historicity” (Oelschlaeger, 1991,10- 11). Supporting anthropological and mythological research justifies the claim that the Paleolithic mind did not possess a mental landscape of wildemess, as presently conceived. Indeed, it is probable that such people considered themselves as one of the elements of wild nature surrounding them—plants, animals—rather than existing as a cultural community. According to Oelschlaeger, (1991), once Paleolithic people became aware of themselves as a society, they instantly separated from nature. However, such an alienating wedge from nature can be impeded in archaic societies by “projecting back all their stmctures and folkways to natural sources and analogies” (ibid.). Therefore, while the Paleolithic mind did not differentiate the human project from the natural world, it did speculate on the mystery of human consciousness and “created an elaborate hunter mythology to account for reality” (ibid.). Being lost in the wildemess was incomprehensible to a people who were at home in the natural environment To be lost in the wildemess would mean that this area would have to exist; this statement “necessitates a geographical referent conceptualized as home as distinct from all other places” (ibid., 14), to the Paleolithic mind such an area did not exist. This does not mean that wildemess and wild places did not exist, indeed the majority of the natural environment at this stage of human history would have been untouched by people. Perhaps, it could even be defined in the absolute reality of Nash’s (1982) denotation or in the legal definition of wildemess. 26
However it goes beyond the legal definition of wildemess, where ‘man himself is a visitor,’ because humans lived in harmony with nature; cynegetic cultures called this environment home, they were not visitors. ^''Harmony with rather than exploitation of the natural world was a guiding principle for the Paleolithic mind and remains a cardinal commitment among modem aborigines” (Oelschlaeger, 1991,17; emphasis in original). Ceremonies were designed to preserve the cosmic order essential to such a belief system. For instance, eating flesh of another animal was difficult to justify if one conceived of all life possessing a common ancestry. This probably created some cognitive dissonance which was surmounted through rituals regulating the preparation and elimination of the animal’s remains. These rituals concemed with the mystery of the circle of life ensures that the animal’s ‘‘spirit would retum in the flesh since it had been treated reverently by those who killed and ate it” (ibid.). However, Ponting (1991) states that the harmony between the Paleolithic mind and the environment may not be as self-evident as Oelschlaeger perceives. Hunters and gatherers did modify their environment considerably, altering the growing conditions of favored wild crops over less beneficial ones. However, the largest impact of the cynegetic lifestyle was hunting of large animals, resulting in extinction for many species. “In Australia, over the last 100,000 years, 86 per cent of the large animals have become extinct...The most likely explanation is hunting by Aboriginal groups in the last 40,000 years” (Ponting, 1991, 35).2 While it seems that the Paleolithic population was small enough in number not to cause severe environmental damage, except in relation to local extinctions, they did seem to possess a high regard for nature. Their reverence for nature was celebrated in mythology, ceremony, and artifice. Martin (1992) asserts that the artifice, the animalized creations, has been neglected in its importance to the cynegetic cultures. He believes that such creations are not lifeless, not merely a symbol, but that they represented to their creator the power, the spirit, and life of their corpulent analogue. Imaging a creature in artifice, humans were able to associate or connect with the creature and the substance. This, according to Martin (1992), was the genuine strength and
2 While there are indications that some groups attempted to prevent exploitation, more evidence suggests that groups overhunted and caused several extinctions. Perhaps as a result of this, the conservation ethic expounded by many environmentalists of indigenous peoples developed from the realization of the relationship between exploitation and damage to nature. 27 magnificence, and most intense meaning of all human artifice. “Artifice enables the craftsman to flow into another shape, another place of being, with which the person merges” (ibid., 11). However, the reverence for nature and impact of humans on their environment would change as the development of civilization proceeded. Apart from the factors cited earlier by Ponting (1991) that distinguish humans from other primates, three other major elements were to profoundly alter the human condition. Global climate changes altered ecosystems, causing the extinction of some large mammals and expanding the amount of land available as a resource for food and space. Population increases altered the requirement of food; before the development of agriculture, approximately 10,000 years ago, the world human population was four million. By the year 5,000 EC, it had increased by another million. This was a turning point in cultural development, as settled societies evolved and human population began to double every “millennium to reach 50 million by ICX) EC and grew to 100 million within the next 500 years and to 200 million by 200 AD” (Ponting, 1991,37).3 Human nature and serendipity would also play a crucial role in the advancement of civilization. Archaeological evidence seems to suggest that an alteration occurred in the views of human ancestors between the Paleolithic and Neolithic time periods.^ “The combined phenomena of the transition to agriculture, the growth of settled societies, the emergence of cities and craft specialization and the rise of powerful religious and
3 The growth in human population has continued, though not at a consistent level and often interrupted “by the consequences of famine and disease, so that agriculture now supports a world population of just over five billion” (Ponting, 1991, 37). 4 Some researchers believe that the rise of consciousness is associated with the development of the brain—a biological theory of consciousness. Curtis Smith (1985) suggests that a neural capacity for language had to develop before consciousness could evolve. He states that Cro-Magnon people were the first to develop this capability, therefore the extinction of Homo neanderthalensis was inevitable. Julian Jaynes (1976) argues that prehistoric people relied on visions and voices to help in decisions, activities associated with the right cerebral hemisphere. Agricultural peoples tended to rely on logic and reason for their decisions, activities located in the left cerebral hemisphere. Both of these theories suggest a genetic origin for the development of consciousness. Perhaps once we began on this developmental path, that of consciousness and technological innovations, it was an evolution that could not be halted, attaining our present level of technological sophistication. 28 political elites, are referred to as the ‘Neolithic Revolution’” (ibid.). This was, in reality, more of a transition than a revolution which took place over thousands of years and was not (as evidence thus far suggests) embarked upon in a deliberate or conscious way. Originally, cynegetic cultures and agn-cultures co-existed. However, increasing populations and the number of settled societies required more food, and this seems to have been the main motivation in the substitution of an agricultural mode of food production for hunting-gathering.5 Eckbo concluded that “the well-shaped stone axe was the first avant-garde 6 product, the well controlled pasture-creating fire the second” (Eckbo, 1991,10). These two advances in technology would profoundly affect human existence. This period is one of the major turning points in human history, a time when humans would begin to alter the natural environment in major ways. The only alternative was starvation.
The Neolithic Lifestvle The Near East—the Mediterranean region—was where the first major technological advance began to alter the environment. Here, humans created an engine of extensive environmental deterioration; a hydrologie culture which modified the environment and watersheds, beginning “a process of ecological degradation that undercut the natural foundations of culture” (Oelschlaeger, 1991, 32). A new lifestyle had taken root. Agriculture was not the only force in the equation, for this is not a simple equation, but one that involves many factors. Even though both cynegetic and agri cultures coexisted, perspectives emerged from the Near East that were to have a profound influence on the attitudes towards wild nature and humans role in it. It seems
5 According to Ponting (1991), agriculture is not an easier alternative to hunting and gathering. Its process is far more intense and time-consuming, requiring more effort in clearing land for sowing, tending and harvesting crops, and caring for domesticated animals. More nutritious food is not necessarily produced, and the guarantee of food supplies is reduced through the dependence on a smaller range of plants and animals. Agriculture’s primary advantage over other forms of subsistence is “that in retum for a greater degree of effort it can provide more food fi"om a smaller area of land” (41). He concludes ± at population pressure was probably the major influence in causing this shift in food production. 6 In essence, the avant-garde “symbolized the human determination to conquer and reshape nature in terms of human concepts not directly related to it; that is, separate, pure, human creativity” (Eckbo, 1991,9). 29
that the Mediterranean? peoples became “aware of themselves as beings partially dependent upon but distinct from nature;” they also became more proficient and assertive in their attempts to fashion the environment. Their mythologies and theologies (or schemes) became more abstract and complicated “to account for their relation to, domination of, and separation from the natural world” (ibid.). Yet, these schemes recognized a limited mastery over nature through technology, but preserved the idea that some forces were not under human control. They envisioned that the region’s environment was designed by a divine entity for human habitation, development, and cultivation. It is interesting to note that this region is also the birth place of many of the western religions which have been used to spread the doctrine of nature domination throughout the world. Settled communities became the norm about 6000 BC, completing the first stage in the transformation of human society and wild nature. By this time south-west Asia’s major plants and animals had been domesticated; agricultural society, as we know it, was bom. This mode of existence slowly spread to Central Asia and the Nile valley, finally reaching Europe. Of course, agriculture did not develop in isolation, it also occurred in two other locations around the world. The first of these was China, where the main crops were millet and rice, grown as dry land crops. The second area was Mesoamerica.8 In this region, full scale agriculture did not develop until much later because of the lack of appropriate animals to domesticate and the low productivity of the main crop, maize, which did not improve until about 2000 BC. Therefore, hunting was still a cmcial activity in the provision of meat in the diet. While agriculture may well have developed in other locations around the world at this time, archaeological evidence is strongest for these three core areas. Perspectives of wild nature were altered as a result of this change in culture, resulting in a ‘new and improved’ Paleolithic mind, now termed the Neolithic mind. Humans had relinquished the role of carnivores cognizant of the sacrality of game, they
7 The geographic region known as the Mediterranean encompasses an area of 2,5(X) miles, ranging from “Gibraltar on the west, along the northern terminus of the African continent, past Italy and Greece, to Turkey and the Holy Land of Western Civilization” (Oelschlaeger, 1991,32). 8 Mesoamerica “encompasses the modem states of Guatemala, Belize, parts of Honduras and San Salvador and, most important, Mexico south and east of 24° N” (Ponting, 1991, 50). 30
were now focused on harvesting plants and animals through agriculture. Game was still hunted by the civilized peoples of the ancient Mediterranean lands but only for sport, the game was no longer sacred. Wild plant and animal species were increasingly visualized as devoid of mystery and unworthy of reverence. Animal gods were replaced by gods with human forms. By 2000 BC, the major crops and animals that compose the contemporary agricultural systems of the world were domesticated (Ponting, 1991). However, many centuries would pass before crop varieties would cross into the different agricultural regions of the world. As agriculture developed and became more sophisticated, so too did human societies. New hierarchies formed and “elite classes of priests, administrators, warriors and rulers did emerge” (Ponting, 1991, 60). A consciousness of domination and mastery was growing, “however tenuous, over wild nature, and it occurred to them that the world was perhaps designed for their ends by divine forces” (Oelschlaeger, 1991, 35). At this stage, humans had come full circle—we were no longer the student, but the perceived master (controller) of wild nature. The Neolithic transition is one of the main milestones in human history; it is “the major conceptual, oral, and artifactual watershed separating the hunter-gather conception of the world from our own” (Martin, 1992, 81). Many of the emerging Neolithic civilizations had a common feature: “the idea that the gods either once and for all, or periodically, created cosmos (order) out of chaos (disorder)” (ibid., 63). The basis for this idea is that a great deity created the universe, who for an unknown reason, decides that the creation should possess some turmoil. Thus a conflict would ensue between good and evil. Of course, both sides have agents, each trying to gain control over the other. The responsibility as agents of good lay with the priests, who would try to keep their followers on the side of order. Martin (1992) also claims that at this point, history was produced by a god and came to be controlled by the privileged “who become personally accountable for keeping sacred time moving” (63). Time changed from being considered as a cyclical to a linear process. History was a new force that would begin to dominate human civilization, indeed it became the record of human development. Associated with this was the further evolution of language and writing—communication—an action that would define human existence. As stated in the Introduction, language developed in and enframes human culture. The evolution of writing allowed vast amounts of knowledge to be passed on from 31 generation to generation. While some societies still depended on the transfer of knowledge orally, the more successful societies began the development of various alphabets through some form of letters or symbols. (Aspects of communication with be dealt with later in this Chapter, refer to sections Wildemess Writers, and Wildemess and the Media).
Wildemess and Institutional Religions As the past is examined, it becomes clear that the agricultural revolution cannot solely be visualized as the cause of the rise of civilization. Many factors were involved, and the changes were slow transitions rather than abmpt alterations. A consciousness of humans as distinct from and superior to nature, beginning with the Sumerians, Egyptians, and Hebrews, grew stronger and was more firmly established by the Greeks and early Christians. In this section, the influence of religion as the main culprit in the destruction of nature is considered. The importance of religion on the present condition of the world—socially, politically, environmentally—can not be denied. The major event that people generally believe impacts human attitudes toward wild nature is the rise of institutionalized religions, particularly Judeo-Christianity.9 However, in recent years, some writers have interpreted another meaning from the Bible. They suggest that the book of Genesis (and many other parts of the Hebrew Bible) represents a historical interpretation of human influence on wild nature, not a prescriptive guidebook on actions to be taken toward the environment. The actions of people depended on their interpretation of the teachings in the Bible. Inevitably in the transition from Paleolithic to Neolithic lifestyles the shaman succumbed to the priest. Philosophy and religion began to influence human nature, shaping the ideas of Greek, Roman, and Jewish reason. Religious life now focused on fertility rather than the maintenance of harmony and integrity in nature. However, Judeo-Christianity was significantly impacted by many of its predecessors and their associated cultures. The main teachings of this religion are contained in the Hebrew
9 “As innocent as some would have Christianity, it becomes ominous, like any religion, when institutionalized. The Church is an economic entity and naturally would create profitable limits on Christians (and nonbelievers). The Church’s currency was both blind obedience of followers and the accumulation of wealth and power” (B. Samples, Personal Communication, June, 1995). 32
Bible which is a record of the “ecological transformation of the ancient world...(and)...a coming to historical consciousness” (Oelschlaeger, 1991,46).
Influence of Greek and Roman Thought on Judeo-Christian Religion. The time period between the creation of the Hebrew people and the birth of Christianity was dominated by the Classic cultures and the rise of reason. These cultures had an impact on some of the fundamental tenets of Christianity. Established cultures in the Near East declined, prompted by marauding tribes; refugees from this region settled the Aegean islands and neighboring areas and finally became known as the Greeks. The Pre-Socratics, through extensive agriculture, were able to develop many facets to their culture including “writing, and law but also philosophy: the attempt to understand the world on the basis of Reason" (Oelschlaeger, 1991, 54; emphasis in original). From Thales, known as the father of Western philosophy, Leucippus and Democritus, to Heraclitus and Parmenides the core of philosophical thought rested in nature. Many of these philosophers professed a connection between humans and nature. Heraclitus believed that only through a comprehension of nature, could humans come to terms with their role in it and live a harmonious balanced life, following nature as a guide. Heraclitus professed that the universe was “intelligible because it was ruled by ‘thought’ or ‘judgment,’ and that the same principle, therefore, governed both existence and knowledge” (Frankfort et al.. 1949, 256). Such an enigmatic insight is critical to any meaning of the term, because “unless science and ethics, or fact and values, can find a reconstructive integration, then there is some question as to the future” (Oelschlaeger, 1991,56) of wildemess. Once Socrates arrived on the scene, the emphasis of philosophy would change from one of observing nature to a more homocentric focus. A philosopher of humanity rather than nature, Socrates conferred all later Western thought with a homocentric complexion. Socrates turned inward, into the soul. As Heraclitus believed that the good life should mimic the balance of nature, Socrates believed that the good life consisted of a reflection and nurturing of the soul. The effect was to focus inward from nature, thus moving away from a connected order of being with which humanity was intrinsically obligated toward “human beingness as distinct from the non-human other—a turning from myth to self-conscious reason” (ibid., 57). 33
At this point in time, the separation of human and nature, reason and myth, religion and science continued to grow and become more distinct. Greek culture would continue in its utilitarian view toward nature, and as some researchers suggest, pervading its art forms. Whereas Paleolithic artifices were believed to bring the spirit of the craftsperson and the form it created together, the Greek artisan was visualized as a creator and one who could “create order and beauty out of brute material, or more broadly, who can control natural phenomena with a combination of intelligence and skill” (Glacken, 1967,46). The legacy of the Greek civilization to Christianity focused on the duality of the “supernatural from the natural, the sacred from the profane, the transcendent and eternal from the corporeal and evanescent. Metaphysical boundaries” (Oelschlaeger, 1991,66) were constructed between nature and culture, perimeters that were nonexistent for the Paleolithic mind. In addition, society was becoming more complex and sophisticated. Hierarchies and caste systems began to appear; some writers believe that these were based on the agricultural system, which now dominated the style of food production, while fashioning and controlling the attitude of humans toward the natural environment. Plato’s idea of the perfect society expressed in The Republic, is based on a hierarchical system where every person has an allotted role and perform only the tasks within the role. This society is inherently just, according to Plato, as each person fulfills the task that was intended for him/her. Shepard (1973) suggested that this model society was based in the agrarian system. The caste system represented the farmer’s pure strain of domesticated plants and animals (controlled nature) rather than the food chain (nature’s hierarchy). The caste system emphasized separateness between roles rather than connections. This divergence “within the society impairs its outward relationships to other groups of people as well as other species. All others become remote and alien” (Shepard, 1973, 240). Aristotle, on the other hand, did believe that nature was animated. However, his overall philosophy was in determining a rationalism behind nature, so that humans could gain control over nature. Whereas the Paleolithic mind attempted a harmonious relationship with nature, the Greek mind, within the context of agriculture, perceived culture as an accomplishment that disconnected the human project from the rest of nature. Pronouncing nature a locus for philosophical thought only, Aristotle (and the Greeks generally) demystified wildemess. Wildemess, then, became the territory of 34 firightening beasts and conjured up ideas of terror in people, which is visible in many of the Greek classical myths and folklore stories. The word ‘panic’ originates in the “blinding fear that seized travelers upon hearing strange cries in the wildemess and assuming them to signify Pan’s approach’’ (Nash, 1982, 11). lo Other mythic creatures that inhabited wildemess areas were satyrs, sileni and centaurs. The latter two creatures possessed the torso and head of a man and the body and legs of a goat or horse. A centaur was believed to carry a club in the shape of an uprooted tree which also represented their favorite habitat. “In Roman mythology satyr-like figures appeared as fauns and also lurked in thickly wooded regions’’ (ibid.). Nature was no longer the Magna Mater 11 but could only be understood through rational (scientific and philosophic) thought. The Greeks were profoundly homocentric and endeavored to inflict their order on nature. Because nature was perceived as comparable to the human mind, it could only be understood through critical inquiry and reasoned argument. The belief was founded in the Greeks’ experience of themselves as artisans, where through the practice of “technè" (Oelschlaeger, 1991, 60; emphasis in original) that which was natural might be reconstmcted into pragmatic goods. This culminated in the belief that just as humans could control natural objects through creation of art and utilitarian goods, so the world had been created by a Divine Artisan. In addition, the Romans, as with all previous hierarchical societies, believed in control over nature. So, when Lucretius, Horace, Virgil and their peers professed their “love of ‘nature’ and expressed a desire to leave the towns for a ‘natural’ way of life, they meant the pastoral or mral environment” (Nash, 1982, 10). These ideas combined in the Bible. Christ’s earth father, Joseph, was a carpenter who trained Jesus in some woodwork skills and Christ was also the Shepherd. In this one person is the combination of two ideas—the artisan and the agriculturalist.
10 Pan, known as the lord of the woods, was portrayed “as having the legs, ears, and tail of a goat and the body of a man. He combined gross sensuality with boundless, sportive energy” (Nash, 1982, 11). 11 Metaphorically, the Magna Mater represented an intuition, secured into a hunter mythology, that all life was mysteriously connected in a magnanimous and compatible cycle of life, death, and birth. The metaphor’s basis was an obvious analogy to females generally, but specifically the human female. However, the Paleolithic mind probably understood that the Magna Mater sustained all the living world, including humans. Paleolithic hunters-gatherers almost certainly regarded the Magna Mater as sacred. 35
The loss of the spiritual aspects of nature, the ttansference of this spirit to a God in the Heavens, and the inward focus of Christianity culminated in the idea of the soul. Creating yet another duality, the soul was conceived as eternal and the “seat of personality and intellect” (Oelschlaeger, 1991,62), whereas the body was composed of flesh and was corruptible. The latter was almost perceived of as being evil, perhaps encouraging the separation between those objects of flesh (animals and plants) and those of religious origin (the soul). The human soul was now at the center of all things, and gone was any connection with the Magna Mater.
Influence of Judeo-Christianitv on Wildemess. The ultimate aims of Judeo-Christianity are many; >2 an important one is that Jews and Christians recognize that they have a mission to dominate and control nature which is frequently understood from the Bible, particularly the passages of Genesis. However, this review illustrates that the composition of the Bible aspired to ease the collective conscience of a people already attempting to control nature. The first Hebrews, the tribes of Yahweh, affirmed the separation process of humans and nature that commenced during the rise of the settled agricultural societies of the Near East. As opposed to the Sumerians and Egyptians, Yahweh peoples practiced rain agriculture and the Old Testament was a rationalization of this procedure.!3 Various tribes of Yahweh came together to form the Hebrew nation, based on two premises—(I) the rejection of nature religions of rival tribes, and (2) by professing Yahweh as the one and only true God who had chosen them as his people. Yet, even
12 The key issues of Judeo-Christianity are as follows: human fate in life as one of constant struggle; Jews and Christians have a mission; history interspersed by violently destructive interludes; the demise of God altering the course of history; God’s blood as an allegory of our redemption; Christians drinking God’s blood and eating his flesh (Holy Communion) as a remembrance of their redemption and mission; Christians accelerating the end of human history through their proselytization, and inauguration of eternity; humans influence on time, causing it to collapse; “Christians as conquest societies with a noble goal” (Martin, 1992,65). 13 In addition, Yahweh peoples wished to dwell free from the persecution of the hieratic nation-states which is probably expressed as the Exodus in the Hebrew Bible. Therefore, the Old Testament should be seen not only as a rationalization of agriculture, but as an historical account of a cultural tension between rural Yahweh tribalists and urbanists. Indeed the word Hebrew cormotes outlaws, fugitives, or rebels—an identity based on socio-political traits, thus the tribes of Yahweh became known as Hebrews as a result of their actions. 36 though farming is an important theme through the Old Testament, the image of the nomad is also important, leading to the creation of a shepherd-farmer mythology. This mythology symbolized a tenacious resistance to civilization as the tribes were seminomads and in it, wildemess became deeply allegorical. First, Yahweh is characterized as a shepherd in many of the Psalms. Secondly, the wildemess is often characterized as a spiritual oasis. These points are discussed over the following pages. Yahweh, the one and only tme God, was not of nature. Nature was of Him and created by Him, He was the supreme Being. When God fashioned Adam (Hebrew for man) he created a being to tend the ground {adamah in Hebrew). Thus, Adam —the paradigmatic human being—is the farmer, the plower of the soil. In addition, “Adamah can...mean the inhabited land and especially arable land as distinct from wildemess (Hebrew midbar), and the land given by Yahweh to the Hebrews” (ibid., 52). However, the language of Genesis 1.26-31 is extremely anthropocentric and is the section of the Bible which most environmentalists point to as the basis for the environmental attitudes of westem culture. >5 In addition, banished from Eden, man and woman have been etemally searching for paradise, and despite the culture, paradise has always assumed the form of a garden or a perfect landscape. “The garden, after all, serves as the conscious mediator between people and nature and consequently has much to inform” (Paterson, 1991, 30). Paradise, a word that conjures images of perfect climate, a bountiful and beneficent natural setting comes from the Persian ‘luxurious garden,’ is associated with the rise of civilization and cultivation. This was the ideal state of nature, human and animals lived in a harmonious relationship. Agriculture would lead to this paradise. Wildemess, then, became the antithesis of paradise; a place of fear, wild animals, and
14 Psalm 23—“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want; he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.” The Pope also carries a shepherd staff to guard his flock. 15 The God said “Let us make man in our image and likeness to mle the fish in the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all wild animals on earth, and all reptiles that crawl up on the earth.’ So God created man in his own image; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase, frll the earth and subdue it, mle over the fish in the sea, the birds of heaven, and every living thing that moves upon the earth So it was; and God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” Genesis 1.26-31. 37 was uncontrolled by humans. The development of the S u m e r ia n 16 and Egyptian civilization promoted this mastery idea and continued the separation of humans from wild nature. The ancient myths of Sumeria and Egypt acknowledged a twofold distinction—one between humans and nature, and the other between humans and the divine. It seems that from the outset of civilization, humans visualized themselves as masters of the natural environment, through the use of two effective human tools—the hands and mind. The products of this combination would later be termed ‘technology.’
Various meanings for wildemess are found throughout the Bible. First, it was characterized as a spiritual oasis, as when Abraham was told by God to create a nation; he took his people from civilization into the wildemess to perform this task. Moses also led his followers into the wildemess for forty years after he had received the Ten Commandments. Because wildemess was often perceived as harsh and forbidding, it was viewed as a sanctuary from a sinful and persecuting society. Secondly, wild places came to signify areas where one could find and draw close to God. It also became a testing ground where a chosen people were cleansed, subdued, and prepared for the paradisiacal promised land. Yet while these processes were important to the Hebrews, there “was no fondness in the Hebraic tradition for wildemess itself’ (Nash, 1982,16). In addition, the various meanings of wildemess are still prevalent in the New Testament. John the Baptist cried in the wildemess preparing the way for God. Jesus went into the wildemess to fast and be tempted by the devil for forty days. >7 The wildemess “retained its significance as the environment of evil and hardship where spiritual catharsis occurred. Jesus emerged from the wildemess prepared to speak for God” (ibid., 17). The Bible then, it seems “is no one thing; even within (this) most ancient sacred document competing ideas of wildemess are presented” (Oelschlaeger, 1991, 61).
16 “About 3000 BC Sumerian society became the first literate society in the world” (Ponting, 1991, 71). They kept detailed administrative records of food production which illustrate the changes in agriculture and the problems associated with the practice of farming. 17 When Christ was baptized by John in the Judean Desert the prophecy was realized. Immediately afterwards Jesus was guided by the Spirit into the wildemess for temptation by the devil. This experience, accompanied by forty days of abstinence, was similar to Israel being tested during the Exodus (Nash, 1982). 38
Judeo-Christianity represented the climax of the Neolithic revolution, a reformation that began when humans became agriculturalists and abandoned the mythology of the Great Hunt. Judeo-Christianity nullifies the premise that humans are merely one among the many progeny of the Magna Mater and the sacredness of the natural order. It established the idea of man as the son of God, a privileged creation preferred over wild nature, and thus permitted to dominate his universe. Christianity is no one thing but an amalgamation of historical factors, including human nature and the agricultural revolution, which combined proposed a historically unprecedented route for human relations with the natural world. Nature was conceived of as valueless until humanized. In recent years, however, many researchers and writers believe that excessive blame has been laid at the feet of this particular religion and that the Bible can not be blamed totally for human attitudes and actions toward wilderness and nature in general. As has already been shown, the term wilderness was used as “a synonym for ‘desert’ and ‘waste,’ often with the same Hebrew or Greek root” (Stankey, 1989, 10). But it also represented an area to avoid persecution and prepare oneself for God. White’s paper (1967) on modem ecological problems, acknowledges the role of technology and science with Christian dogma, but oversimplifies the root cause of our modem problems by stating that religion is the prime determinant in human attitude toward the environment.
Oelschlaeger (1991) presents an altemative view to that generally held by many people: that the rise of Christianity created the downfall of wild nature. While he believes that this religion had a significant impact on westem ideology and perspective on the value of the natural environment, many other factors were involved. The Genesis passages in the Bible did not create the human domination of wildemess, this action was already occurring in the Paleolithic period. Martin (1992) confirms this, stating that the Hebrews, Christians, and Moslems were “the heirs rather than the fount of a process more universal, more anthropological, and more ancient than is commonly acknowledged” (32). Disarticulating nature began with the “environmental stresses and oral-artifactual responses of paleolithic hunters” (ibid.) and continued with the Greek and Roman “demystified philosophy and history, their emphasis on the chosen individual, and their civilized-barbarian dichotomy” (ibid.). Hebrews, Christians, and 39
Moslems, “with their extraordinary violence, chauvinistic god, and fanatical belief in chosen people” (ibid.) basically continued the process of separation. Strachan (1984) believes that the scriptures reveal a message of stewardship, not subjugation, and cites numerous examples of God as the creator and steward of all things. The Divine’s image is represented in all that He created, in nature. Strachan (1984) also points out the numerous occasions where humans are instructed to live in harmony with the land and to attend to it as a possible Eden. Bratton’s (1986) analysis confirms the duality of wildemess and nature in the Bible. Denig (1985) suggests that throughout history “exploitation is neither unique nor religious in inception. Biblical exegesis reveals a theology of man and nature which is, in fact, antithetical to exploitation” (96). Denig also proposes that exploitation is a possible result of an incorrect decision of free will, not of Judeo-Christianity. The theological basis of the religion holds that humans are part of a “sacred relationship with nature founded upon loving dominion, discerning stewardship, and covenantal co existence, and that nature as creation is sacred,” (ibid.) being a manifestation of the effigy of God. Denig (1985) bases her interpretation on historical arguments and semantics. She expounds the belief that it is necessary to understand the distinction between nature and creation as stated in the Bible. “Nature can be a neutral, perhaps scientific term (102); whereas. Creation is a religious and philosophical term” (Sittler, 1972, 99). In addition, in Genesis it is stated that God was happy with everything He created, “thus may we also say that even the wildemess, that supposedly feared and suspect place, is good” (Denig, 1985, 102). Again, Denig (1985) points out that when nature is envisioned as God’s conception, as it is in the Bible, no place can be “God-forsaken. Even the wildemess has special import as a place to find and be found by God” (104). Passmore (1974) comments that by the time the Genesis stories were collected—in Mesopotamia—humans had already begun the transformation of nature. People did not set about subduing nature, any more than being fmitful, because Genesis directed to do so. “Rather, Genesis salved his conscience” (7). Another writer, Jeanne Kay (1988), believes that the Bible does not favor either the stewardship model or the domination model, but basically is a refusal by the Yahweh to perceive nature as divine. In reality, the Bible was nothing less than a documentation of a process which was already in progress and as the population would multiply so the cultivation of wild 40 nature would continue and increase. >8 Blaming Judeo-Christianity completely for our current environmental woes, or the main culprit for the demise of wildemess, is as inappropriate as believing that a ‘techno-fix’ will cure all these problems. Many cultural factors, such as societal revolutions, scientific and industrialization revolutions, the rise of capitalism and the birth of democracy, population growth and individual ownership of resources, in addition to the Judeo-Christian background are responsible for the current environmental crisis. It seems, then, that the Bible may have been used to create the excuse that would allow humans to continue on their already established exploitation of the natural environment. As Eckbo (1991) states environments are endowed with enduring meanings either by “human interpretation of natural process or by human cultural processes and their tendency toward habitual or permanent expression” (10). While humans may appreciate change, people want to decide when, where, and how much will be experienced. However, like supreme rulers, people do not appreciate or want others—including nature—“making those decisions for us. This is hubris, the assumption by humans that they have godlike powers over nature” (ibid.) Martin (1992) sununarized it accurately when he states that the scandalous solicitation in Genesis to dominate and subdue the world was probably nothing more than “a posteriori rationalization for humanity’s new posture toward its surrounding, a matter of pinning it on a deity whom” (39) humans had created specifically for that intention.
From the review so far, a few points emerge that require iteration. First, as humans evolved a change transpired in their relationship to wildemess and nature, altering from a cynegetic to an agricultural existence. Speech and language began to evolve, a cultural aspect that would have a profound impact on our relationship to nature, and between each other. Second, a corresponding transformation occurred in the mythology of our ancestors. Next, a consciousness began to form which conceived of us as being somewhat distinct from the other animals surrounding us, becoming
18 If it had not been the Bible and Judeo-Christianity, it could have been some other religion. I often wonder if an atheist is any worse or any better an environmentalist than a Christian? If we were all atheists would the planet and humanity be in any better condition right now? 41 internalized as part of our human nature. Fourth, increasing human population required more food, resulting in more wild areas being cleared and tilled. The emergence of settled societies and organized religions created a cultural, civilized animal—the human. Finally, the conception of a deity who gave us power and dominion over all of nature may have been an attempt to sanctify the process of controlling nature, an aspect of human development that had started centuries before the Bible was written. In addition, this interpretation is only one of many, but if the rise of Westem Civilization was to occur the teachings of the Bible were destined to be perceived in some form of a domination or pastoral doctrine.
Wildemess and an encroaching Civilization
As civilization began to spread, the destmction of the wildemess increased. >9 However, the world population was still relatively small. At the peak of the Roman Empire, approximately 200 AD, the total human population of Europe was around 28 million, “a quarter of that total lived in Italy, which was then still the center of the empire” (Ponting, 1991, 120). Around the fourth century, Christianity was adopted as the state religion of the Roman Empire. During this same period, both India and China had a population of approximately 14 million. As the Roman Empire collapsed, various movements of peoples and cultures occurred. The Mediterranean continued as the center of civilization through the rise of Islam and the Omayyad empire. This period of history would become known as the Middle Ages, stretching from the Fall of the Roman Empire to the commencement of the Renaissance. “Early medieval Europe was still a vast wildemess with a scattering of small, largely self-sufficient villages which had only very limited side contacts” (ibid.). At this time—the year 1000—the human population of Europe was about 36 million inhabitants. However, over a period of 300 years the region’s population grew to about 80 million. This huge growth in population resulted in a major land clearance operation, which varied from region to region.
19 “From an economic view, wildemess encroaches on civilization. Nature as resource is an economic worldview and is not based on religion. Environment is not a historical word, it is a contemporaiy derivation that required science to bring it forward” (B. Samples, Personal Communication, June 1995). 42
Early and medieval Christian thinkers accepted the prominent view from Judeo- Christian writings that nature was created for the benefit of humans. This anthropocentric viewpoint would dominate the Medieval period. God is usually interpreted as “above and separate from the world and what matters above all is the relationship of the individual with God and not with the natural world” (ibid., 144). This view was strengthened throughout the twelfth and thirteenth centuries by writers who emphasized the point that humans were distinct from all other animals through the possession of a soul and a life after death. Thomas Aquinas, using classical thought, believed that the divine plan involved the domination of irrational creatures by a rational being (humans). During this period, the church wielded immense power. Cloistered societies amassed great wealth; more importantly their monasteries were often located in “relatively remote, wild places” and may have been “the single largest agent of environmental change during the Middle Ages” (Oelschlaeger, 1991, 72; emphasis in original). Such wild areas were perceived as the domain of ‘evil people’—witches, shamans, worshipping pagans, even the devil. Sacred groves were felled and other sites of natural worship were destroyed. The medieval mind believed it to be heresy to worship wild nature. “By taming the wildemess the holy brothers fulfilled God’s plan, simultaneously exercising human dominion over nature and exterminating paganism” (ibid.).20 This, of course, also was a practicality of an expanding population. However, wildemess still maintained the duality illustrated earlier in the Bible. “A succession of Christian hermits and monks...found the solitude of the wildemess conducive to meditation, spiritual insight, and moral perfection” (Nash, 1982,18). One of the few dissidents in this period was Francis of Assisi. He believed nature could be considered a ‘being’ and animals possessed souls; God’s essence enlivens all creation and humanity is simply one creature among many life-forms. “Francis refused to see the natural world as organized around and serving human interests only. God smiled on
20 Religion had become a powerful organization and institution by this time. The economy, and consequently power, of this era was based on land and agriculture. Controlling the land and agricultural products gave the monastic orders power over the peasants. 43 all creatures equally” (Oelschlaeger, 1991, 73). All of this was interpreted by the
Church as heresy and quashed whenever and wherever it appeared.2i The Middle Ages then, were a continuation of the mastery of nature process. Wildemess areas were ‘reclaimed’ for the greater glory of God. Humanizing the landscape, breeding new plant and animal strains, opening up more acreage for food production, and refining agricultural procedures progressed incessantly. Indeed, the widespread alterations to the wildemess could be responsible for even larger changes at another point in time. “More than one historian has argued that the seeds of the Industrial Revolution lie in deforestation” (ibid., 70). The industrial age was literally ushered in by a transformation to coal and steam power from a dismption of wood supplies. The Renaissance, which began circa 1350, resulted in the secularization of authority. The Church began to lose its power as the main authority in society. In addition, the economy of the society changed, something the Church resisted. Marsilius of Padua (1270-1342) believed, as did Aristotle, that the state’s objective should be the procurement of the good life for its people. This challenged the Church’s notion of a person’s time on earth as preparation for the heavenly good life. However, the provision of the ‘good life’ and the change in the basis of the economy, incredibly accelerated the demands on the physical and biological limits of nature. The end of tmly untouched wild places resulted from the beginning of the ‘good life’ for society at la rg e .2 2 The Reformation, in the sixteenth century, produced a further change in the economic system. Economic success and general happiness in this world was surely a sign of God’s favor and was religiously supported, rather than being forbidden by the Church. The perspective of humanity on wildemess and the natural world altered to more of an economic one than the previous religious viewpoint. However, the domination perspective was again justified by the emphasis on Biblical texts for the explanation of the world. Humans had the right, if not the duty, to control nature
21 It is interesting to note that the Order of Franciscans, founded in Francis of Assisi’s name, has become more pro-environmental in recent years. This pro- environmentalism is symptomatic of a similar trend in many organized religions. 22 As the human population expanded, increasing air and water pollution resulted in all wild places being affected in some way by people. Even the wild places that still exist are impacted, in varying degrees, in some indirect way by humans. 44 because of their position in the Great Chain of Being. Indeed, a widely held assumption was that in order to maintain civilization it was incumbent on humans to “interfere with, or add the finishing touches to, nature” (Ponting, 1992, 146-147). A corresponding idea was “that nature was at its best not in its primitive or brute state but when it was controlled and shaped by humans” (ibid., 147), altering nature into productive land, a garden of Eden perhaps. Widespread exploitation of natural resources had commenced and the consumer society would soon begin. The next phase of history which was to have a profound impact on people’s attitudes toward wild places was the Scientific Revolution.
Wildemess and the Age of Science (Modernism) From the above perspectives on wild places and nature, it is a small and logical step to the belief that increasing knowledge would expand human control over nature. “Perhaps no aspect of Modernism has had a greater effect on the idea of wildemess than science” (Oelschlaeger, 1991,76). While some saw this as furthering God’s work and his chosen role for humans, the Church resisted much of the new scientific knowledge. In fact, sharing such knowledge at the beginning of the seventeenth century, “was to risk’s one’s life; but heliocentrism, however, cautiously advanced, was the first loose thread in the unraveling of the prevailing medieval scientific paradigm” (ibid.). Some of the main scientists who would change the human perspective of the world were Galileo (1564-1642), Bacon (1561-1626), Descartes (1596-1650), and Newton (1642-1727).23 Together they symbolize a paradigm shift so extreme that the very meaning of the term nature was altered. This theoretical metamorphosis is reflected in such twentieth- century usages as wild nature as distinct from nature. Nature is now in the realm of scientific study, and nothing even resembling wildemess remains there. Galileo Galilei had a profound impact on the development of science, so much so that he is often called the ‘father of modem science.’ He also came into direct confrontation with the Church and remembering the fate of Giordano Bruno, who was burned at the stake for advancing heliocentrism, decided to acquiesce on his views. Galileo was a pioneer in many respects; his employment of the telescope for scientific purposes and as an instrument for measurement became symbolic of science. Indeed,
23 It is difficult and a simplification to select just four scientists as representatives of the scientific revolution, but necessary in such a work. 45
measurement and quantification would soon be visualized as part of the only ‘true’ scientific method. However, the telescope was to have another impact on the perspective toward nature. Galileo confirmed the Copemican hypothesis through the telescope. But lost was the overwhelming scope naked eye astronomy offered, the association of the Milky Way to the star-filled sky, and the wanderings of stars across the ecliptic plane. Perhaps, being so intently focused on this telescopic view, he also lost the night’s clamor and aroma, the realization that as a conscious person he was wimessing a lofty and enigmatic stellar phenomenon. Galileo was not positioned within nature, “but outside of it. He became a scientific observer apart from nature, for it had been replaced with a theoretical object of inquiry’’ (ibid., 78). Eventually, ideas of quantification and characteristics that could be measured would lead to the belief that such qualities were primary, real, and objective, whereas experiences were secondary and subjective. In addition, Galileo’s theory of inertia explained the movements of the heavens and the planets and laid the foundation for the one true science—physics. Francis Bacon, a contemporary of Galileo, proclaimed the genius of science. Credited with contributions to the scientific method. Bacon had a great influence on the perspective toward wildemess and nature. He believed in another world, not an afterlife in this case, but a second world, or ‘mundus alter,’ that humans would create with science. Through a faith inspired by the bible and scientifically based rationalism, science would reconstruct what sin had destroyed—the Garden of Eden. With this philosophy. Bacon completely reconstructed the concept of humans’ place in nature and our relationship to the first world, the natural world. This allowed the notion of mastery to be taken to new heights. Humans could master all things, including their destiny. Bacon perceived prescientific people as barbarians who lived in a godforsaken wildemess without the benefits of civilization. Civilized modem humans would use the power of science to refashion the wildemess, that world with which Paleolithic people had empathy, into the ‘New Atlantis.’ Passmore (1974) concludes from his interpretation of Bacon’s work that what “sin had shattered, science could in large part repair: man could become not only the titular but the actual lord of nature’’ (19). This belief recognized that humans, as distinct from God, could create the perfect world as prophesied by Isaiah, which was beyond the orthodox teachings of Christianity. The notion that knowledge conferred power over nature was based on the successes of agriculture to-date in creating a controlled environment and the growth of 46 industrialization which allowed resources to be fashioned on a large scale to meet human requirements. Scientific knowledge, then, offered absolute power over nature. Consequently, Bacon seemed to believe that any human created environment was better than wildemess.24 Rene Descartes pushed this idea one step further. Not only was there a distinction between mind and matter, but he also described the natural world in mechanical terms. Animals were mere machines, incapable of feeling pain and thought. He founded his idea on the assumptions that an undisputed knowledge of nature was possible and that the various aspects of nature—physical, chemical, and biological— could be absolutely explained by mechanical laws. As with machines, animals possess instrumental value only; this exterminated any understanding of nature as filled with vital and hence related organisms. Proclaimers of the scientific method now professed the ability to “reduce wholes to their constituent parts” (Ponting, 1992, 147), measure and quantify nature. This reductionist viewpoint was to have a profound impact on European thought and Westem Civilization. Bacon and Descartes envisioned a new world created through human ingenuity and struggle. The Baconian-Cartesian vision was that humans could surmount the Fall from the Garden of Eden, ascend from its sinful situation, establishing a heaven on earth through the use of science. Descartes' mechanistic view of the natural world was reinforced by Newton’s application of his physical laws to explain the phenomenon of gravity. A new confidence in science appeared; this was again vindicated following the appearance of Hailey’s Comet which had been predicted by Newtonian physics. A new idea permeated thought for the next two hundred years, God was visualized “as the great designer of a machine the workings of which humans could, through their god-given intellectual faculties, seek to understand” (ibid., 147).25
24 Loren Eiseley offers a different interpretation of Bacon’s work in The Man Who Saw Through Time (1961). Eiseley suggests that Bacon vacillated on the idea of knowledge and its power; Bacon pointed to the difficulties inherent in humans’ manipulation of scientific loiowledge and power, which does not, in and of itself, extol human nature. 25 The ‘nature as machine’ metaphor is still present today in various fields of science —such as ecology. In the area of medicine, the human body is still spoken of in terms of the perfect machine. 47
Another important movement during this time would magnify the idea of nature as of utilitarian value only to humans. The Industrial Revolution, in association with the idea of Newtonian Science, would create the age of Modernism, a new cultural paradigm which viewed humans as the highest evolved of all creatures on the planet, in control and master of almost every aspect of conditions on earth. As with other revolutions, this was founded on the events which preceded it. Indeed it has been stated that both the Neolithic and Industrial Revolutions have had a parallel and profound influence on human existence. A new economy was forming in response to the Industrial Revolution, and in 1776, Adam Smith published his book. The Wealth of Nations.'^^ This book was written relying on the new scientific ideas and concepts as a basis for its economic theory. In his book. Smith made a number of assumptions, one of the biggest being infinite resources used to produce infinite goods to satisfy the infinite needs of a person. Therefore, to be happy, one required wealth. Another assumption was that poverty would be overcome by the Laws of Accumulation and Population. 27 The Wealth of Nations represented the culmination of Modernistic thought; through science and technology the valueless wildemess could be transformed into some quantifable measure—money—and its only value was of a financial nature. This clearly was a new turning point in the perspective toward wildemess and could have squashed any concept of wildemess as possessing a ‘spirit,’ “for what unites distinctively Westem culture across its moments is its relentless demythologizing” (Oelschlaeger, 1991,54). However, all was not lost. By the middle of the 1800s a concept emerged in society and particularly the world of art, that of the avant-garde, 28 which with Romanticism would affect the attitudes of some sectors of society. While in theory the avant-garde exemplified the human “determination to conquer and reshape nature in
26 It is interesting to note that this book was published when one of the great industrial powers was gaining its independence from the British Empire. This country, known as the United States of America, would become the leader of the capitalistic movement in Westem Civilization. 27 Limitless growth—“both material and demographic—was the ethical justification for capitalism, and the reason why Smith believed it preferable to other forms of human economy” (Oelschlaeger, 1991,92). 28 While the avant-garde was closely connected with the world of art, it became an important aspect to sections of society, particularly those concemed with science, philosophy, religion, and politics (Paterson, 1991). 48 terms of human concepts not directly related to it; that is, separate, pure, human creativity” (Eckbo, 1991, 9), it was also concemed with contesting the meanings embraced “by everyday society and beat the purveyors of ‘culture’ into some semblance of being awake and receptive to the joys and realities of authentic experience” (Paterson, 1991, 27). The new literary force of Romanticism was also attempting to combat Modernism. The nineteenth-century Romantic English poets believed nature was not a nonliving machine, “mere matter-in-motion, but a living organism created by divine providence (and) God’s presence was revealed through an aesthetic awareness of nature’s beauty” (Oelschlaeger, 1991,99). Resistance to Modernism also flowed over into social criticism. Benedict Spinoza (1632-77) dominated the philosophical resistance to the metaphysics of Modernism, followed by Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) and Georg Wilhelm Hegel (1770-1831). Philosophers who continued the tradition of criticism included Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) and Friedrich Nietzsche (1844- 1900). These critics of Modernism “continually questioned the idea that the scientific paradigm provided an accurate model for comprehending humanity either individually or culturally” (ibid., 1(X)). Of course, during this Romantic era, a vast amount of scientific knowledge and information was produced. In the early part of this period, enormous numbers of natural history books and Floras were published, often as a counter to the nature-as-machine notion, detailing the works of a wondrous god. One of the most important books of this era was John Ray’s, The Wisdom of God Manifested in the Works o f the Creation (1691), which offered nature as evidence to the actuality of God. However, the idea of a pre-established harmony between humans and the natural world espoused by Ray (1627-1705) and reinforced by Gilbert White (1720-1793) and Carolus Linnaeus (1707- 1778) was toppled by the publication of two books, Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species (1859) and George Marsh’s Man and Nature (1863). While some scientists were beginning to document the natural history of the world, another sector of society began to lay great emphasis on landscaped areas, particularly in the creation of large scale gardens. Once nature had been subdued, society took a closer look “and discovered that much about landscape was of value” (Paterson, 1991, 30). Creating a picturesque paradise from raw nature, that idealized landscape which reflected the Creator’s image was important. Therefore, the English landscape materialized as the tangible resolution to nature’s status at the height of 49 intellectual thought. From this position, the preservation of wildemess in the North American landscape was legitimate. “Placing a boundary around a piece of wildemess and, in the process, creating (the) last great garden” (ibid.) seemed logical. In fact, “the wildemess preserve was the only real garden of the modem movement” (ibid.).29 Yet to many Americans, wildemess was more than a garden, more than a fenced-in piece of nature, this area was a reminder of the type of environment here before the immigrants. Wildemess was as American as apple pie, it helped form the nation, assisted in building character (Stegner, 1960; Nash, 1962), gave its riches— economic, scenic, natural, and spiritual—to the people. When the Frontier was officially declared closed in the 1890s, many people feared for the complete loss of wildemess. The American West was still perceived as wildemess by many of the eastem population, still an area of character-building, a symbol of American “childhood, wild, innocent, and free. In its preservation lay the preservation of the nation’s youthful hope” (Cosgrove, 1995, 35). Pressure from the east, the writings of Muir and others, wildemess preservation organizations, and some politicians planted the seeds of what would eventually become the National Wildemess Preservation System.
A New Approach to Natural Historv The Ecologv Concept Even though Modemism with its quantification principle was the dominant paradigm throughout this era, many scientists, researchers, and writers had a profound impact on the idea of ecosystems and wildemess in society. A new scientific concept emerged from natural history— ecology—becoming one of the major forces of science. Within the development of ecology, the clash of paradigms again became evident. Eltonian ecology outlined by the theoretical ecologist, Charles Elton, in 1927, delineated many concepts fundamental to this area of science. (These were later incorporated by Aldo Leopold in his Land Ethic.) However, it was not until Elton’s trophic pyramid was quantified by A. G. Tansley that the area of ecology became accepted within the scientific community, and the concept of the pyramid was accepted within the ecological profession. The rise of ecology as the knowledge base of nature seemed to conclusively
29 Similar to Tuan’s (1974) and other writers thoughts on the present U.S. wildemess system, Paterson (1991) believes that wildemess areas are modem gardens which represent the subjugation of nature. 50
indicate that the natural world was totally quantifable and predictable, any vestige of mystery or sacredness in wildemess was finally put to rest. However, all was not yet lost. Eltonian ecology led to foundational ecology or Leopoldian ecology which was more holistic in its approach than the traditional utilitarian or imperial ecology. This new type of ecology viewed humans as an integral part of nature, not separated from it. Ame Naess, a Norwegian philosopher, created a similar ecological dichotomy; he termed the prongs shallow and deep ecology. Shallow ecology constituted a “resource- management approach predicated on the values of efficiency and utility” (Oelschlaeger, 1991,208) while deep ecology transcended “conservation in favor of preservation and biocentric values” (ibid.).
Wildemess Writers While the science of ecology continued to evolve, the idea of preserving wildemess began to gain momentum. This movement had its roots in the dissenting voices often heard calling for a retum to nature, to connect again with Mother Earth. Such people are frequently on the fringes of society; ‘voices in the wildemess,’ who have a profound influence on the views of the public toward wildemess. Communicating ideas and philosophy through various media is the route followed by such individuals. At present, this spans the use of all media types available to people, however, four individuals who had a major impact on the wildemess concept through their writings were Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), John Muir (1838-1914), Aldo Leopold (1887-1948), and Sigurd Olson (1899-1982). Many other prominent writers, Rachel Carson (1907-1964)—author of Silent Spring (1962) and Edward Abbey (1927- 1989)—author of The Monkey Wrench Gang (1975)—had an intense impact on the environmental movement. However, these four authors are focused on because their writings assisted in the development of the wildemess movement and laid the foundation for the wildemess preservation system.
Henry David Thoreau: in Wildness is the preservation of the World. Thoreau is best known for his book Walden published in 1854, yet his fame was posthumous. When he died eight years later, he was largely unappreciated by his peers and associated at that time more as an Emersonian student than a philosopher in 51 his own right. In perspective, Thoreau is now envisioned as an important environmental philosopher and his ideas “are recognized as crucial to the birth of a distinctively American idea of wildemess” (ibid., 133). Emerson and Thoreau are probably the best known members of a movement called the New England Transcendentalism. Following Romanticism, this movement was based on the belief of the existence of a higher reality than the physical reality seen. In Transcendentalism, natural objects, although somewhat inferior, reflect universal spiritual truths. Transcendentalists believed that humans were located in a universe separated between essence and objects. While physically rooted in the material portion of the world, similar to all natural objects, the soul offered the potential to transcend this circumstance. Instead of using rational understanding, humans could penetrate to spiritual truths through intuition or imagination. This was especially true in natural areas, where human activity had least impacted these spiritual truths, and they could be clearly perceived. Clearly, then wildemess would become very important to this movement. While Ralph Waldo Emerson was the main proponent of this group, Thoreau’s writings on wildness and wildemess have far greater importance for the wildemess movement. Nature, written by Emerson and published in 1836, was the comerstone of Transcendalist philosophy. Three tenets—individualism, nature and the future—formed the basis of the book, which was written in Concord, Massachusetts. These elements symbolized the self-perception of America at the time and dramatically distinguished the country from Europe, with its overcrowded masses of people burdened with history and a highly impacted natural environment. Weaving the three elements into a call for spiritual revitalization, Emerson drew many followers including Thoreau. While Emerson (and other transcendalists) had an impact on Thoreau, the two soon parted ways. Oelschlaeger (1991) believes that the difference between master and student is evident in their writings. Emerson wrote Nature as a disembodied transcendental spectator who attempted to inflict abstract principles on nature. On the other hand, Walden embodied Thoreau’s realized philosophy, becoming nature’s living manifestation as it documented his life in and around Concord. He became an Indigen (man of Native wisdom), a person in touch with wild nature, with the ‘Great Mother.’ 52
In 1845, Thoreau began his living experiment; for over two years he experienced a New England pond and wrote his first important work, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers (1849), and gathered material for his seminal work, Walden. Examples of his work illustrate the descriptive powers of Thoreau and his philosophy on the connectedness of humans and nature. He describes nights fishing by moonlight, “serenaded by owls and foxes, and hearing...the creaking of some unknown bird close at hand” (as cited in Krutch, 1989, 234). Such experiences were unforgettable and most precious to Thoreau. He also believed that when a person’s thoughts had “wandered to vast and cosmogonal themes in other spheres...this faint jerk...came to interrupt your dream and link you” (ibid.) back to nature again. The area surrounding Walden Pond during Thoreau’s experiment was still heavily wooded and apart from some roads and trails not impacted by humans. In fact, he writes of the reclamation of nature that people had to do to construct their shelters. However, his own cabin was not that separated from civilization, but Thoreau was a great lover of solitude and often became upset by the appearance of human visitors. In one of his essays. Life Without Principle, Thoreau wrote about completing his education in the environment with Nature as his teacher. He believed that society had lost its connection to nature and was merely concemed with material wealth. The area around Concord was quite wooded at the time and it was deemed productive to fell trees. On the other hand, a person walking through the woods observing nature was considered an idler. “As if a town had no interest in its forests but to cut them down!” (ibid., 356). Thoreau believed in experiencing nature as a learning event, however sometimes the wildemess was more shocking than imagined. His trip to the wildemess of Maine had such an impact on him. Overall though, Thoreau believed that people required the intimate contact with wildemess that he had experienced. In 1851, he expressed his idea that ‘wildness preserved the world.’ Many people of that era believed that the pastoral environment (rural, agricultural condition) relieved the stress of modem life, Thoreau “arrived at the middle by straddling” (Nash, 1982, 94) the extremes of wildemess and city. In this way, people could attain the best elements from both worlds, and so the idea of preserving or conserving wild places was established. The city-garden-wildemess metaphor was rebom. Urban parks would build on Thoreau’s 53 thoughts of partially cultivated areas and were brought to fruition largely through the ideas of Frederick Law O lm sted.30
John Muir: One day's exposure to mountains is better than cartloads of books. Scottish by birth, Muir arrived in America during 1849 at age eleven with his family, settling in central Wisconsin where Native Americans still resided. Taming this land was an economic necessity, although Muir would never forget that Wisconsin wildemess. He despised civilization for its "cruel, repressive, and utilitarian tendencies. Wild nature, in contrast, appeared to have a liberating influence conducive to human happiness” (ibid., 123). While some people have compared Muir’s ideas to that of Emerson, this is more similar to Thoreau’s philosophy. Muir disagreed with his father’s idea on taming nature, and so he left the agricultural life to become a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He departed from the institution before completing his studies and after a factory accident in Indianapolis, decided that he would hike to the Gulf of Mexico. This became a voyage of discovery for Muir, helping form many of this philosophical ideas which would be refined in the Sierras. Following a series of adventures, he arrived in California in 1868 and discovered his beloved Sierras. In 1871 Emerson and some ftiends visited Yosemite, and Muir was excited at the prospect of meeting “the man best equipped to interpret the wildemess” (ibid., 126). However, he was disappointed that Emerson would not join him for a month of “worship with nature in the high temples of the great Sierra Crown beyond our holy Yosemite” and refused Emerson’s invitation to travel to Massachusetts. While Muir’s philosophy closely resembled that of Thoreau’s, he chuckled at this man who could visualize wildemess in orchards and patches of huckleberry bmsh forests especially when Thoreau’s cabin on Walden was close to Concord. However, they both did agree on the need for wildemess.
30 Frederick Law Olmsted was largely responsible for the planning of Central Park in New York. His urban parks ideas assisted in the establishment of many such parks in large cities, mainly as a way for the working class to relieve stress and maintain some contact with nature. He became involved in the legislative process of the Yosemite Grant which was established in 1864, the predecessor to Yosemite National Park, the first formal and legal recognition of an area tiiat could be considered somewhat of a wildemess. 54
Muir wrote “climb the mountains and get their good tidings” (cited in Teale, 1954, 311), believing that such magnificent places educated more than “cartloads of books” (ibid., 318). He even concluded, as Thoreau did, that “in God’s wildness lies the hope of the world—the great fresh, unblighted, unredeemed wildemess” (Wolfe, 1938, 317). In addition, Muir believed that wildemess represented an environment which exhibited the undisturbed harmony of Nature. He also concluded that organisms had an equal right to exist with their human counterparts. Muir’s life coincided with the foundation of the conservation effort. America’s first national park was founded in 1872, but eighteen years were to pass before an attempt was fashioned to preserve wildemess values. Yosemite National Park was created largely through the efforts of John Muir and Robert Underwood Johnson, although lobbying by the Southem Pacific Railroad also helped. Two years later (1892), Muir founded the Sierra Club and proposed his role as the primary wildemess educator. Another significant development during this time was the passage of the Forest Management Act of 1897 which allowed the administration of forest reserves. Gifford Pinchot was most influential in the policy towards national forests and was the first head of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) established in 1905. Pinchot and the professional foresters founded the ‘wise use’ school of thought of the agency, while Muir followed a more preservationist viewpoint. The schism in the use philosophy of certain natural environments widened at this point in time and has continued well into the twentieth century. Pinchot believed that the forests should be actively administered to serve present populations, but at the same time safeguarding resources for future generations. On the other hand, the preservationists believed that the forest reserves should be locked up and the army directed to defend the trees. This adversarial position between Pinchot and Muir in the administration philosophy of national forests and parks was formalized in the ethos of the respective agencies which would be involved, the USFS and the National Park Service (established in 1916). The differing perspective of conservationists and preservationists in the environmental movement is also rooted in the divergent views of Pinchot and Muir. However, even though the preservation movement had established The Sierra Club and had created some legal precedents, new battles ensued and although there were many victories, one of the worst losses was the damming of “Yosemite National Park’s 55 wild Hetch Hetchy Valley” (Nash, 1982,139). The battle for the Hetch Hetchy Valley began in 1890 and concemed the damming of the valley to create hydro-electric power and water reservoirs for an expanding San Francisco. Initially denied permission, the project received authorization two years following the 1906 earthquake, which devastated San Francisco particularly through the ensuing fires. Scarcity of water was blamed for the fireball. Upon approval of the project, Muir, The Sierra Club, and other preservationists began an intense campaign to halt the damming. Muir and Johnson stated that the project symbolized the worst of America: “greed, materialism and indifference to ethical and aesthetic qualities” (Wellman, 1987,109). An altemative was available to the City of San Francisco for water and power supplies, but was more expensive. In addition, the portrayal of Hetch Hetchy as a part of a national park being handed over to special interest groups brought the project to the attention of the general public. Following intense national debate in the media and congress, the project was finally approved in 1913 and over seventeen years later constmction of the dam was completed. The damming of the Hetch Hetchy Valley was important in the environmental movement for three main reasons. It deepened the schism between the conservation and preservation movements by the stance of their leaders, Pinchot and Muir. More importantly, though this battle, more than any other, had aroused a nation from its sleep and had solidified the ‘wildemess cult,’ (Nash, 1982) a movement which was to grow in size and power. 31 It also precipitated the establishment of the National Park Service (NPS). Muir died a year after the approval of the project, but his life had created a profound impact on the landscape he loved so intensely.
Aldo Leopold: A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integritv. stability. and beautv of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise. Aldo Leopold, after a childhood and youth full of natural experiences in Iowa, graduated from the Yale Forest School in 1909. He was employed as a Forest Assistant
31 The ‘wildemess cult’ was influenced by three major forces: (1) the closure of the frontier during the 1890s, American life and thought had changed substantially since the pioneer days, and natural wildemess no longer existed. Many of the repulsive conditions of wildemess were shifted to the urban environment; (2) the Boy Scout movement was established and utilized wild areas for camping and leaming outdoor skills such as woodsmanship; and (3) spiritual renewal resulting from trips into wildemess areas. 56 in the USFS and located in the Southwest. “At this time Arizona and New Mexico were still territories, and Aldo Leopold grew up with the country” (ibid., 183). In 1915, Leopold began to organize local hunters around Albuquerque into game protection associations. He resigned three years later, as the USFS lacked, in his eyes, the conviction of a conservation and wildlife protection ethos, even though the conservation movement nationally was gaining momentum. However, Leopold had the intention of rejoining the organization when it would alter its wildlife policy. With the establishment of the NPS, people began to utilize the network of national parks as recreation destinations. Tourist figures increased over a number of years. Anxious that the organization would lose some land and possibly some funding, the USFS retaliated by exposing the public to the scenery and outdoor recreation possibilities available on USFS lands. Forests were now to be judged not only on their forest product capabilities but also on recreational potential. Leopold believed that the time had arrived to rejoin the organization. Following his retum in 1919, Leopold met Arthur Carhart, a kindred spirit, who believed in the preservation of many wild areas as wildemess. A year later, the USFS established its first area—Trappers Lake, Colorado, under the direction of Carhart and the District Forester—that was to remain roadless and undeveloped. Leopold continued his pressure for more areas and in 1921 wrote an article in which he defined wildemess. To him, wildemess clearly involved more than a single lake or valley, as in the Trapper Lake area. He called for an unbroken expanse of land preserved in its natural condition, available for lawful hunting and fishing, “big enough to absorb a two weeks’ pack trip, and kept devoid of roads, artificial trails and cottages, or other works of man” (Leopold, 1921, 718). Leopold was not alone in his call for the preservation of wildemess. Many popular writers proclaimed the need for wild tracts of land to be secured for future generations, to retain areas that had molded the American character, and that wildemess was a remedy for the many problems facing the nation. The ‘wildemess cult,’ which was becoming a powerful force, incorporated these ideas. While the USFS still lacked Leopold’s conviction to wildemess public opinion soon forced them to accommodate more wild areas in their planning. In 1935 Leopold, Robert Marshall (chief of Division of Recreation and Lands, USFS), and others founded the Wildemess Society, an organization which would have a profound impact on wildemess preservation. 57
Most people probably recognize Leopold from his writings, particularly A Sand County Almanac, published posthumously in 1949. This book advanced his land ethic which basically stated that any action which harmed the “integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community” was wrong (Leopold, 1949, 262). He had been largely influenced by Elton and his view of ecology. A major incident occurred to Leopold that altered his life and philosophy forever during his wildlife management days in New Mexico. This metamorphosis is documented in his essay “Thinking Like a Mountain.” During that period, he believed in wildlife management practices which eliminated predators, increasing deer populations creating a hunter’s paradise. One occasion after shooting a wolf, Leopold on approaching the wounded animal, watched “a fierce green fire dying in her eyes” (ibid., 138). A realization occurred to him at that point that had a profound impact on his ideas about wildlife management, ecosystems, and wildemess. It was “something new to me in those eyes—something known only to her and to the mountain” (ibid.). He had thought that fewer wolves would create a hunters’ paradise, but the overall influence on deer population and the land was devastating. He now knew that “after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view” (ibid., 139). Leopold’s idea that people need to learn to ‘think like a mountain’ was based on the need to connect with nature in such a way that the ‘integrity, stability and beauty’ of an ecosystem was maintained.
Sigurd Olson: Such things frocks, woods) give dignity and purpose to life: thev are part of solitude, tranquilitv. and silence, the sense of oneness with living things, and the awe with which we look at the world. Olson’s reputation is mainly confined to the area that he loved most, the Quetico-
Superior.32 Yet, his writings hold tme for any natural area whether preserved or under threat and match those of Thoreau, Muir and Leopold. Bom in Chicago, Olson was educated at Northland College, Wisconsin, on the shores of Lake Superior. He continued his education at the University of Wisconsin and University of Illinois. He held many prestigious positions including President of the Wilderness Society,
32 The Quetico-Superior is an area of interconnecting lakes and wildemess which straddles part of the northem border of Minnesota state (specifically Lake Superior and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness) in the U.S. and the southem border of the Canadian province of Ontario, known as the Quetico. 58
President of the National Parks Association, was a consultant to the Secretary of the Interior, the director of the National Park Service and the Izaak Walton League of America. Olson’s heart belonged to the north country, and he lived in Ely, Minnesota, doorway to his beloved lake country. “In travelling great rivers and lakes, there are times when islands fade, hills and headlands recede, the water merges with the sky in a distant mirage of shimmery blue. These are the open horizons of the far north” (Olson, 1969, xiii). Yet, as in the case of all the other writers, Olson’s cherished landscape came under threat. In the early twenties, the Forest Service announced a major road building plan which would allow access to every lake in the area. Olson was horrified at the prospect. Like Muir, Olson was an environmental interpreter, guiding people in the canoe country and his influence in this respect was enormous. His intimacy with the land and his words describing it, impacted many people, such as the president and founder of the Izaak Walton League of America, who stated that “the League must dedicate itself to saving the wildemess, for it belongs to all Americans” (ibid., 198). Seven years after the battle began, the Forest Service halted the road construction and established the Superior Primitive Area. Through his work, and that of the Quetico-Superior Council, the International Joint Com m ission 33 established in 1934 the Boundary Waters of northem Minnesota as an area of “last great wildemess” (ibid., 201). This area was later incorporated into the National Wildemess Preservation System (NWPS) through the 1964 Wildemess Act. In his book. Open Horizons, Olson (1969) outlined his wildemess philosophy, beginning with Thoreau’s famous wildness quote. He wrote that humans need to develop a philosophy which considers the “ancient codes of ethics embodying man’s oneness and dependence on nature” (220). What was required was an “ecology of man in harmony with the ecologies of all living things” (ibid.) and a basic understanding that the quest for “utopia reflects fundamental human needs” (ibid.). As Olson reminisced on his wildemess experiences, he contemplated “what our people had lost, the old freedoms and challenges, the silences and beauty, and wondered how far we would go in its subjection” (ibid., 218). He believed, as Thoreau did, that if humans could bridge
33 The Intemational Joint Commission is an U.S.-Canadian organization with responsibilities assigned from the two federal govemments for administering and formulating policies concerning the Great Lakes region of North America. 59 the gap between the wildemess and civilized worlds, then there would be some hope for both to survive. (Areas such as urban parks grew from this belief.) Olson believed that the intangible values of wildemess outweighed the economic benefits which had begun to dominate society. He knew that everyone could not be as fortunate as he, living so close to wildemess, but even through a visit people could relax and reconnect with nature in this environment to find the tme meaning to life. Olson died as he had lived, active and in the wild, testing a new pair of cross-country skis at the age of 83. His life stands as an example to all wildemess advocates, of a person who possessed an intimate knowledge of the land and a commitment to fight for the preservation of that land.
These writers and their philosophical stances on wilderness would soon be manifested in the legislation which created the NWPS. Thoreau had clearly impacted all the other writers, but their own personal experiences with wildemess were to define for them and possibly this nation what was to be considered wildemess and how it should be preserved.
The U.S. Wildemess Act fl9641 the legal definition of wildemess. and the U.S. National Wildemess Preservation Svstem (NWPS) The U.S. Wildemess Act was the culmination of hundreds of years of philosophizing about wildemess and its importance to humans on a number of grounds including experiential—the wildemess experience; scientific—a source of information about the intricate interrelationships between organisms; symbolic—part of the American heritage; and spiritual—the reawakening and renewing of one’s self in the wildemess setting. However, the difficult passage of this legislation through the U.S. Congress was indicative of the controversial nature of wildemess preservation. Some national parks were established by the 1900s through independent pieces of legislation, but the roots of wildemess preservation can be traced to the establishment of the U S F S . 34 This agency became concemed about the growing numbers of people
34 Of course there are many acts and pieces of legislation that are important to the whole process which concluded with the 1964 Wildemess Act. However, some of these can only be noted here, as it is not a function of this study to examine the legislation in detail. Important legislation includes: 1812—establishment of the General Land Office; 1864— Yosemite Grant; 1872—Yellowstone National Park; National 60 visiting national parks (administered by the recently organized National Park Service) for recreational purposes. Indeed, it has been suggested that interagency rivalry resulted in areas being designated as wildemess. The USFS feared that it might have some of its land transferred to the NPS for recreation. This rivalry was visible in the terminology used to designate undeveloped areas. While the USFS designated undeveloped areas as wildemess, the NPS called such areas primitive. However, following the creation of the L-20 Regulations establishing primitive areas on the national forests, the NPS changed its designating terminology to wildemess. In 1926, the USFS began to estimate the amount of wildemess in the national forests and “reported that 74 tracts totaling 55 million acres still remained, with the largest tract about 7 million acres” (Hendee et al.. 1990, 100). At this stage the definition of wildemess represented only lands which were roadless and commercially undeveloped. A further clarification occurred three years later, when “this inventory became a basis for the first systematic program of wildemess preservation— administrative regulation L-20 promulgated by the USFS” (ibid.). Areas included in the inventory which were 100,000 acres or larger were designated as primitive, while areas from 5,000 acres upward were defined wild places. The regulation was not protective of these areas, permitting certain commercial activities which were not compatible with the notion of wildemess. This same year, the NPS began its inventory of wildemess areas within the existing national parks. Forest lands were managed under a Multiple Use Management Program, taking into account six main resources—timber, watershed, grazing, recreation, wildlife, and environmental protection/preservation. These resources received different priority over the years, however, the USFS saw its role as mainly that of timber production. Ten years were to pass before the USFS tightened the L-20 Regulations, largely because of Robert Marshall, an avid supporter of wildemess preservation. Marshall and Leopold founded the Wildemess Society in 1935 and when Marshall joined the USFS two years later, he pushed for wildemess areas on the national forests. New regulations (called U Regulations) appeared in 1939 and land could be designated under three categories— “U-1 established wildemess areas—tracts of land not less than 100,000 acres; U-2 defined wild areas—tracts of land between 5,000 and 100,000 acres that could be established, modified, or eliminated by the chief of the USFS...U-3 established Mining Law; 1890—Yosemite National Park; and 1905—establishment of the U.S. Forest Service. 61 roadless areas” (ibid., 101). These regulations were far more protective that the L Regulations and curtailed excessive commercial development. While these new regulations improved the status of wildemess, they certainly did not safeguard it. Many people believed that congressional protection was necessary in conjunction with such administrative regulations. In 1949, a report published by the Legislative Reference Section of the Library of Congress highlighted the “widely disjointed programs of wildemess preservation....and reported substantial concem for the future of wildemess” (ibid., 102). Howard Zahniser, Executive Director of the Wildemess Society, this same year, outlined a proposal for a wilderness system. He was instrumental in the design of the legislation which would create the current NWPS. Five years later, Gilligan (1954) provided information on the status of the wildemess system and primitive areas. Although 13 million acres of land were designated as wildemess, wild, or primitive areas, their condition did not correspond to their classification. Two hundred miles of public roads, 145,000 acres of private inholdings, 24 airstrips, 60 mines, approximately 90 dams, almost 500 mining claims, and pasturage for 140,000 sheep and 25,000 cattle were present in the different areas. In addition, boundaries of wildemess areas were often reshaped to allow economic development. Zahniser believed that if a wildemess system was to be established, the legislation would have to be clear and concise, wildemess advocacy groups would need to maintain their cohesion, and opposition to the legislation would have to be minimized. During 1956, the first wildemess bill was introduced into Congress. Immediately the two main agencies involved with wildemess—the USFS and NPS— opposed the legislation. Grazing and mining interests also voiced their opposition. The original bill establishing a wildemess system called for the inclusion of land administered by the USFS, NPS, Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Between 35-45 million acres would receive designation almost immediately. The bill was more restrictive of certain practices, such as lumber production, prospecting, dam constmction, but did allow grazing and use of motorized vehicles once it conformed with the overall plans for the area. A National Wildemess Preservation Council consisting of the heads of the USFS, NPS, FWS, BIA, Smithsonian Institute, and six citizen preservationists would have been established under this legislation. 62
Under the Multiple-Use, Sustained Yield Act of 1960, the USFS is mandated to apply a policy of multiple use on the National Forests. Designation of a wildemess area “does not necessarily violate the multiple use philosophy. Such use may not provide the greatest dollar retum, but when the whole scale of values is considered it is presumed to provide the greatest overall benefit for that particular site” (Ridd, 1965, 179).35 In 1962, a report published by the Wildland Research Center recommended the establishment of a wildemess system protected by legislation. Pressure from the ‘wildemess cult’ began to increase to achieve this goal. Eventually, after 65 different wildemess bills were introduced, the Wildemess Act passed Congress and was signed into law by President Johnson in 1964. The act bore little resemblance to the original wildemess bill. The idea of the preservation council had evaporated, the BIA was excluded, the USFS primitive areas were not included initially, and restrictions on uses were not as severe. The Wildemess Act was definitely a compromise document, but it is highly improbable that it would have passed had these changes not been included. Immediately on the enactment of the legislation, over nine million acres of land were designated as wildemess. Three agencies were involved initially, USFS, NPS, FWS, and the bulk of designated areas lay in the west. Additional pieces of legislation increased the acreage to approximately to 100 million acres by 1994.36 in 1975 the Eastem Wildemess Areas Act annexed wildemess areas from the eastem states to the NWPS. In 1976, the Bureau of Land Management was added as a fourth agency to be involved in the wildemess system. While this figure of 100 million acres may seem extensive, it represents less than 5% of the land of the contiguous United States, approximately the size of Montana (less than 4% if all 50 states are used in the calculation). Large tracts of Alaskan wildemess (50 million acres) were set aside in 1980, an area that has already been breached by the Alaska Pipeline. The recent
35 Multiple use management has not been an easy task for any land agency. Many groups fail to see the real meaning of this principle which “is to manage the resource complex for the most beneficial combination of both present and future uses” (Ridd, 1965, 179). Such management would provide a visionary plan that favors the full range of present requirements and is also cognizant of future needs. The plan would have to be strong even to withstand short term goals and myopic assessments from curtailing future opportunities. 36 This figure does not include the new desert wildemess area designated in California during 1994. 63 designation of desert wilderness in California, and the controversy it spawned, is a clear indication that this is still as contentious an issue as ever. Examining the 1964 legislation, it is possible to note the influence that wilderness advocates and writers had on the definition of wilderness. Section 2(c) of the 1964 Wilderness Act defines this environment as follows: “A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain” (Wilderness Act). This became known as the ‘purity’ issue within the agencies and is important to the designation of land as federal wilderness. In addition, “an area of wilderness is further defined...(as) an area of undeveloped Federal land retaining its primeval character and (possessing)... outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation” (ibid.). Size was to be an important condition, areas have to be “at least five thousand acres of land or...of sufficient size as to make practicable its preservation and use in an unimpaired condition” (ibid.). Wilderness areas could also possess “ecological, geological, or other features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value” (ibid.). However, almost ten years later a new piece of legislation would expand the definition of wilderness. While the four federal land management agencies still adhere to the original 1964 legal wilderness definition, their scope has been broadened to encompass the 1975 wilderness legislation. According to Hendee etal. (1990), the Eastern Wilderness Law was a major challenge for management, representing a Congressial wish that wilderness be located closer to population centers. Smaller areas were also to be added to the system as well as land which had been previously used by humans. This brought a new perspective to the definition of wilderness, i.e. to include areas of land reclaimed by natural forces. Many issues could be raised concerning the new direction of the legal wilderness definition: Is secondary forest growth really wilderness? How pristine does an area have to be before it can be considered wilderness? Such issues have not received much attention in research probably because the agencies concern themselves only with the legal wilderness definition. In addition, wilderness management is considered a paradoxical statement by many people, an incarceration of wildness. Simmons (1993) stated that the legal classification of wilderness functions as a regulator over wildness, maintaining it in 64 carefully conquered areas which do not endanger the rest of the “imperium of human hegemony over the natural world” (170). By fencing in wilderness it can be enjoyed because it can not threaten the remainder of the human empire. Yet, many people would probably agree that legally wilderness has to be defined if it is to be protected, but protected from whom? From the resource extraction communities, from people who visit it for a variety of reasons, from individuals who have never experienced wilderness or from everyone? Perhaps first we should begin by exploring what wilderness means to people.
Recent Wilderness Research As mentioned previously, wilderness research has concentrated on the users of areas and the impact which they may have on an area and other users, particularly in relation to concepts such as solitude. However, very little research has been performed on the meaning of wilderness. This section discusses the available research which deals with the meaning of wilderness. It is divided into a number of major sections which were examined in relation to the areas covered in the questionnaire used in this study. These include definitions of wilderness, values of wilderness, therapeutic value of wilderness, experience and perception of wilderness, spiritual aspects of wilderness, and wilderness and the media. The body of scholarship and research performed on the users of wilderness areas37 (Ewert and Heywood, 1991; Heywood, 1990; Williams et al.. 1991), therapeutic value and restorative effects of wilderness (Bateman, 1990; Claggett, 1992; Kennedy and Minami, 1993; Klorer, 1992), wilderness experiences (Beck, 1988; Segal, 1989) and personal development through wilderness experiences (Easley et al. , 1990; Scherl, 1989; Shin, 1993) is abundant,38 research on the interpretive landscape of wilderness is extremely limited in the wilderness literature. In addition, this research is often quantitative and reductionist (or specific) in nature with some use of narratives. Little of this research relates to the holistic idea of wilderness, indeed studies that
37 Research includes characteristics of users, social grouping in wilderness situations, and interactions between individuals and groups in wilderness and national park environments. 38 Research has also been conducted on the physical characteristics of wilderness, monitoring the impact that users have on the facilities available and the natural environment. 65 examine this view of wilderness are lacking in the literature. Nash, in his doctoral work (1965) and later in his book, produced an in-depth and lengthy description of the historical evolution of the term wilderness, although his examination centers largely on the landscape element (and associated physical features with some wilderness attributes, such as solitude, etc.) of the term. Very little research has been conducted on the wilderness as a ‘state of mind’ and even then it concentrates on the preference and perception of natural places (Kaplan and Kaplan, 1989), not how people give meaning to the interpretive landscape of wilderness.
Definitions of Wilderness Wilderness can conjure many ideas and visions for western people. Wilderness has many definitions ranging from the personal to a legal meaning, from the dictionary to that of organizations. The personal meaning of wilderness was explored in this research. For many indigens, wilderness never existed, the environment was their home, but they did have certain sacred areas into which they rarely if ever ventured. Through the evolution of society, the word has changed (as seen in the chronological section outlined above). In the twentieth century, a legal definition has been formulated in the U.S.; other countries have followed suit in a similar manner but defined wilderness in their way. Soule (1995) traced the coexisting constructions of wilderness which evolved through western civilization, claiming that a universal perception of nature did not exist. Individuals can have many “independent impressions of nature, depending on culture, experience, context, and scale” (138). Figure 1 illustrates the various western constructions over estimated time periods. The various meanings associated with wilderness as they evolved has been traced in the earlier sections of the chapter. It is interesting to note the different meanings wilderness may possess at the end of the twentieth century. An individual may define this setting as one or more of these constructions depending on their experiences and ‘lifeworld.’ Historically it seems each meaning is rooted in the Magna Mater. Returning to the wilderness, with a particular consciousness may help the individual locate the Oneness with the setting. 66 Aodent and Premodem Modem Posonodem Sdence, Global Technology Agriculture IndustrWizarion. and Communicarion Ezploratioo Temple
Biodiversity Wild Other Wild Kingdom Magna Mater (Oneness) Gymnasium
Provider Modem Gaia
Bully
100.000 10.000 1.000 100 Years ar
Figure 1. Western constructions of living nature (Soulé, 1995, 140).
Section 2(c) of the 1964 U.S. Wilderness Act defines wilderness as follows:
“A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain. An area of wilderness is further defined to mean in this Act an area of undeveloped Federal land retaining primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions and which (1) generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man’s work substantially unnoticeable; (2) has outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation; (3) has at least five thousand acres of land or is of sufficient size as to make practicable its preservation and use in an unimpaired condition; and (4) may also contain ecological, geological, or other feamres of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value” Wilderness Act, Public Law 88-577.
Aspects of this definition were discussed in the section tracing the establishment of the NWPS. Conditions used in a dictionary definition of wilderness include “an uncultivated, uninhabited region” and the word “waste” (Neufeldt, 1989, 491). The World Wilderness Congress redefined the U.S. legal definition as follows: 67
Wilderness is an enduring natural area, legislatively protected and of sufficient size to protect the pristine natural elements which may serve physical and spiritual well-being. It is an area where little or no persistent evidence of human intrusion is permitted, so that natural process may begin to evolve (as cited in Hendee etal.. 1990,90).
Australia, Finland, New Zealand have all produced legal definitions of wilderness so that their respective land agencies can protect this area. There is a commonality to the legal definitions, which could be traced to the development of the U.S. Wilderness Act. However, such definitions are not the only ones where there is some correspondence. Important research performed by Heberlein (1982) examined the words that were associated with wilderness by a group of individuals. In addition to the physical characteristics attributed to wilderness (“beauty, wind, solitude, and desolation,” (177)), the term also evoked both positive and negative emotional words such as “freedom, darkness, peaceful, lonely, free, alone, happiness and loneliness” (ibid.) Using two samples, one from the University of Wisconsin and the other from Wyoming and New York, Heberlein determined a high correlation between the 75 most frequently used words (rank order correlation (r) of 0.61). In addition, “six of the top 10 most frequently used words were common to both groups” (ibid., 169). While this study is important, meaning of a term is more than the association of words, and examining how wilderness is related to an individual’s reality is required in the attempt to understand how the meaning was created and the importance it holds for that individual. Hummel (1982) reported some interesting points in his research on “definitional perceptions and support for more wilderness” (184). His results indicated that the legal definition of wilderness was uncertain for many of his respondents and that this lack of clarity created a mistrust for wilderness protection. However, his results did indicate that “stronger support (was present) for more wilderness by respondents who specify that they think of wilderness as being unaffected by humans” (ibid.).39
39 This dissertation does not examine the issue of support for the preservation of wilderness directly, but it does deal with how people demonstrate the value which they place on wilderness. This knowledge is important in examining the issue of support for wilderness and wild areas. 6 8
The global image of wilderness is represented in the work of Hallikainen (1994), who surveyed 2,000 randomly selected Finnish people. One of his findings illustrated that people’s first images of wilderness were “roadless, uninhabited areas covered mainly with virgin forests...Other characteristic images included silent areas’’ (261). Hallikainen (1994) found it interesting “that the responses of people with different backgrounds were astonishingly homogenous” (ibid.). Hallikainen (1994) also noted that his results suggested that a continuum existed in people’s definition of wilderness and that Finnish people visited wilderness areas for similar reasons as the American user. He concluded from the results that the experience people had with nature within the Finnish culture was important to the wilderness idea, even for people who had never visited wilderness. The importance of wilderness historically and culturally was also suggested as a major influence. This globalization of the wilderness concept is very interesting and has led some countries to institute similar wilderness land management policies.
Values of Wilderness Various types of values are associated with wilderness. For the visitor, there are the recreational and scenic values, for the local communities and extraction industries economic worth, for the wilderness purist spiritual benefits, for the scientist biodiversity values, and the indigen regards it as ‘home.’ These values are dependent on the perception of the person experiencing this environment directly or through some medium. Rolston (1989) lists 12 values of wilderness which include: (1) market value, (2) life support value, (3) recreational value, (4) scientific value, (5) genetic diversity value, (6) aesthetic value, (7) cultural symbolization value, (8) historical value, (9) character-building value, (10) therapeutic value, (11) religious value, and (12) intrinsic natural value. Many of the values of wilderness can be seen as non-complimentary and may cause conflict leading to major arguments and legal battles over particular activities permitted in legally protected areas. The majority of these values are discussed in this review, although some may be subsumed under one particular heading. In addition, Haas et al. (1986) determined that people who never visit wilderness can also use this setting indirectly. Vicarious use comes about through some medium, either media, people, or natural experiences. Three types of values result from 69 indirect use: (1) option, (2) existence, and (3) bequest value. Many people believe that having wilderness available to visit, whether they will visit it or not, is an option that should be open to them. For others, the simple fact that wilderness exists represents a value, even though these people will never have the option of visiting it. In fact, some of these people would be extremely fearful of experiencing such settings. Many people also wish to bequeath wilderness to the future generations.
Therapeutic Value of Wilderness The ability of a wilderness setting to provoke positive feelings and emotions has resulted in its use for therapy and as a restorative experience (Greenway, 1993; Hammit, 1993; Hartig et al.. 1993; Hollenhorst etal.. 1993) creating the relatively new branch of psychology called ecological psychology, which is based on the “somewhat parallel and complimentary...(areas of) eco-psychology and deep ecology" (Greenway, 1993, 205). Indeed, some researchers would state that the ‘wilderness within’ is threatened by the stresses of the post-modern society (Greenway, 1995; Smith, 1990). Kaplan and Kaplan (1989) have produced one of the most comprehensive bases of literature on perception of nature, including wilderness. In their methodology, participants were asked to categorize photographs of environmental scenes. In a wilderness program study, the researchers examined the experience, characteristics of the setting, and changes in the individual participants. However, the meaning of wilderness was omitted. While pointing to the restorative effects of short- and long term natural experiences, Kaplan and Kaplan (1989) realized that a dialectic exists for humans between an instinctive pull toward and a fear of nature.40 Balancing this dualism varies across time, space and place. Researchers have highlighted that while positive rewards can accrue from such experiences, the stress resulting from exposure to wilderness areas or rugged natural environments, especially for individuals unaccustomed to this type of environment can be high (Ewert, 1986; Kaplan and Kaplan, 1989). Kaplan (1984) reported that in wilderness experiences “nature provides not only the background for the activities, but the content itself” (286). Entering the
40 Even though Kaplan and Kaplan (1989) explored the perception of natural environments, and examined wilderness experiences, their research rarely considered the meaning that people gave to wilderness in their world view. 70
extraordinary natural world, which is so completely different from the typical environment, people reflect on their own lives and a simpler lifestyle, and mysteries of the planet and solitude. In addition, such trips highlight a recognition and deeper understanding of nature. All of these themes influence the person and allow self- discovery. Greenway (1993) believes that varying levels of experience are available in the wilderness setting. He states that while everyone may enter the wilderness physically, few may enter it psychologically. He calls this the “psychological wilderness boundary” (213). Greenway states that if one really crosses this boundary, then a profound transformation will occur in the person-nature relationship, one that may have incredible outcomes on that person. He also calls the America culture ‘the 48 hour’ culture—based on his observations that the peaceful feelings that people possess following a wilderness experience, dissipate following 48 hours in human society. Returning to the modem culture allows all its fears, problems, and uneasy feelings to be experienced again (R. Greenway, Personal Communication, May, 1994). The peace of wilderness has departed.'* •
Experience and Perception of Wilderness Emotions evoked by the term wilderness in adults may result from childhood memories and experiences, many of which occur in the formative years (Nabhan and Trimble, 1994; Palmer, 1993; Roggenbuck et al.. 1990; Sebba, 1991; Tanner, 1980) and lead to a greater environmental sensitivity (Sia et al.. 1985/86). The latter’s research found that environmental sensitivity was associated with experiencing somewhat pure environments on a longterm basis starting at an early age. However, “the outdoor environments need not be wilderness, but (natural environments which) often seemed to produce feelings of awe and wonder” (Roggenbuck et al.. 1990, 120). In addition, the natural environment was experienced either alone or with one or two people, who were generally family members or teachers. Palmer (1993) reported from her research that outdoor experiences, education, parents/close relatives, environmental and youth organizations, media, and friends/other
41 An obvious extension of this is the possibility of maintaining this wilderness feeling, the peace, after leaving the physical setting. The issue is partly addressed in this study when people were asked if they can have a wilderness experience without physically being in the wilderness environment 71 individuals influenced, when a young person’s perception of the natural environment. Such youthful experiences and influences stayed with the person into adulthood, continuing to influence that individual’s environmental consciousness. The first category included wilderness experiences and some of the participants specifically cited the impact of open space, remote places, and the sense of solitude or freedom. This was similar to Tanner’s (1980) research which reported outdoor experiences, personal contact with the habitat, solitude in the environment, role models, and media as having major impacts on the perception of nature. Sebba (1991) highlighted the importance of childhood experiences to the meanings associated with places. A connection exists between the quality of the child’s experience and how it is etched in memory as she matures. Active involvement, through awareness and with the senses, in an experience is probably engraved in memory for a long time. In addition, the “sympathetic attitude the child displays toward nature is likely to accompany the experience even when recalled in memory” (395). However, an Arm and Hammer Baking Soda survey of U.S. fifth and sixth graders on Earth Day 1992 reported that while 53% of those sampled listed the media as their primary source of environmental information, only nine percent of the children cited learning environmental information from home. Thirty-one percent stated that school was the source for this type of information. The question such results poses is even though people may be knowledgeable about the environment, what is their environmental awareness and action level? Gigliotti (1992) discussed this point, noting from his research that, after two decades of environmental education raising the awareness level of environmental problems, undergraduate students were less willing to make personal sacrifices than students 20 years ago. The influence of individual lifestyles and a loss of the connection to nature were seen as factors impacting this situation. Another emotion associated with wilderness for some people is an intense spirituality, sensed only in this quiet, undisturbed environment. Graber (1976) states that many people experience such a powerful feeling when first encountering their notion of an ideal landscape that it alters their perception of that environment forever. Such encounters may be more ftequent in adolescence, although they are not confined to youth. Palmer (1993) also found that awareness of God in nature during childhood was an important influence on the meaning of environment for environmental educators. 72
Spiritual Aspects of Wilderness Wilderness, has throughout history, had a very strong spiritual/religious connotation for some people. The Transcendentalists believed that in nature the soul could assist in perceiving the universal spiritual truths. Olson, the other wilderness writers, and contemporary researchers discuss the therapeutic properties of a wilderness experience and the ability to reconnect to nature in such settings. In addition, some people consider this experience as a method of spiritual rejuvenation and connection. Such people tend to possess a strong wilderness ethic and generally are called wilderness purists (Graber, 1976; Hendee et al.. 1968). For some people certain areas of wilderness are ‘sacred spaces,’ ‘holy ground’ where they can experience the presence of the Creator through the solitude available in these locations. As noted earlier, most cultures tended to have sacred space; the Celts had scared oak groves, the Christians have hallowed ground. To enter such space is to open oneself to a spiritual/religious^z experience. Yet such places are not worshipped for themselves, they are venerated as hierophanies (Graber, 1976). In an hierophany, the sacred is manifested through an object, thus the object represents something else, but yet remains the same, as it continues in its relationship to other objects in the cosmos. During such an experience, the individual has an encounter with the Wholly Other, the essence or spirit of a greater power transmitted through natural objects. Through the dichotomy of humans and nature, people had been separated from experiencing this spirit and therefore have to leave the city and commune with nature in a pristine area (Evemden, 1992). The emotions conjured by such a numinous experience are reverence, compassion, and affection and part of a larger piety for nature (also termed geopiety).43 However, such emotions generally only surface in wilderness areas and visitors need to cross the psychological and emotional boundary if a numinous experience is to occur (Greenway, 1995). Figure 2 illustrates the relationship between wilderness as sacred space and the numinous experience.
42 Through this section and the remaining chapters, spiritual is used to denote a spiritual or religious experience unless specifically noted. 43 A numinous experience is having some sort of contact with a sacred power. 73
NA
NU
Figure 2. Wilderness as Sacred Space (Graber, 1976,5).
P = Sacred power H = Hierophany Na = Nature W = Wilderness M = Man (Human) G = Geopiety Nu = Numinous experience S = Wilderness as sacred space
Even though wilderness may conjure images of forests, high tree covered mountains, clear blue lakes, it does not have to be scenic, but conditions leading to a numinous experience include undeveloped, natural land which offers the probability of solitude. To the purist, the idea of wilderness and Eden are similar: this paradise survives on selected portions of the earth known as wilderness. Experiences in the wilderness environment may result in the development of intense verbal and visual images which symbolize and evoke a great diversity of emotions, values, and beliefs. 74
Wilderness and the Media People are exposed to the majority of current information, much of which is scientific and technological, through the mass media. Living in an ‘information age,’ the movie Star Wars, “becomes associated with the debate over the development of new space-based antiballistic missile systems, (and) ‘SuperFund’ becomes part of our environmental vocabulary” (Elliot and Rosenberg, 1987, 164). Many educators and mass media specialists believe that “film and television have the greatest potential for activating environmental change” (Gellhom, 1991,12). Some writers (Paterson, 1991, Soulé, 1995, Lease, 1995, Evemden, 1992) speculate that western civilization has entered the postmodern age and in a world of entertainment humans have become “bored voyeurs demanding more and more of the shock and thrill to be found in the sights and sounds of excess, decay and impending Armageddon” (Paterson, 1991,29). In such a period of civilization then, what influence does the media have on an individual’s meaning for a landscape such as wilderness? Researchers have examined different aspects of media’s influence on the environmental knowledge of people. Verbal and visual images are important sources of data in a society where information is passed from generation to generation through literacy and technology. The meaning of wilderness has been influenced by the verbal images created by writers, such as Thoreau, Leopold, Muir, Olson, and many others (Abbey, Carlson, Wilson). These writers and their influences were previously discussed. Examining the role of visual imagery is covered in this section. Ostman and Parker (1986) determined from their research that newspapers were used most frequently for environmental information, followed by TV, magazines, and radio, with books and pamphlets utilized the least. However, when asked which medium the respondents perceived to be most believable as sources of environmental information, they ranked books as most believable, followed by magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, television, and radio. This has important implications for the perception of wilderness and all environmental issues. Of the media available, Fortner et al. (1991) reported television and newspapers as a primary source of information. Kellert (1980) reported that 78% of Americans polled viewed, during a two-year period, a minimum of one animal-related television program. Wild Kingdom was the television program the majority of those polled (61%) watched. 75
Television has certainly become an intrinsic part of society in developed nations, and has considerable cultural influence throughout the world. This audio-visual medium undoubtedly has an impact on public perceptions as the television set “is on daily in the typical U.S. home for an average of more than seven hours” (Gerbner, 1987, 111). It seems that for many of the American people, “the TV set is the only teacher...The medium that more than any other molds the American consciousness is television. I’m talking about commercial television” (Scientist’s Institute for Public Information, 1989,9). While the influence of media on the “public’s political behavior has been the most enduring and sustained line of scholarly research on mass communications” (Pierce et al.. 1990, 838). Images of the planet, “from our own neighborhoods to distant and foreign lands, are influenced, shaped, moulded (sic), and even created by images given to us by the media” (Zonn, 1984,149). Examining the depiction and perception of natural and human-constructed landscapes, directly and indirectly in certain media has produced some interesting results. Zonn (1984) proposed the transactional model as an approach to the perception and depiction of landscapes, suggesting that this model is related to the “connection, or transaction, between the individual and the perceived environment...the depiction model is concerned with the character of the environmental image presented by the medium” (145). In addition, this is influenced by contact with the landscape, whether there is direct transaction between the person and the landscape or if it is depicted through some medium, resulting in indirect transaction. For example, in direct transaction, the person is in intimate contact with the environment experiencing the many elements that compose its total ambience. On the other hand, another person who has encountered and translated these elements may deliver information indirectly. Often, this indirect transaction is the only method of obtaining information concerning a landscape. Zonn (1984) states that most people “have images of the harbors of Sydney and Hong Kong, even if we have never been to those places” (144). In essence then, perceptions of familiar landscapes tend to be dominated by direct experiential contact, “whereas the landscapes more removed from everyday activities are more likely to be created and maintained by indirect means” (ibid., 144-145). 76
However, the depiction of landscapes does have its limitations. The substance of a landscape is distorted as it is conveyed through the filter (i.e. media, person). The projected image does not have the capability to replicate the environment completely, and “thus cannot provide for realization of its transactional considerations in the same way as direct experience” (ibid., 146). Figure 3 illustrates the transactional model. Inherent in the model are the interconnected elements of time, context and change. Time influences context resulting in alterations to perceptions, changes in the social environment, changes in behavior resulting in subtle or dramatic landscape change, and natural processes. Context is multidimensional, including social and physical conditions. “Change is a reciprocal process involving both the individual and the environment” (Zube and Kennedy, 1990, 184).
TRANSACTIONS
INSIOERS; TRANSACTIONS Parcaptlona, Motivation^
TRANSACTIONS
BEHAVIORMEDIA
OUTSIDERS; Parcaotlons, Motlvatlona.
Figure 3. The Transactional Approach (Zube and Kennedy, 1990. 185). 77
Burgess (1982) believed that sensory experiences from a well-produced documentary combined to create a sense of place that could not be attained from verbal or written accounts. While writings were generally unable to give the full quality of the experience, the combination of sights and sounds allowed an individual to recreate an environment. Cameras and audio equipment allow the film-producer to escort the audience through the environment. Burgess (1982) stated that “the sense of immediacy and direcmess is retained in the translation of experience” (39).
Images of landscapes have, or course, been used since people began painting on cave walls. As humans became more civilized, the representation of landscapes through maps and painting became more important to exploration of the planet. Clark (1949) suggests that four types of landscapes are represented within western art. Landscapes o f symbols usually depicted in medieval art were full of Christian allegory; landscapes o f fact are full of intense meanings and emotions, but the individual components are not symbolic; landscape of fantasy depicts a tough, harsh primitivism—dark, twisting, astonishingly alive; finally ideal landscapes represent a neatly manicured nature meeting human desires. As society became more electronic, it was probable that such representations of nature, including wilderness would carry over into the newer media of TV and movies. Jakle (1990) believed that a place image was composed of, at least, four components: belief, attitude, intentionality, and icon. Belief was defined as the mental notions of the existence of a place. Attitude covered the affective or emotive orientations to that place. Intentionality represented behavior as a result of beliefs and attitudes. Jakle (1990) states that “beliefs and attitudes of place implication attach themselves to objects in the landscape” (84) to what he terms icons. These icons “point, signify, and symbolize beyond themselves as objects” (ibid.) and trigger complex memories about a place. Wilderness could certainly represent one such icon. Helphand (1986) in his research suggests classifying the use of landscapes in film into four main areas: Landscape as Subject, Landscape as Setting, Landscape as Character, and the Landscape as Symbol. The first category generally are documentaries such as a film about the Amazon, Los Angeles, Grand Canyon, or volcanoes. At a basic level these are descriptive films, informing the viewer of the location. At another level, they allow people to visit areas “giving us experiences that 78 we would not have had without the camera’s probing and even voyeuristic eye” (2). Often, these films portray the relationship between humans and the environment. Landscapes used as settings generally appear in films as the background to the overall story, often playing a crucial role in creating the correct ambiance in the final product. Helphand (1986) states that the audience may allow itself to suspend belief as the film transports it to another environment. Trust in the veracity of the photographic vision to imitate “reality has conditioned us to accept and believe what we see on the screen as real...(But) we also know of the illusionistic nature of film, and we simultaneously may suspend our belief’ (3) in the truth of the image. The third category. Landscape as Character, deals with the anthropomorphism of the land. In this type of film, the human’s and the landscape’s ‘personalities’ may resonate or a tension may exist between them. Using the classic Westerns of John Ford as an example, Helphand (1986) implies that often the characters are utilized in a divided manner as the “dialectics of civilization and wilderness are played out in mountains and plains...The Western landscape...is viewed as an antagonist...a noble savage endowed with heroic strength and virtue” (4) emphasized by the majestic intensity of its breathtaking scenery. Heroes in these films shared the same traits as the landscape and are used to nurture oncoming civilization. Landscapes are often used as symbols and Helphand (1986) defines this “where the landscape image represents something beyond its physical reality” (5). In many films, travel through the landscape is an integral part of the plot, however it is also “the setting for personal trials, tribulations, temptations, and lessons learned ‘along the way.’ The voyage is a movement through a physical space” (ibid.), as well as a journey through the abstract and mental landscape. Since its inception, American film has been fascinated by geography and landscape. “No national cinema places more emphasis on the outdoors, or more intimately relates the attitudes or preoccupation of its characters to the shape” (Baxter, 1976, 1) and symbolic representation of the land. Many silent classics exist in which nature has an incredible power and mysterious significance. “The motion picture appeals directly to vision and hearing...Nevertheless, the medium offers a broad spectrum of visual and aural effects” (Zonn, 1984, 148.). It allows for ‘short-term audio-visual visitation,’ where the audience is transported to another location (outside of their home or movie theater) to experience the theme of the movie or film. This experience may or may not be dependent on a particular landscape. 79
Landscapes, then, may help to create a specific atmosphere critical to the setting of the plot, or they may be important only in certain parts or be completely insignificant to the story. Even when the landscape is an integral part of the film, the type of presentation can be varied considerably. Some landscapes are portrayed as unique and represent a specific location, others are depicted as generic and present a type of landscape. In addition to the symbolism inherent in landscapes and the physical characteristics of the environment, landscape has also “been defined as the ‘confluence of our ideas of nature and of culture’” (Jacobs, 1991, 48). Indeed, the depiction of landscape goes far beyond an image or moving film, “it is the field upon which our ideas of nature and culture are inscribed in continually changing reflections of each other” (ibid). It expresses “who we are at any one of a number of periods of time and at any one of a number of places and events” (ibid., 55). Landscape embodies the cumulative memory of nature and of culture. Television and movies reflect, to a certain extent, the environment in which they are filmed. A recent computer development allows a three-dimensional environmental experience mainly through imageiy projected to the senses. This system, called Virtual Reality (VR), permits an individual to ‘virtually’ visit and experience various terrestrial, aquatic, fictional, or extra-terrestrial environments. Individuals can also assume the role of specific elements within the environment, for example a fish trying to get upstream from the sea to spawn. Though crude VR systems were developed in the 1960s, the term was not coined until 1989. Research in this area is sparse and tends to concentrate on developmental problems. Taylor (1994) reports that the system has evolved from fantasy and science fiction to an applicable educational technology. In a survey of environmental educators, he found that generally VR was a potentially beneficial tool. Specifically, Taylor (1994) determined that VR applications which allow students to ‘experience’ natural environments otherwise unavailable to them, were considered to be beneficial. However, if such environments simulated the physical world only and did not contain experiences beyond that, then these experiences were not deemed beneficial. Perception of landscapes will undoubtedly be influenced by the communicative method used. While research has tended to concentrate on traditional methods of communication in media, some researchers have questioned the adequacy of this approach, particularly in light of the constructive process of knowledge. Far from being 80 the empty bucket or tabula rasa perceived by certain educational and communication theories, the mind is the beautifully complex and intricate ‘seat of consciousness.’ From birth, humans assimilate knowledge and construct their own personal viev; of their world. Knowledge, in this philosophy, is assumed to provide an incomplete description of reality; it exists, to a large degree, internally and “is measurable in terms of multidimensional qualities’’ (Dervin et al.. 1992, 420). This constructing of knowledge is the method that people use to make sense of or give meaning to the world. Indeed, the transactional approach proposed by Zonn (1984) transcends a physiological or psychological process. He visualizes the integration of the individual and the environment through the linking transaction as a dynamic process. Dewey recognized this dynamism as a practically “all-encompassing aspect of meaning in which ‘an element of any act of intelligence only gains its meaning in the context of the transaction itself’’ (Csikszentmihalyi and Rochberg-Halton, 1981,175 as cited in Zonn, 1984, 145). These are important aspects to remember when attempting to communicate with people on critical issues. Associated with this, messages concerning issues may contain cognitive (informative) elements, as well as emotional (alerting) elements. Such messages may attempt to appeal to the conscience to generate disgust or anxiety, or alternatively, “to the ego, to create insight as to the problem and to find some channel of positive action” (Ostman, 1976,221). Positive action and the “readiness to participate, (or) initiate...action” (Peled, 1989, 19) is one of the ultimate goals of wilderness preservation. One of the major challenges in environmental education/communication is ‘to create the insight as to the problem.’ Recognizing the role of people’s ‘realities’ may be crucial in altering the Dominant Social Paradigm to the New Environmental Paradigm (Dunlap and Van Liere, 1978), which advocates “growth restrictions, ecosystem integrity, and nontechnologically driven harmony between humans and the rest of the biosphere” (Cantrill, 1992, 36). Sense-Making, with its assumptions and as the methodology used in this research, should play a role in helping to uncover these ‘realities.’ If saving wilderness is seriously contemplated, the assumption of molding knowledge in the process of personal sense-making in an ever-changing reality could become extremely important in the development of effective environmental communication models, thus creating ‘the insight as to the problem’ and ultimately promoting the action to solve it. 81
Wilderness, the meaning, has received scant attention in the literature. As a result it is assumed that researchers believe that people view wilderness as stated in the Wilderness Act or as some large pristine area. This does not seem to be the case, although similarities between definitions do exist. Just as legal definitions can change, personal definitions can alter. The development of wilderness as a term has been traced in this chapter, the battles to save wilderness have been noted, however, in the final analysis, if wilderness is to be preserved, then an understanding of how people give meaning to that term is required. This study attempts to explore this problem and begin the quest for the meaning of wilderness. CHAPTER m
METHODOLOGY AND METHOD
“There is something in us deeply intolerant of mystery, something that drives us to prod and probe the natural world and crack open more and more o f its secrets and tinker with its deepest workings. We open darkness to the light of rationality as relentlessly as the early settlers once opened the eastern forests. We do this in the name o f knowledge, but our knowledge is too often a knife—it cuts the world into pieces, wonders where its life and spirit have gone, and cuts again ” (Daniel, 1994,44-45).
“One of the significant mysteries of man’s life in culture: how it is that other people's creations can be so utterly their own and so deeply part of (Geertz, us" 1983,54).
Review of Purpose of Study As stated in Chapter One, this dissertation explored the meaning of the term wilderness. The review of the historical and cultural roots of the term is important since wilderness may only be capable of surviving through society’s legal definition of those areas considered to be wilderness. But are other places understood to be wilderness? Does it even have to be a place? Can it purely be a ‘state of mind?’ People live in “an information matrix saturated with ecological and environmental references’’ (Cantrill, 1992,36), yet what influence does the media have on the meaning attributed to the term by the informants/participants in the study? Through the methodology of Sense- Making, and basing the study in an interpretive posture, an attempt was made to come to understand with people their comprehension of the term wilderness. The population interviewed in the study consisted of graduate and undergraduate students at The Ohio State University. A randomly selected group of 90 students were surveyed over the phone for information relating to their experience with wilderness. 82 83
From this group, 20 informants were purposefully selected based on their experience with wilderness. In other words, participants were selected on the basis of whether they have or have not visited what they consider to be wilderness. In total four groups of participants were formed: undergraduates who have visited wilderness; undergraduates who have not visited wilderness; graduates who have visited wilderness; and graduates who have not visited wilderness. Overall, participants were divided into two groups: ‘Visitors’—those who had visited what they considered to be wilderness, ‘Non-Visitors’—those who had not visited this setting.
Rationale of Approach Over thirty years ago the National Wilderness Preservation System was established. As the 21st century approaches, the continuation of this system, the survival of federal and state designated wilderness, is linked to the meaning that individuals give to this term. Many writers and researchers confine their work to the legal definition of wilderness, yet individuals do not always invoke this definition in their perception of wilderness. The approach used to understand the meaning that individuals have given to this term is phenomenological, following the theoretical basis of Lincoln and Cuba (1985), Strauss and Corbin (1990). However, this has become framed within the theoretic and methodology espoused by Dervin (1983a; 1983b; 1993).' Before the methodology of Sense-Making is explicated, it is necessary to justify the approach used here, a marriage of some aspects of qualitative research and Sense-Making. Much of this discussion is based on the work of Dervin (1982-1993), Lincoln and Cuba (1985), and Strauss and Corbin (1990).
Methodological focus “Research should not just be an attempt to learn about people, but to come to know with them the reality which challenges them’’ (Evert-Jan Wals, 1991, 17; emphasis in original). With this in mind and attempting to interpret the meaning given to wilderness by individuals, a phenomenological approach was selected as the most
1 Dervin states that the Sense-Making approach “can in some senses be said to stand between methodological divisions, in that it cannot be placed at either one end or another of the many polarities that form the current contests in the social sciences: for example qualitative versus quantitative’’ (1992,61). 84 appropriate framework which allows an understanding of the “everyday world of experience through language” (ibid.). This framework is based in the naturalistic paradigm and is founded on a number of axioms. These include the assumptions that existing multiple constructed realities may be examined holistically, the research and the ‘object of inquiry’ influence each other, “knower and known are inseparable; all entities are in a state of mutual simultaneous shaping so that it is impossible to distinguish causes from effects;” (Lincoln and Cuba, 1985, 37-38)2 and research is intricately bound with values. As a result of these axioms, “fourteen characteristics of operational naturalistic inquiry” (ibid., 39) are implied. Those relevant to this research include: • the use of the natural context of the entity for which the study is proposed because naturalistic ontology suggests that realities are wholes that cannot be understood in isolation from their contexts, the whole is more than the sum of the parts; • use of humans as the primary data-gathering instruments because humans constmct meanings for different aspects of the world; • employment of tacit and prepositional knowledge; • use of qualitative methodology which is more versatile in dealing with multiple realities; • purposive sampling; and • emphasis on trustworthiness (ibid., 39-43).3
However this study intended to examine the phenomenon of wilderness from an actor-oriented interpretive meaning-making perspective, which necessitates the addition of the above points to the overall framework of Sense-Making. This is a theoretic and methodology, developed by Dervin (1983a; 1983b; 1993) which transcends both unsystematic qualitative research and the “paradigm crisis” (1992, 80). Nash’s (1982) statement concerning each individual’s subjective definition of wilderness constituting
2 For a full discussion of the theoretic basis of naturalistic inquiry, refer to Lincoln and Cuba (1985). 3 The remaining eight characteristics are: (1) negotiated outcomes; (2) emergent design; (3) inductive data analysis; (4) grounded theory; (5) case study reporting mode; (6) idiographic interpretation; (7) tentative application; and (8) focus determined boundaries (Lincoln and Cuba, 1985,41-42). 85
‘no definition at all’ may well have been founded on the assumptions based on the chaotic individual. Assuming individuals to be chaotic has resulted in “two radically different types of retreat: one is the retreat to qualitative and highly contextualized understandings of individuals; the other is the retreat from individual to structural understandings” (Dervin, 1992, 65). Nash, I fear, has retreated firom the former into the latter category by his statement, intimating that “individuality is overbearingly unique” (ibid., 1993,23). Yet, knowledge acquired through phenomenological studies is not subjective, in that it is the antithesis of objective, but is “subjective in that it finds its origin in a ‘subject’ that is at the core of a world which is shared with other ‘subjects’” (Margadant-Van Arcken, 1988,7). Similarly,
“Sense-Making is individualistic in its focus because it acknowledges that individual humans are the carriers of communicative action, the acts by which meaning is made and systems are energized. But it is also structural, because it acknowledges that individuÈds live in and embody structures and have varying degrees of consciousness of this” (Dervin, 1992, 81).
Dervin (1992) states that framing particular forms of qualitative research on the chaotic individual assumption allows such inquiry to be characterized as ‘systematically unsystematic.’ However, “Sense-Making on the other hand, assumes that there is something systemic about individual behavior to be found by pursuing process orientation” (ibid.). Sense-Making, then provides a fiamework and a vehicle for exploring meanings of a term, but more importantly creates an approach that allows access to the reality of individuals and how a term, with its myriad of meanings, relates to that reality.
Sense-Making and Qualitative Research Reality, according to Lincoln and Cuba (1985) falls into four categories, depending on one’s world view. These include an objective, perceived, constructed. 86
and created reality .4 Probably one of the clearest characterizations of reality is described by Emery. He states that “personal reality—the way we think life is and the part we are to play in it — is self created. We put together our own personal reality” (Emery, 1978, 39; emphasis in original). In addition, reality is composed of a person’s interpretation and perceptions of the “way things are and what has happened to us...We literally create a reality that reflects our view of the world and who we are in relation to it” (ibid.). Even though Emery uses the word ‘create’ in this statement, his emphasis lay in a constructed reality as opposed to a created reality. Naturalistic inquiry, as defined by Lincoln and Cuba, is more suitable to explore the former. This is based on their belief that persons, things, and events are indeed corporeal. The meanings secured from or “ascribed to these tangible phenomena in order to make sense of them, organize them, or reorganize a belief system...are constructed realities” (Lincoln and Guba, 1985,84).
In traditional scientific and educational terms, the acquisition of knowledge and the ‘knowable reality’ was conceived of as cognition. Kagan (1966) defines cognition as a process whereby a person labels “the information presented” (98) producing a hypothesis and evaluates the validity of that hypothesis. This “labeling, hypothesis generation, evaluation, and implementation of transformations are basic cognitive processes” (ibid.). Posner and Friedrich (1986) simply define cognition as the discipline that investigates the “acquisition, representation and activation of knowledge. The field of cognition may be broken down into separate cognitive systems that reflect such functions as object recognition, motor control, language processing, and attention” (81 ). The process is not only dissected, but many other aspects of human “be-ing” such as emotions, etc. and their impact on the process are omitted. In addition, the traditional view of concepts/ideas implies that all cases of a concept have in common characteristics which are required and adequate to designate it. Consequently, concepts comprise knowledge which is accumulated hierarchically in the mind. This can be divided into rudimentary steps which may be depicted by
4 Of course, naturalistic inquiry may also be used to understand the position of a created reality, by far the most radical of all the views on reality. Lincoln and Guba (1985) clearly state that “it is not necessary for our purposes to adopt so radical a stance...(which) requires a greater suspension of disbelief than does the idea of constructed reality” (87). At the other extreme, objective and perceived realities are based in the positivistic paradigm, implying that a true, knowable reality exists. 87
“hierarchical decision trees, so that progress in knowledge is dependent on whether the previous step is mastered in its totality” (Evert-Jan Wals, 1991,199). Contrasting the traditional view of concepts, “the actional view...regards concepts to be active, constructive and intentional” (ibid.). In this view, concepts are presented as a means of categorizing experiences, therefore any new experiences do not leave concepts intact, but involve some degree of reflection on existing knowledge. Tobach (1987) states that cognition is “a synonym for thinking; a process (involving) nervous system activity in which the organism stores past experiences retrievable in new situations or familiar situations (255). The experience is assimilated and organized into the “immediate sensory-motor processes for the identification of problems and their solution (ibid.), integrating the contingency level of behavior...so that planning in a goal-directed fashion can be carried out” (ibid.). Pines (1985) goes further in his definition and discusses the connection between cognition and meaning. “Cognitive means ‘of the mind, having the power to know, recognize, and conceive, concerning personally acquired knowledge,’ so cognitive structure concerns individuals’ ideas, meanings, concepts, cognitions” (101, emphasis in original). However, Efran et al.. (1990) state that human functions have traditionally been separated into distinct “subsystems—cognition (thinking), affect (feeling) and behavior (acting). This set of distinctions, derived from classical thinking, has proved to be an obstacle to theorizing” (154). In the educational community, cognition can not be considered an isolated mental process, it is not something that individuals practice primarily in their heads, cognition also “occurs in the space of interaction between people” (ibid., 30). Even though the continuing debate has raised the awareness of cognition as a holistic constructive process, a question that has yet to be answered in this discussion is why do we need to construct this information? To answer this question, it is necessary to return to the theories of reality considered earlier and add a new dimension. Reality, in addition to its earlier characteristics, is assumed to be discontinuous, that is ‘gaps’ exist in reality. It is assumed then that “there are discontinuities in all existence —between entities (living and otherwise), between times, and between spaces” (Dervin, 1992, 62). Extending this assumption to include the human factor, it presumes “that, given discontinuities in natural reality and in human observations of reality, the useful research focus is how humans make sense of discontinuities” (ibid., 1989b, 77). The 8 8 personal construction of this, what I term, ‘practical’ reality results from the construction of a personal reality based on the entities, events, experiences within or constituted by these discontinuities. Thus, occasionally it may be beneficial to remember “that ‘reality’ is a mentally constructed phenomenon that may bear little resemblance to the factual world of acid rain, oil spills, and impending greenhouse ecocide’’ (Cantrill, 1992,37). To come to terms with a discontinuity requires what Dewey called, ‘reflective thought.’ “The function of reflective thought is...to transform a situation in which there is experienced obscurity...of some sort, into a situation that is clear, coherent, settled, harmonious’’ (1939, 851). Geertz (1973) puts forward a similar case—“it is stimulus deficit which initiates mental activity and stimulus ‘discovery’ which terminates it (through) a matching of the states and processes of symbolic models against the states and processes of the wider world’’ (78). In other words, people need to make sense of the situation, the discontinuity, and create some resolution which satisfies them. Performing this requires information—some of which individuals will have from past similar situations, some they may have to seek from any number of sources. Geertz (1973) states it well, when he says that humans live in “an ‘information gap.’ Between what our body tells us and what we have to know in order to function’’ (1973, 50) is a vacuum which must be filled. Our culture provides this with information (or misinformation). The frontier between human behavior which is innately controlled and culturally controlled is “an ill-defined and wavering one...Almost all complex human behavior is, of course, the interactive, nonadditive outcome of the two’’ (ibid.). Lincoln and Guba (1985) acknowledge tacit knowledge as a force in the constitution of meaning, whether it is recognized or not. Therefore, it “must not only be admitted but is in fact an indispensable part of the research process...the naturalistic paradigm acts on this insight by making the use of tacit knowledge both explicit and legitimate” (198). Given the above assumptions, Sense-Making posits that people construct information to aid in the closure of the discontinuity or gap in their situation. Information, then, is visualized not as a “thing that exists independent of and external to human beings but rather is a product of human observing” (Dervin, 1983a, 3); However, this construction is constrained by many facets—such as “the limitations of human physiology (ibid., 5); limitations of “external factors” (ibid., 1983b, 164); and the human mind. Thus, an intrinsic limitation on human observations is that “human 89 perceptual equipment cannot operate without the human mind. The mind runs the show. This means that what the human is able to see is prescribed by what is already understood” (ibid.). Webster’s Dictionary defines the mind as the “seat of consciousness, in which thinking, feeling, etc. takes place” (Neufeldt, 1989, 273) and as our possession of this ‘faculty’ separates us from the other living entities, the mind has to be considered an important contributor to the construction of knowledge. Information, then, is “conceptualized as that sense created for a specific moment in time-space by one or more humans” (Dervin, 1992, 63). As the dynamics of time changes, “free-moving entities (people) move around in unpredictable ways” (ibid.), also influencing non-living entities and as space alters, entities’ relationships change. The limitation of time-space is divided into three sections—past, present and future time-space. Each of these possess specific restrictions, i.e. past time-space: individuals arrive from different histories and present observations are based somewhat on their pasts; present time-space: “since it is assumed that we are all bound in time- space, what we can observe at a given moment is constrained by where we are” (Dervin, 1983a, 5). In future time-space, individuals will travel to a variety of places and “observations today rest, at least in part on where we focus in the future” (ibid). The general discontinuity principle also assumes “that our observations today only apply to today and not tomorrow” (ibid.). DeConcini (1990) states that “the human present (as opposed to the mathematical present) is a durational segment of dynamic time which includes within itself both past and future dimensions” (37, emphasis in original). She continues by stating that it is incorrect to perceive the present as a moment which omits the past and into which the past encroaches only through the memory. Conceiving of time in this way can “dismember the temporal flow of our lives into static, mutually exclusive moments without duration” (ibid., 38). However, the important aspect of “lived temporality is its dynamic and durational character” (ibid.). Because Sense-Making posits that information has the above relationship to time-space, “it is assumed that sense-making behavior is responsive to and mandated by changing situational conditions” (Dervin, 1983a, 6). Further, this theory is based on the premise that while external factors may play a role in constraining an individual’s behavior, “sense-making behavior can be predicted more successfully within the framework of a model which focuses on changing situations as predictors rather than 90
such constant across time-space attributes as so-called personality characteristics or demography” (ibid.). From the above points, the emphasis of Sense-Making can be described as a focus “on how individuals use the observations of others as well as their own observations to construct their pictures of reality and use these pictures to guide their behavior” (ibid.). Furthermore, Sense-Making “searches for patterns in how people construct sense rather than for mechanistic input-output relationships” (ibid., 7). As a species, we are mandated to make sense of our world, to give it meaning, if we are survive in it. Arie Peled (1989) in “The Exploration of Meaning in Environmental Education” states that individuals’ experience of places and “our intentions and actions toward them are determined by the way we construe them, by the way we perceive the entities that populate them” (19) such as objects, hills, fields, people, even the space itself. Therefore, people generate constructs during “individual and collective history (which) are, by their very nature, oriented toward future experience” (ibid.). Such constructs constantly change; “changes which in themselves may bring about a readiness to participate, initiate, or abstain from action” (ibid.). Hence, there exists a universality to the process of sense-making as we constantly move through time-space. “Sense-Making assumes that there are universals of sense-making that will allow more successful prediction and explanation” (Dervin, 1983a, 7). This leads to an important concept in the methodology, that is “circling of reality” (ibid.). This concept “is used in Sense-Making as a convenient way of referring to the necessity of obtaining a variety of perspectives in order to get a better, more stable view of ‘reality’ based on a wide spectrum of observations from a wide base of points in time-space” (ibid.). In this way, Sense-Making unfolds a vision of the respondent’s reality at specific points in time and space. It allows, what McCracken (1988) terms “access” (17) to the person’s reality. This ‘access’ into the ontological view of the respondent’s world is important in many different respects. It allows the respondent to become a theorist or personal scientist. Therefore, Sense-Making reveals "what people think and do, not how many of them think and do it” (ibid., 49).5 Under the assumption that information is assimilated into a framework in the mind, sense-making is envisioned as a continual process, where each moment in life brings new situations, events and experiences which are placed in context of a
5 Sense-Making does allow quantification techniques to be used, although in this research such techniques were not utilized. 91 constantly changing reality. Each person is then seen as a personal scientist “ever seeking to predict and control the course of events with which he is involved" (Kelly, 1955,5). Specifically, “the individual is seen as mandated to ‘make sense’ in an ever- changing gap-filled reality” (Dervin, 1984,4). Sense-Making, then, is based on the assumptions of “incompleteness of reality and incompleteness of the person” (ibid, 1993, 30). The latter assumes that people are not constantly ordered, centered or conscious, they are sometimes disordered, decentered, unconscious, in a flux state migrating between order and chaos. People are constitutive of and constituted by societies; and societies are constitutive of and constituted by individuals; a process which is never complete. Sense-making, as a result of the above assumptions, posits the sense-making metaphor or triangle as the core of the process. At the heart of the process rests the gap idea—the process people use to interpret and cross gaps in their mundane lives. “Discontinuities (gaps) are faced everywhere—when attending to messages, when relating to others, when attempting to pursue tasks or reach goals, even when attempting to stand still” (Dervin, 1989b, 77). Figure 4 illustrates the metaphor.
Questions AnswertO loeas FormeO Resources ObtaineO
Situation (Helps)
Gao-Faceo (Block Faced) (Bamer Faced)
Figure 4. The Sense-Making Metaphor (Dervin, 1989b, 78)
The metaphor describes reality as a gap-filled process through which people travel. An individual moves through time-space cognitively, emotionally, physically 92
“using whatever sense he or she has already constructed based on personal as well as vicarious experiences” (ibid., 77). In this case, experiencing represents more that the total of emotions, encounters with the world, and individual’s ideas, it also involves connecting meaning to various relationships with the world and naming these encounters. Meaning making (making sense) as a process and “naming of the world does not only involve cognitive conception as such, (it) also includes lived meanings and concepts, manifested in people’s actions and non-actions (Freire, 1986, 102). How, then, does the process of sense-making work? Frequently, the sense made by a person is inadequate, consequently a gap is recognized. The individual must construct a bridge to close the gap, in the process answering questions, creating ideas and/or acquire resources. “The situation that leads to the gap, the gap itself, the bridge, and even what the human does after crossing the bridge, are all best understood as constructions” (Dervin, 1989b, 78). The Sense-Making theoretic has created a methodology which is based on the above assumptions; one of its major strengths is that it also privileges the perspectives of the respondent. The methodology then “attempts to provide a systematic approach to listening to the audience—how they see their situations, past, present, and future—and how they move to construct sense and make meaning of these situations” (ibid.).
Sense-Making Methodologv Over the last twenty years, Sense-Making has been utilized in a variety of situations. Most research has been aimed at information seeking behavior of people in certain predicaments particularly health-related, audience research, and use particularly in the Library Sciences.6 However, its theoretical framework has allowed its application to a wider variety of contexts in research over the last number of years, including audience and advertising research, and feminist studies.7
6 Refer to Dervin’s 1983 paper “An Overview of Sense-Making Research: Concepts, Methods and Results to Date” presented at the International Communication Association annual meeting, Dallas, May, for a list of the Sense-Making research to that point in time. 7 Refer to Shields, Vickie R. and Brenda Dervin (1993), Higgins (1994), and Shields, Vickie, R. (1994). 93
Table 2 Assumptions on which Quantitative. Qualitative and Sense-Making Theories arm haiwH
Assumptions Quantitative Theory Qualitative Theory Sense-Making Theory Reality Orderly, fixed Chaotic, floating, Orderly, fixed, continuous discontinuous continuous AND chaotic, floating, discontinuous (gaps present) Human beings Tendency to: Chaotic, Orderly, centered, disorderliness, decentered, conscious AND decentered, and unconscious chaotic, decentered, unconscious unconscious Knowing Tendency to: chaotic: constructed & constraint, bias, no systematic deconstructed by error; information knowing possible; structure, culture, is independent of information is person in mediation the individual subjective, & struggle; (objective) constructed by information is each individual subjective, yet the construction process is systematic Time-Space Independent of time- Dependent on time- Situationally and space space contextually bound and rooted in present, past, and future time- space Predictors Personality Personality Focuses on changing characteristics, characteristics, situations demography demography
Note. The quantitative/qualitative distinction was utilized in this table instead of terms used by Dervin. Adapted from Dervin (1983a and 1993).
Because Sense-Making is based on the discontinuity principle, this frames the particular type of questions used, interviewing technique, and analysis. A derivative of the Sense-Making Metaphor involved in the methodology is the Sense-Making Triangle. This represents each step that the respondent has taken in the process of bridging a gap—“how the respondent sees the situation, what gaps the respondent sees self as facing and/or bridging, and what ways the respondent saw self helped by the bridge... she built” (ibid., 77). Figure 5 is a representation of the Sense-Making Triangle. 94
Dervin states that “as an individual moves through an experience, each moment is potentially a sense-making moment. The essence of that sense-making moment is assumed to be addressed by focusing on how the actor defined and dealt with the situation, the gap, the bridge, and the continuation of the journey after crossing the bridge” (Dervin, 1992,69-70). In order to understand the sense-making moment and to allow the person to circle her reality, a specific interviewing technique was developed. Called the ‘micro moment time-line’ approach, this allows the respondent to qualitatively explain time, space and information seeking relevant to her own viewpoint. The respondent is asked to describe each time-space (or micro-) moment which she perceived as moving through in a particular situation. She is allowed to freely choose what time-space moments to emphasize, how to sequence them, whether to collapse or augment them, and how to connect them to one another.
SITUATION
CIRCLIMC CXd c < | THE EXPERIENCE .s. / \
GAP USE (HELP)
Figure 5. The Sense-Making Triangle (Dervin, 1992,69).
The interview approach has evolved as a highly structured questioning format, which is nonetheless content free. This structure is based on the assumption of the ubiquitous dictate of the human state—“movement through time-space” (Dervin et ai.. 1992, 429). Inherent in the methodology is the mandate that the interviewer (i.e. the listener/researcher) listen to the respondent describe the situation in which she found herself, how gaps were faced and bridged, and what ways this helped or hindered the respondent. The bridges may consist of ideas, thoughts, feelings, and answers, in 95 conjunction with the criteria utilized in the construction process. Any people or situations that may have helped or hindered the resolution of the gaps are probed. Even though the respondent is asked to construct a situation as a series of steps or ‘micro moments,’ “this does not impose a linear time order on the respondent’s recollection—the respondent may recollect things in whatever order is relevant to him or her at the time of the telling” (Dervin, 1989b, 77-78). In this way, the respondent supplies all the content, real moments in time-space that are relevant to the respondent, his personal reality, and the research.
Sense-Making and the Meaning of Wilderness From the discussion in earlier chapters, it was concluded that wilderness is a social construct. While there exist entities (both living and otherwise) that occupy a space that has been defined as wilderness, this term conjures views and characteristics of the world for each person. Wilderness then has been designated as product, instead of process. 8 Past research has limited itself to this definition, however now is an appropriate time to focus on wilderness as process. Dervin and Clark (1989a) generated a statement while exploring the construct culture which has implications for wilderness.
“One restricting idea is that the culture is a static entity to be preserved. A more flexible framing focuses on culture as construction, as constantly in the process of being, as something that is continually being re-invented” (Dervin and Clark, 1989a, 6).
Substituting wilderness for culture within this statement, frames the focus of this study, the manner in which people construct their meanings for wilderness. A secondary point is the possibility of preserving wilderness as that “static entity” within boundaries when it is clearly impacted by many natural events, including phenomena resulting from human action.
8 There is a product legally defined as wilderness, in fact it comprises approximately four percent of the land in the U.S. But in order to protect this product, it is necessary to examine the process of wilderness. This does not mean the ecological processes which occur therein (although these are important), but refers to the way humans construct their reality of wilderness. 96
The theoretic and methodology that constitutes Sense-Making allowed it to be applied to this study as it is assumed that individuals seek certain information from experiencing wilderness. Non-users of wilderness have formed their concept of this entity through exposure to some kind of media, person, or experience. In order to discover the meanings associated with the term, it is necessary to explore wilderness in past, present and future situations, allowing the respondent to ‘circle her reality.’ Sense-Making will facilitate this research as it “is an approach to studying the constructing that humans do to make sense of their experiences’’ (Dervin, 1992,67).
Research Design Individual Protocol The protocol for the interviews complied with the Sense-Making theoretic by creating a highly structured open-ended questioning format virtually free of content. Interviewee responses were triangulated with ‘micro-moment’ questions aimed at consummating the Sense-Making triangle of situation (gap)-bridge-help. Advantages and disadvantages of the different interviewing techniques within qualitative research, i.e. structured, unstructured, etc., have been discussed by various investigators. Allowing the respondent to become a ‘personal scientist’ and gaining ‘access’ to her reality requires an in-depth qualitative interview for which a structured instrument was vital. This “does not preempt the ‘open-ended’ nature of the qualitative interview (McCracken, 1988,24-25), in fact it allowed for the systematic collection of data while releasing the researcher to focus on the respondent. Questions used in the instrument arose from certain statements by researchers in relation to wilderness, people relating their encounters with wilderness, and personal experience. The protocol will request that respondents focus on a particular moment selected by the respondent according to specific criteria. Questions triangulated the responses as mandated by the Sense-Making method. The Sense-Making instrument which was developed was circulated to individuals involved in Sense-Making research for comments and some questions were altered. Following this, the instrument was tested on two groups. The first was composed of people involved in wilderness programs and people who had not visited wilderness. Following some alterations in questions, the instrument was used with the second group. The second group had two students, one who had visited wilderness. 97 the other had not visited wilderness. The instrument was not changed following the second set of interviews. It was then used with the selected sample of participants. The following outlines the questions utilized in the Individual Protocol for Wilderness: 1-2. Overall Participants were asked to define wildemess/nature/ environment. Then they were asked to describe in general what they consider to be wilderness, and if they had ever visited wilderness. At this point, question 2 was the main criterion for determining the remainder of the questions for the respondent. If the participant replied that she had visited wilderness then the next set of questions is relevant. If she had not visited the wilderness, then the second instrument was used.
3-11 Experiences Participants were asked to identify specific moments in their life when they experienced wilderness according to the criteria described below. Each experience was then explored further with a series of probes, also listed here. Respondents were asked to think back to a moment during their experience with wilderness that reflected: 3. Their first time to experience wilderness. 4. Their most recent occasion to experience wilderness. 5. Whether feelings/thinking/behavior/definition changed between their first and most recent experience. 6. Their worst experience with wilderness. 7. Their best experience with wilderness. 8. Whether feelings/thinking/behavior/definition changed between their worst and best recent experience. 9. The experience in their life which had the most direct impact on their meaning of wilderness (for example, a media event, a person, natural experience). 10. The media experience which makes them most concerned about the way people think of or view wildemess 11. The media experience concerning wildemess which stands out particularly for them 98
12. Where will they go on future trips to wildemess? 13. What is the motivation to return to wildemess? 14. Their wilderness experiences—have they become more challenging emotionally, physically, intellectually, spiritually, etc. over time?
With the experiences providing a temporal/spatial anchor, each response was probed with the following questions: a. What were the major events (experiences, books, TV, movies, etc.) and/or people that influenced/caused you to visit the wildemess? b . What happened during the experience? c. What is your worst memory about the experience? How did that connect with the rest of your life? What leads you to say that? What are the recollections/emotions/feelings/experiences that really stand out for you about the experience? d. What is your best memory about the experience? How did that connect with the rest of your life? What leads you to say that? What are the recollections/emotions/feelings/experiences that really stand out for you about the experience? e. Did the experience hurt or hinder you in any way? How? How did that connect with the rest of your life? What leads you to say that? f. Did the experience help or facilitate you in any way? How? How did that connect with the rest of your life? What leads you to say that? g. What words and conditions best describe the wildemess for you during this experience? What leads you to say that? h. Does this experience relate to the rest of your life (past/present/ future) in any way? How? i. Did the experience lead you to any conclusions or ideas? What were they? Did these conclusions or ideas change your behavior/ thinking/feelings in any way? How? 99
j . (Ask this question if information was not already stated—Were you alone or in a group? Were you on a camping trip or a day trip? Where did you go?)
15-17 Spiritual/Religious Beliefs^ Participants were asked to evaluate the influence of spiritual or religious beliefs on wildemess and reflect on:
15. The influence of their religious and/or spiritual beliefs on their view of wildemess. 16. The influence of religious and/or spiritual beliefs on society’s view of wildemess. 17. Other factors to impact society’s view of wildemess.
18-19 Value of Wildemess Participants were asked to evaluate the value of wildemess and reflect on: 18. The value they place on wildemess. 19. The inherent value of wildemess.
20-21 Implications of wildemess Participants were asked to evaluate the implications of the term wildemess and reflect on: 20. The positive or negative implications of wildemess. 21. The possibility of experiencing wildemess without physically being in a wildemess area.
22-24 Impacts Participants were asked to evaluate their entire wildemess experiences and to reflect on: 22. The difference, if any, between day trips and extended trips to wildemess. 23. The number of day trips they have taken to wildemess. 24. The number of camping trips they have taken to wildemess.
9 Spiritual/religious beliefs are denoted by the term spiritual unless otherwise noted. 100
All the responses from question 14 onwards were probed by asking the participants to evaluate and reflect on how the information related to the rest of their life.
Participants who have never visited what they consider to be wildemess were asked a different assortment of questions, however some sets of questions were common to both groups. 1-2. Overall Participants were asked to define wildemess/nature/ environment. Then they were asked to describe in general what they consider to be wildemess. They were also asked if they had ever visited wildemess. At this point, question 2 was the main criterion for determining the remainder of the questions for the respondent. If the participant replied that she has not visited wildemess then the following questions were relevant.
3-8 Experiences Participants were asked to identify specific moments in their life when they experienced wildemess according to the criteria described below. Each experience was then explored further with a series of probes, also listed here. Respondents were asked to think back to a moment during their experience with wildemess that reflected: 3. The most important impact on their perception of wildemess. 4. The media experience that made them most concemed about how people view wilderness. 5. The media experience concerning wildemess which stands out the very most for them. 6. Information seeking about wildemess. 7. The areas which they consider to be wildemess and whether they will travel to these locations. 8. The motivation to travel to wildemess.
With the first three experiences providing a temporal/spatial anchor, each response was probed with the following questions: a. What happened during the experience? 101
b . What is your worst memory about the experience? How did that connect with the rest of your life? What leads you to say that? What are the recollections/emotions/feelings/experiences that really stand out for you about the experience? c. What is your best memory about the experience? How did that connect with the rest of your life? What leads you to say that? What are the recollections/emotions/feelings/experiences that really stand out for you about the experience? d. Did the experience hurt or hinder you in any way? How? How did that connect with the rest of your life? What leads you to say that? e. Did the experience help or facilitate you in any way? How? How did that connect with the rest of your life? What leads you to say that? f. What words best describe the wildemess for you during this event? What leads you to say that? How did that connect with the rest of your life? What leads you to say that? g. When did this experience occur and did it relate to the rest of your life in any way? How? h. Did the experience lead you to any conclusions or ideas? What were they? Did these conclusions or ideas change your behavior/thinking/feelings in any way? How?
The following sets of questions on beliefs, values, and implications for non-visitors are identical to those in the first instrument.
9-11 Spiritual/Religious Beliefs Participants were asked to evaluate the influence of religious or spiritual beliefs on wildemess and reflect on: 9. The influence of their religious and/or spiritual beliefs on their view of wildemess. 10. The influence of religious and/or spiritual beliefs on society’s view of wildemess. 11. Other factors to impact society’s view of wildemess. 102
12-13 Value of Wildemess Participants were asked to evaluate the value of wildemess and reflect on: 12. The value they place on wildemess. 13. The inherent value of wildemess.
14-15 Implications of wildemess Participants were asked to evaluate the implications of the term wildemess and reflect on: 14. The positive or negative implications of wildemess. 15. The possibility of experiencing wildemess without physically being in a wildemess area.
The following questions were used to conclude both types of interview: Demographic data. Participants were asked to provide information about gender, age, education, parent’s work, income, race, and religious affiliations/spiritual beliefs. Additional comments. Respondents were asked if they wish to fumish any additional comments or information. Copies of the individual instruments for each group are available in the Appendix A. The individual instmment explored the meaning of wildemess inductively from the data provided by the respondents. This use of the Sense-Making analytic allowed the ‘reality’ of wildemess, as presented by the informant, to be explored.
Data Collection Individual interviews were the primary source of data in this study. The stmcture of the interview and format for the questions were based on the ‘micro moment time-line’ approach espoused by the Sense-Making methodology. The approach is “simultaneously ethnographic, qualitative, and systematic because a general theory guides the approach to listening—a theory that is applicable to all situations but allows specificity in any situation’’ (ibid., 1989b, 76; emphasis in original). <0
10 Sense-Making is ethnographic because “it allows respondents to define and anchor themselves in their own realities, qualitative because it is built on open-ended interviewing and reports findings primarily in qualitative terms, quantitative because procedures for quantitative analysis have been developed, and system atic because a general theory guides the approach to listening” (ibid., emphasis in original). 103
Respondent Selection This research based its selection process on the purposive maximum variation sampling, defined by Lincoln and Guba (1985). In naturalistic explorations, which are closely linked to “contextual factors, the purpose of sampling will most often be to include as much information as possible, in all of its various ramifications and constructions” (ibid., 201). Selection was made on the basis of representativeness of the phenomenon to be studied (Strauss and Corbin, 1990). Purposive sampling (Lincoln and Guba, 1985) and theoretic sampling (Strauss and Corbin, 1990) are based on the collection of data with the formulation of grounded theory in mind. As such, sampling and interviewing of respondents continues until the data repeats itself, attaining redundancy. As this research represented a hybrid of naturalistic inquiry and Sense-Making, it did not adhere rigidly to the attributes of naturalistic inquiry as characterized by Lincoln and Guba (1985) and Strauss and Corbin (1990).
Sampling Formula The participants in this study consisted of 20 undergraduate and graduate students attending The Ohio State University, in Columbus. Respondents were selected on the basis of the following criteria. First, all of the participants in the study possessed an idea of wildemess. However, half of the participants had not visited what they considered to be wildemess, the remainder of the group had been to wildemess. This was intended to facilitate a maximum variation for the phenomenon as directed by purposive and theoretical sampling, creating a judgmental sample. The objective was to distinguish differences and similarities between the meaning given to the term wildemess. Employing the criterion of a visit or ‘non-visit’ to what the respondents considered to be wildemess increased the divergence of experiences utilized in creating their image of wildemess. > > Because of this division, visitors and non-visitors to wildemess were interviewed using different instmments, although most questions were common to both.
11 The use of image or perception in this dissertation transcends its stereotypical definition as a simple visual sensation, referring to the “constmction of a perspective from which one experiences and defines the world,” (Higgins, 1994) or in other words, a world view. 104
Participants were selected from the general student population in the following manner: undergraduates and graduates were randomly selected from the 1994-1995 Ohio State Student Phone Directory. A letter was randomly sampled from the alphabet. The numbers of students on the pages corresponding to this letter in the directory were calculated. One student was randomly selected from this number. Another letter was randomly selected from the alphabet and the numbers of students on the pages corresponding to this letter in the directory were calculated. Another student was randomly selected from this group. This process continued until a pool of 60 students (30 undergraduates/30 graduates) was generated. They were contacted initially and asked to respond to two brief questions. Many of the graduates contacted stated that they had visited wildemess. Therefore, to have a reasonable pool of graduates to randomly select the five non-visitors to wildemess, thirty more graduate students were selected from the directory. A final pool of 90 students (30 undergraduates/60 graduates) were used in the research. Participants were divided into the wildemess categories of ‘Visitor’ (she had visited wildemess) and ‘Non-visitor’ (she had not visited this setting) based on answers to the question— ‘Have you ever visited what you consider to be wildemess?’ At a later date, ten undergraduate and ten graduate students from each category were randomly selected, called and invited to participate in the research, resulting in the creation of a judgmental sample as shown in the cells of Table 3. Each of the in-depth interviews with a participant was expected to last at least 90 minutes. Because of the length of the interview, a nominal monetary incentive was offered to participants.
Individual Interviews Twenty respondents were interviewed for this study during January 1995. Interviews were conducted by this researcher and lasted on average 100 minutes. Interviews were recorded on tape and handwritten points were noted during the interview. The interviews were transcribed during Febmary and April, 1995.
Data Analvsis Analvtic Guidelines Data analysis followed the regulations of the interpretive, qualitative, naturalistic inquiry described by Crabtree and Miller (1992), Lincoln and Guba ( 1985), Strauss and 105
Corbin (1990). As noted by Glaser and Strauss (1967), Lincoln and Guba (1985), and Strauss and Corbin (1990), the principal intention of interpretive inquiry is to generate grounded theory. The dialectical process, an interaction of deductive and inductive analysis, suggested by Strauss and Corbin (1990), was seen as part of the creation of a theory emergent from the data. This dissertation utilizes the participants’ data for the inductive process, but used data from previous research and existing literature in the deductive process. However, a priori hypotheses on the meaning of wildemess were not generated from the existing data. Themes generated from the data may relate to the “sensitizing concepts” (Patton, 1990, 391)—concepts which originate in the research literature—however, the themes were defined more from the posture of the data. In this way, the guiding analytic process was mainly inductive.
Table 3 Sampling Frame for Interviews of Judgmental Sample
Participation Category
Wildemess Category Undergraduates Graduates
Visitor 5 5
Non-Visitor 5 5
Analvtic phases Following the transcription of the interviews, the transcripts were returned to the participants as part of the member-checking procedure. In this way, it was possible to correct any errors in the data collection and to challenge interpretations of the data. Interviews were coded and analyzed inductively and deductively in a manner that was predominantly qualitative.
Inductive phase. “Inductive data analysis may be defined....as a process for ‘making-sense’ of field notes” (Lincoln and Guba, 1985, 202). Lincoln and Guba divide inductive analysis into two main subprocesses — unitizing and categorizing (ibid., 203). 106
Unitizing, according to Holsti (1969), is a process where “raw data are systemically transformed and aggregated into units which permit precise description of relevant content characteristics” (94). Krippendorf (1980) proposes that “unitizing involves defining [information bearing] units, separating them along their boundaries, and identifying them for subsequent analysis” (57). These “single pieces of information that stand by themselves...are interpretable in the absences of any additional information” (Lincoln and Guba, 1985,203). They may range from a single sentence to an extended paragraph, however, “the test of its unitary character is that if any portion of the unit were to be removed, the remainder would be seriously compromised or rendered uninterpretable” (ibid.). Categorizing is defined by Strauss and Corbin (1990) as the ‘constant comparative method.’ Lincoln and Guba (1985) define the method as one which involves placing units into temporary categories based on similar characteristics. As the number of categories increases, a rule is composed which will delineate the inclusion or exclusion of data from a particular category. Chism (1994) divides categories into two main types: structural and thematic. Structural categories are based on the types of questions asked in the interview, while thematic concern the major themes that emerge from the data. The requirement to abide by the procedures for qualitative data analysis is similar to that for quantitative analysis. While “the procedures are different....the basic standards remain the same” (Strauss and Coibin, 1990, 46). In this dissertation, the process will be termed ‘coding’—this process requires the maintenance of a codebook which “is a data management tool” (Crabtree and Miller, 1992,99). From the analysis of the data, grounded theory emerges. This theory “is a necessary consequence of the naturalistic paradigm that posits multiple realities” (Lincoln and Guba, 1985,205). Grounded theory is different from conventional theory in that it “is inductively derived from the study of the phenomenon it represents” (Strauss and Corbin, 1990, 23). In addition, a researcher does not commence a study with a theory, “rather one begins with an area of study and what is relevant to that area is allowed to emerge” (ibid.). For this process to occur, I must immerse myself in the 107 data and maintain theoretical sensitivity toward the phenomenon. >2 In addition, Glaser and Strauss (1967) explain grounded theory as one that will ‘fit’ the condition being explored, and will have practical applications. “By ‘fit’ we mean that the categories must be readily (not forcibly) applicable to and indicated by the data under study” (3), and that the categories “must be meaningfully relevant to and be able to explain the behavior under study” (ibid.).
Deductive phase. Once the data were analyzed inductively, the results were compared with the ‘sensitizing concepts’ which emerged from previous research. In addition, the results of the research data were compared to the legal definition of wildemess.
Trustworthiness of the studv Creating trustworthiness was essential to the generation of confidence in the study. Four criteria compose trustworthiness—credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. Lincoln and Guba (1985) have produced a checklist of techniques for establishing trustworthiness in a study. Table 4 summarizes the techniques utilized in this study. Triangulation was performed by using different sources to compare the data— interviews, literature, and personal experiences. In addition, participants’ responses were triangulated within the Sense-Making triangle. Peer debriefing “is a process of exposing oneself to a disinterested peer in a manner paralleling an analytic session and for the purpose of exploring aspects of the inquiry that might otherwise only remain implicit within the inquirer’s mind” (Lincoln and Guba, 1985, 308). Member checks, which have already been mentioned, were the “most crucial technique for establishing credibility” (ibid., 314).
12 “Theoretical sensitivity is the ability to recognize what is important in data and to give it meaning. It helps to formulate theory that is faithful to the reality of the phenomenon under study...it comes from being well grounded in the technical literature as well as from professional and personal experience. You bring this complex knowledge into the research situation. However, theoretical sensitivity is also acquired during the research process through continual interactions with the data—through your collection and analysis of the data” (Strauss and Corbin, 1990,46-47). 108
The audit trails consisted of maintaining a record of fieldnotes during the research and the interviewing process, and the construction and maintenance of a codebook. In addition, the reflexive journal allowed the researcher to record his thoughts on the process, the data, “points of clarification, the observer’s frame of mind” (Crabtree and Miller, 1992,60), and the emerging definitions of the phenomenon which were important to the final interpretation of the study.
Table 4 Techniques for Establishing Trustworthiness Utilized in this Studv
Credibility triangulation; peer debriefing; member checks (in process and terminal)
Transferability thick description
Dependability the dependability audit, including the audit trail
Confirmability the confirmability audit, including the audit trail
All of the above the reflexive joumal
Note. Adapted from Lincoln and Guba (1985).
Summary To understand the phenomenon of wildemess it was necessary to explore the meanings associated with it. An interpretive posture in this dissertation was framed within the Sense-Making analytic. This allowed an analysis of the ‘constructing’ process or meaning-making associated with wildemess. Data collection consisted of in- depth open-ended, stmctured, individual interviews, fieldnotes, and a reflexive joumal. Participants were selected on the basis of creating a group that exhibited maximum variation in relation to wildemess. Data analysis consisted of inductive and deductive approaches, coding and interpretation. CHAPTER IV
RESULTS
“/ don 7 think that ( is) experiencing...wildemess...they haven 7 felt the sand and felt the slick rock under their feet or hands, and...that’s all a part o f it...in wildemess...you 're disconnected and there's a certain element of danger...not that danger has to be a part of it, as well as the smells, and the feels and having to maybe exert some effort to get there" (unit 24a) Fox, a visitor.
"Wilderness is just as much a resource as anything else. It can be used fo r other things...its value is...almost the same as the value of a blank piece o f paper. It's all in what you make of it" (unit 15) Raven, a non-visitor.
The methodological approach of Sense-Making employed in this dissertation warrants a descriptive presentation of data and its analysis in the context of the research. This chapter has a dual purpose. First, the data from the twenty participants interviewed for the study are summarized. Data are delineated using the matrix of four cells outlined in Chapter 3. The cells consist of undergraduate students who had visited wildemess, undergraduate students who had not visited wildemess, graduate students who had visited wildemess, and graduate students who had not visited wildemess. Secondly, another source of data is examined—my personal joumal which details the joumey through the research with my thoughts, emotions, responses and reflections on the interviews and data analysis. By fashioning the chapter in this way, the reader is allowed to scmtinize the interaction between the researcher and the respondents and to evaluate the influence of my involvement with the data and its interpretation. The reader should have enough information so that she can relate to the participants and ‘hike a mile in their boots,’ as it were. Just as the researcher did with the participants during the interviews. 109 110
This chapter is divided in the following manner • Section one inventories the data gathered and the rationale used in the interviews. • Section two focuses on the interviews and the resulting data. Personal observations from my joumal and my personal definition of wildemess are important in examining the interpretation of the data. • Section three is a summary of the themes which emerged from the data. These themes or pattems are discussed in greater detail in Chapter 5. The information provided in these sections is important and the basis for claims made in later chapters.
Data Inventorv The purpose of the research was to examine the meaning of wildemess through the use of the Sense-Making Methodology. An instmment was developed for the study and prior to its use with the selected sample, it was tested with two preliminary groups. The sample selected was a group of 20 undergraduate and graduate students at The Ohio State University. The study was conducted in two phases. First, the chosen methodology dictated that participants be randomly selected from the university phone directory, and in a preliminary phone interview asked whether they had visited an area which they considered wildemess. The term Visitor is used to describe undergraduate and graduate students who visited wildemess, while Non-Visitor describes those undergraduate and graduate students who have not visited such an area. This laid the foundation for the matrix described in the previous chapter. For the interview phase of the research, students were randomly selected from the four pools described above, phoned, and asked if they would consider an in-depth interview on the meaning of wildemess. Each student was invited to be interviewed at a convenient time and location. Twenty students agreed to be interviewed, eleven males and nine females. Sixteen of the participants were interviewed in the same location, two graduates were interviewed in their offices, and the remaining graduates were interviewed in their homes. At the beginning of each interview, each participant was again informed of the research, the anonymity involved, and advised that a copy of the transcript and final results would be mailed to her. Participants were given the I l l
opportunity to provide their own codename to be used in the research. Only one student availed of this option. The interviews took place over 15 days, from the 9th to the 24th of January, 1995. Transcription of the interviews occurred over the next three months. The interview transcripts provide the primary source of data for the research. My personal joumal is only quoted in relation to positioning my meaning of wildemess within the study, my reactions to the participants’ ideas and my reflections on their meanings of wildemess. References to the joumal are confined to this chapter. Because the research deals with wildemess and the majority of the participants did not select codenames for themselves, each group and individual was randomly named on the basis of biota (plants and animals). The four groups were named as follows: Undergraduate Visitors—Fish; Graduate Visitors—Mammals; Undergraduate Non-visitors—Birds; and Graduate Non-Visitors—Trees.
A codebook was constmcted for the data. Wildemess visitors’ data were sorted into 25 structural codes or units. Within each unit, data for the five participants of each cell were categorized using FileMaker Pro 2.0. For the non-visitors, 19 units were created in their codebook. Again, the data were sorted within each unit. Stractural units were constructed based on the emphasis of the questions or the answers given to the questions. Thematic codes were developed as a result of the analysis of the data. (A copy of the code book is available in Appendix B.)
The People Involved in this Research The following information on the characteristics of the participants was summarized from the demographic questions at the end of the questionnaire, unless otherwise noted.
Fish—Undergraduate Visitors The five participants in this group, four males and one female, grew up in various settings. Such locations were fairly evenly distributed throughout different types of human influenced environments, ranging from the city center to an agricultural setting. All were full-time students, four had selected their majors which included Natural Resources (1), Engineering (2), and Economics (1). The remaining person still had to select a major. Ages ranged from 20 to 26 years. All categorized themselves as 112 white/caucasian and four as members of an organized religion although they all described themselves during the interviews as either more spiritual than religious or non-practicing.
Mammals—Graduate Visitors Three participants had resided in city suburbs, while the remaining two people grew up either in a town or a city center. The three males and two females were all full time students. Three of the group were in doctoral programs—Veterinary School (1), Political Science (1) and Human Resources Management (1); the others were in Medicine (1) and Business (1). Ages ranged from 27 to 36 years. Two of the participants identified themselves as belonging to an organized religion. During the interviews most identified themselves as non-practicing within the religion. Four of the group categorized themselves as white/caucasian and one as black.
Birds—Undergraduate Non-Visitors Two of the participants grew up in city suburbs, two others had lived in towns. The remaining person grew up in a rural area. Three of the group had already selected their major area of education—Art, Zoology, and Journalism; the remaining two were still undecided. All were full time students. The three females and two males ranged in age from 19 to 25 years. All of the participants categorized themselves as white/ Caucasian and four identified themselves as belonging to organized religions.
Trees—Graduate Non-Visitors The participants in this group had lived in areas ranging from city suburb and town to rural categories. Four of the group were in doctoral programs—German (1), Food Science (1), Education: Theory and Practice (1), and Chemistry (1). The final participant was a full-time high school chemistry teacher, completing a Master’s degree. Participants ranged in age from 29 to 35 years. Four of the group categorized themselves as belonging to an organized religion, all identified themselves as non practicing during the interviews. All of the participants categorized themselves as white/caucasian. 113
Summarizing and Analyzing the Data Data were analyzed under a number of headings within each group before being summarized for that group. Headings used were as follows: • Wilderness as Experience Wilderness Valued Wilderness in Media Wilderness in Society Wilderness—Legal and Personal Definitions Wildemess/Nature/Environment Definitions, and Journal Reflections on Wilderness Definitions.
Fish—Undergraduate Visitors Participants in this group had taken numerous trips into wilderness, both stereotypical areas (high mountains with forests, national parks, etc.) and locations which they considered wilderness. Wilderness had an impact on each one of the group, but the environments which were considered to be wilderness varied greatly. Patterns related to the qualities expected from these areas and experiences did emerge.
Wilderness as Experience Wilderness experiences varied considerably in this group, dependent on the meaning of wilderness for the participants. Such experiences ranged from the stereotypical and legally protected federal lands, i.e. national parks, to urban parks settings. However, the quality of the experience was important to all the Undergraduate Visitors and so the area defined as wilderness had to possess specific characteristics.
First Wilderness Experience. First wilderness experiences were mainly confined to some eastern and a heavily populated midwestem state—Maine, Georgia, and parts of Ohio. Trout lived in Utah and experienced wilderness there for the first time. An interesting point about this group was that three Undergraduate Visitors, Trout, Darter and Pike, had their first wilderness experiences close to home. Such events occurred when they were twelve years or younger. Salmon experienced wilderness first in Maine at the age of fifteen, while Perch was seven when he had his first wilderness experience in Ohio. Table 5 Characteristics of the Participants in the Undergraduate Visitors (Fishl Group and the Number of Wilderness Trips Experienced
Fish Sex Age Resided Post Secondary Spiritual Beliefs # of wilderness day # of wilderness (Years) Education trips extended trips
Perch M 24 City Center 6 years Catholic Approx. 5 > 11
Pike M 20 Suburb 2 years Catholic hundreds 5-10 but free thinker
Salmon M 20 Town 2 years Protestant At least 15 15-20
Darter M 26 Farm 6 years Non-religious, but Thousands 15-20 spiritual
Trout F 21 Rural 2 years Catholic/ < hundred At least 60-70 Christian 115
Three of the Undergraduate Visitors—Trout, Perch and Darter—experienced wilderness for the first time with family or friends. Wilderness was generally so close to Darter’s home that as he got older he would venture into the area on his own. Pike’s first experience was organized by his science teachers, while Salmon visited Maine with his boy scout troop. Trout, who resided in Utah, spent lots of time playing with her cousins in a range of mountains located close to her home. This was her first impression of wilderness. Games were often the result of movies which they had seen and were trying to re-enact. “I would watch many movies with my cousins and we would try to go out and...re-act the movies. And I suppose that my parents had a lot to do with exposing us to the outdoors, because they were outdoors people” (unit 6a). On her first trip to this area. Trout stated that “it was very desolate, and we would just go exploring through the caves and whatever else we could find...chase little animals” (unit 6a). Darter was raised close to wilderness, so he found it difficult to actually pinpoint his first experience with this environment. His home was located in the foothills of the Appalachians, in southeastern Ohio. He hunted, fished and camped quite a bit in this area. Perch went on a winter family trip when he was seven to some area of Ohio. The cabin was probably located in southeastern Ohio, near the foothills of the Appalachians. The area had a covering of snow and rivers were frozen. He described the cabin in detail and was very excited about the whole trip. He “looked over this big ravine...all this was just all flatlands, sort of flatlands, and then the ravine was huge” (unit 10). Pike “never knew that I lived in wilderness” (unit 6), but in junior high school his class took a week-long field trip to the nearby Smoky Mountains. The trip was organized by his science teachers; during the day the students hiked in the area and examined the biota. “We went through the streams and...lifted up rocks and found little organisms and...we’d try to name them as best we could, and they (his teachers) described what all this stuff was to us” (unit 6). At one point, “a deer came right up to us and...it was amazing just to...be in there with other living things” (unit 6). Perch’s science teachers influenced him the most, first through their description of the proposed field trip and then “to learning about iL..(and) wanting to be there away ffom...city life” (unit 6a). Table 6 Characteristics of the First and Most Recent Wilderness Experiences for the Undergraduate Visitors (Fish)
First Most First Most First Most First Most First Most Recent Recent Recent Recent Recent Perch Perch Pike Pike Salmon Salmon Darter Darter Trout Trout Location Wooded Metro Nearby Sequoia Green Denali Wild area Wild area Wild area S.E. area Park, Smoky National Mountains National around around around Ohio S.E. Ohio Columbus Mountains Park ME Park home home home OH Alaska Age 7 years 19 years 10-12 years 18 years 15 years 19 years From 26 From early 21 years old old old old old old early years old childhood old childhood With Parents/ Other Teachers/ Family/ Boy Scouts/ Friend/ Family/ Alone/ Extended/ Friends/ W hom / Vacation students/ Science Vacation Adventure Vacation Residence Vacation nuclear Rockclimbing Reason Martial Field Trip camp family/ Arts Class Residence Trip Type Cabin Day trip Week trip Hotel/ Two weeks Cabin/ Day Trips Day trip Day Trips Day 10 days Day Trips Day Trips mainly mainly Trip 10 days Tw o weeks
ON 117
On his first wilderness trip, Salmon visited the Green Mountains area in Maine. He went canoeing and backpacking for a couple weeks with the Boy Scouts, a group which had a great influence on him (unit 6a). He was extremely excited about getting into nature and particularly into areas such as this, which he had seen in books and Ansel Adams photographs. They packed in most of their food which was freeze-dried, and caught some fish to supplement their diet. Salmon mentioned that they used low impact camping techniques—''we took pretty good care of the area at the same time, didn’t tear anything up” (unit 6b). As with the other groups, the Undergraduate Visitors found it difficult, if not impossible, to select a bad memory from their wilderness experiences. The only thing Salmon could remember was some sunburn, which he did not really consider as a problem. Darter had only good memories while Perch only remembered the peacefulness of the area, again a positive recollection. However, he did see a herd of deer at one point which frightened him because they seemed so big to him, but he did not consider this a bad memory either. Pike and Trout did have some bad memories; for Pike it was more of a fear of showering in a new environment than the actual wilderness environment (unit 6c). Wilderness is another setting for social interaction and it was this interaction that was fearful to Pike, not the environment. Trout had a very firightening experience in the area near her home, when she was almost 10 years old.
''we had thought we had heard gun shots or something like that. And we had seen a couple of other figures in the mountains at the time, and I’m not really sure if they were just trying to scare us or if they were just people who were hunting...we were very scared, and I know I didn’t go back for a while...I felt kind of violated...And obviously a tremendous fear...! guess it kind of ruined my going back there” (unit 6c).
While she was afraid to return to that environment for a long time, it is important to note that it was a human presence which fiightened her, not the environment.
In relation to good memories, the Undergraduate Visitors had an easier time in sharing these and talked in more detail about them. Salmon had difficulty pinpointing one instance, for him the whole trip represented a good memory. "I just think being out there in the tranquillity and friendship and sort of oneness with the earth and nature...it was just very relaxing...just...feeling at ease and at peace, and just sort of in harmony 118 with everything” (unit 6d). For Darter, during an occasion hunting, he “just really felt calm...felt like I kind of melted into the background” (unit 6d). The environment was relaxing and imparted a ‘feeling of peace’ to him. A similar feeling was described by Perch, who loved playing in the snow and sliding down the hill near the cabin in his first wilderness trip. “It was the excitement of doing that, and it was like the peacefulness of not being able to hear the cars and...seeing that deer for the first time was pretty neat, too...I don’t ever remember seeing a deer before that time...so it was kind of weird. It kind of scared me...because it was a pretty big animal when you are seven years old...It was just real relaxing” (unit 6d). Pike, while he did not want to make a direct link between his current career path in environmental studies, did suggest that this trip may have influenced his decision.
“I’m very much into...water quality, I remember going into the cold water...going up to our knees and playing with the rocks underneath and looking at all those organisms...I think that was the best experience. I had a little fear of doing it because I didn’t know what under each rock might have been. It could have been something that was poisonous or ...something could have hurt us...That’s what I was thinking, but I think that was the best experience...just being able to look at the nature...where you would not normally go, not normally see” (unit 6d).
Interestingly, Pike had some fear associated with his bad and good memory, but as he talked about these memories, it was noted that the fear aspect was very small. However, while his fear in his bad memory was associated with social interaction, his slight fear in examining the life under rocks was connected to the environment. Trout’s best memory was connected to climbing to the top of the mountain and surveying all the terrain below her. Looking at the undeveloped area, where she could play with her family and friends was a magnificent feeling. Another good memory for her was catching lizards, being able to trap them. This gave her a sense of power, “it just seemed like it was ours to do with what we wanted...I didn’t really feel that it was touched by civilization, in a sense, because it really wasn’t. I mean there was nothing else really there but us, and we were able to do whatever we wanted there” (unit 6d). There were no restrictions here, nothing to confine them, no fences to keep them out, and so it was their territory which they could use for play. 119
The Situation and Its Relationship to Life All of the Undergraduate Visitors believed that their first wilderness trip helped them in some way. Four of the participants mentioned a spiritual connection which was formed to wilderness following the experience. For Salmon it helped him to realize the two benefits of wilderness: “we need to keep wilderness areas available for people because not only are they an important part of the ecosystem, they’re also a nice place for people to...relax and enjoy themselves and still get away from city life” (unit 6e). Experiences such as these relate to your life like any other experiences, Salmon stated, but “it doesn’t have any direct bearing on my life and what I do now, or anything that I really do, although, you know, it’s something that’s always in the back of my mind and that I keep filed away, just like every other experience” (unit 6g). Salmon believed that any time a closeness to nature is realized then “it’s probably a fairly spiritual experience” (unit 6f). Such experiences, like this one, taught him much about the dynamics of the enviroiunent and an ecosystem—“it helped me believe in a lot of very basic tenets about the environment and how and why things are here, and why things are important and what the important things in life are...taking care of things and leaving things better than you found them” (unit 6f). This lead Salmon to believe that a balance was required, the environment needed to remain clean and “certain ecosystems...need to be preserved” (unit 6f). Darter felt that his trip was very relaxing. It also had a profound impact on his attitude toward religion and his current leanings toward the Native American tradition and respect for the earth. “It was just kind of everything had its own spirit, and that’s...the way I look at things since I’ve been there...I’d say it helps me have a better attitude toward wilderness as far as not wanting to disturb it” (unit 6f). Darter eventually wanted to reside in a natural type environment, similar to the one in which he grew up. Cities were over-populated and the pace of life was too hectic. Perch also believed that his first experience was relaxing, but he used other areas to give him this similar relaxation feeling: “I just go to Sharon Woods and I just sit there and think...I just think it offers a nice place for me to relax and gather my thoughts and just lay out in the sun...Just be free” (unit 6e). One of the aspects which amazed Perch about his first experience was the lack of people and structures in the area. His later skiing trips and excursions to Sharon Woods Metro Park near Columbus, Ohio, helped him recall some of the feelings from that first experience. Interestingly, Sharon Woods, 120 a Metro park in Columbus, was cited a number of times by different participants throughout the four groups. For Pike this trip helped him overcome his fear of wilderness and understand the setting more, so much so that now he likes to vacation in wilderness areas (unit 6e). While this particular location within the mountains was extremely important to him. Pike doubted if he could discover it again. But the larger area of national park would still be chosen over other locations for vacations, such as the Virgin Islands. Pike, with the knowledge and feelings he gained from his experience at that location believed that wilderness should remain undeveloped and that it represents an escape from the mundane city environment, where people can enjoy themselves (unit 6f). The experience had a profound impact on his whole attitude toward these locations and Perch believed that this attitude was an integral part of his life. It influenced his spiritual beliefs, God had created these places and they should not be disturbed. While some people believed in Buddha and other religions. Pike thought that “if you sit out in the wildemess...it would be just the same way, to enjoy it the way God intended you to enjoy it...not destroy it” (unit 6f). Pike was not happy with the excessive development allowed near some wilderness areas, national parks and even metro parks. Sharon Woods was cited as an example: “if you’ve ever been to a place like that, you’re sitting out there...there’s a stream running into a lake but in the background you hear all these highway noises and all these cars rushing by. And that, to me, is not wilderness” (unit 6g). Trout was frightened and ‘violated’ by the gunshot incident during her first experience, but she still believed that the complete experience “helped me to grow. It was a very nice place to spend my childhood. And I really feel that I learned to just respect the outdoors and nature. I think it taught me a lot about the outdoors” (unit 6e). It also created an appreciation in her of the wilderness in Utah, something she missed living in Ohio. When she returns to Utah, Trout visits and appreciates having the wilderness. She also believed that wilderness was a place where a person could think clearly and maybe find some solutions to problems. Interestingly, Trout also stated that it introduced her spiritually to the land, she did not necessarily find God there, but this connection was made very apparent to her. Following the gunshots during this experience, “we really panicked and we were trying to run home. And there was a wash that we had never really seen before and this wash lead all the way back to a dirt 121 road that lead to my house. And the next day when we went back, we weren’t able to find the wash anywhere...it was just like God had provided us this way home, which seems silly now, but I think that’s when I really first started becoming spiritually involved” (unit 6f).
Most Recent Wilderness Experience. The most recent wilderness experiences occurred anywhere from a few weeks before the interviews to two years. A variety of environments were used as the locations for the trips selected by the Undergraduate Visitors, ranging from Denali National Park, to Sequoia National Park, to southeastern Ohio and Sharon Woods Metro Park. (Refer to Table 6 for a Summary of First and Most Recent Wilderness Experiences for the Undergraduate Visitors.) Salmon traveled to Denali National Park with a friend who lived in Alaska. During the trip, they backpacked, canoed and hiked around Mount McKinley (unit 7b). As in his first experience, Salmon did not have any bad memory about the wilderness, the only problem was the late arrival of his luggage. Good memories consisted of the grandeur of the Alaskan wilderness and an opportunity to renew his friendship.
“In Alaska, the sights and wilderness areas were so much more awesome than in Maine and even than in Yosemite. Yosemite is very picturesque, but Alaska...is so big and awesome. The mountains are the biggest I’ve seen...and just incredible. Incredibly expansive and awesome. It reminded me of the awesome size and force of nature...and...friendship I had” (unit 7d).
Trout visited an area near Lancaster, Ohio, with some friends who enjoyed the outdoors and wilderness. They had invited her to join the group, as they thought Trout might enjoy the experience. During the day trip, they hiked but mostly did “rock- climbing..(but a lot of) repelling down the rocks” (unit 7b). Trout stated that she did not have any bad memories, but did mention that she was not enjoying the company because she kept arguing with one person. This, she stated, was difficult to separate from the overall experience. Again, a bad memory about the experience was associated with social interaction, not the physical environment. While Trout’s enjoyment of the total experience may have been tainted by a person in the group, she did enjoy seeing the people repel down the rocks, an activity new to her and somewhat frightening. 122
Darter returned to his home for the Christmas break and wandered around the nearby wilderness area during this trip. He could not recall any major good or bad memory, although some recent logging in the area did upset him.
Pike’s family traveled out to northern California during the summer of 1993, basically a road trip up the Pacific Coast Highway and to visiting the wilderness of Sequoia National Park (unit 7). Pike had no expectations for the trip, he “had a feeling it was going to be a totally different experience, and it was” (unit 7a). Pike had several memories from the trip, a large storm—the biggest he had experienced—but his most vivid memory concerned the trees. “I don’t remember what this one tree was called...it was supposed to be the largest tree in the world. It was amazing. I couldn’t believe how big it was...I think that was one of the amazing things” (unit 7b). However, the trip was also a disappointment to him, in that he was expecting far more trees than he saw—“there were normal trees mostly...! think my image of when I was going to go there...it was just going to be this huge forest of nothing but these huge trees, but it wasn’t that way” (unit 7b). During his high school. Pike had seen pictures in his science book of a large tract of Sequoia National Park land covered with nothing but tall redwoods with large diameters and was expecting to see such an image on his trip. Pike also had a major problem with the number of people visiting the area, resulting in a huge traffic problem. Realizing that everyone had the right to visit these areas, he thought that overpopulation in areas killed the whole idea of wilderness. As a result of this, he did not enjoy his experience as much, he could not listen peacefully to the sounds of the wilderness with children running around and screaming. Pike believed that the overcrowding indicated the lack of wild areas for the number of people wishing to access them. The whole experience was not as meaningful as his first trip to the Smoky Mountains. Again, as in the other cases, the bad memory was associated with people rather than the landscape, although. Pike did witness the “pretty harsh reality” (unit 7c) of a landscape where water was scarce. Yet while the experience did not live up to the same standard as his Smoky Mountain trip, he did enjoy the experience, just the fact of being in “a totally different climate and atmosphere was an experience” (unit 7d). Such experiences motivated him to visit various wilderness areas and this was the best memory for him. He was unsure if he would visit this particular area again because of the large number of people. 123
Perch had some difficulty deciding what to use as his most recent experience and debated the merits of using Sharon Woods Metro Park. The park was a high traffic area with major highways running along its boundaries. Yet, while Perch stated that Sharon Woods should not be considered wilderness in the sense of general landscape, he did believe that it gave him some quietness and a “relaxed atmosphere” (unit 7). It also gave people an opportunity to interact with plants and animals. This complimented his idea of nature: “this includes everything, like the animals and plants in an area, including us. Nature can be in the city as well as outside...you could even consider the city to be part of nature...as people built it...but...maybe not!” (unit 2). Perch stated that when people think about wilderness, they perceive the images portrayed in Grizzly Adams as that type of landscape. Yet Sharon Woods had been modified and developed but still allowed people to come in contact with nature and some other qualities of wilderness settings (unit 7). The feelings associated with the area and the quality of the experience were clearly more important for him than the physical attributes. Even though it was confined in the sense of fences around the park boundaries, “it’s still peacefiil...you get there on certain days and you’re there alone, it brings me that quiet...you can see an animal every once in a while...you can step into their habitat and look around and relax” (unit 7a). Perch’s most recent visit to the area was as part of a martial arts class. The teacher selected the area “because it’s just kind of a get-in-touch-with-nature type thing and have a wide open space and be out of the confinements of the concrete” (unit 7b), but during the class people laughed at the group as they practiced their movements. Perch’s worst memory was drinking the water from the fountains in the park, which was “nasty!” (unit 7d). The best memory about the whole experience was running and training in clean air, or at least cleaner than he normally experienced: “I remember breathing in that crud and it was like, ‘Oh, this is terrible’...! just remember that one day and it was nice, going to Sharon Woods, having a nice smooth path to run on and breathing in somewhat nicer air...It’s still the same air, but you don’t quite have the lips on the exhaust pipe like you do somewhere else” (unit 7d).
The Situation and Its Relationship to Life For many of the participants, similar feelings were associated with this experience as with their first wilderness experience. For Salmon the trip to Alaska help 124 him reaffirm his belief “of what’s out there and what’s important, and that in the end I’d better leave things better than I found them...I don’t want to leave them any worse than I found them...recycling, re-using, that kind of thing’’ (unit 7e). Again it was a “very spiritual and emotional experience to be close to nature and...it’s very wholesome...and it reminds you—when you’re out there and there’s no TV and no radio—and...you start thinking about what life’s all about and what’s really important” (unit 7f). Salmon again mentioned the idea of balance in the treatment of wilderness but also related this to the enactment of regulations on business. Poisons should not be released into the atmosphere, if the technology is present to prevent it. However, excessive regulations placed on business, can be detrimental and result in people “sitting around with a tin can asking for money” (unit 7e). Trout had not visited a wilderness area for a number of years, and the rock- climbing trip, even with its bad points, did bring back memories of her home in Utah and she it enjoyed it for that reason. “I think presently it would encourage me...to do more things like that, because I really don’t anymore” (unit 7g). Again, for Trout this type of environment encouraged spiritual feelings in her, she believed that she is “more spiritual when I’m in kind of an untouched...natural setting” (unit 7f). She also concluded that people left their daily problems behind them when they were hiking or repelling in this environment, although she did have problems with one person during the trip. Darter was upset about the condition of the land following logging, but the trip overall allowed him to relax and Just enjoy the outdoors. He was anxious seeing such developments as logging and housing projects becoming prominent in the area, creating less wilderness. While he did not want these to occur, he could not see any way of preventing such developments. Even though the area in California was crowded. Pike believed it was still wilderness, it enhanced previous experiences, the trip definitely encouraged him to visit other wilderness areas, but he would want to encounter less people than in Sequoia National Park. From this trip, he concluded that humans are over-populated at this point in time. Of course, another perspective could be that California is a populous state and many people have access to such areas. Pike had “never been to other states that are not heavily populated and go to those type of places, so I want to visit those” (unit 7f). 125
Perch concluded from this experience in Sharon Woods some very important things—first the ignorance of people expressed as laughter when they saw the class practicing their exercises. This was disconcerting for Perch (unit If). As a result of this experience, he preferred doing his exercises outside, it was unrestricted and unconfined. This was partly connected to the oriental idea of ‘chi’ the “inner flowing spirit...life force...the energy that runs through you” (unit 7g) which flows more effectively and efficiently when outside. Perch did admit that he got a different feeling exercising outside than in a room, but he was not convinced by the idea of chi. He did concede that “by going outside it should be peaceful so you practice...your chi” (unit 7g) allowing a connection to be made between your chi or life force and the energy of life, nature and the universe. Second, Perch also thought it was great that areas were located within the city where people could relax and get away from the urban congestion, instead of driving long distances. In addition, the experience gave him a keen awareness and appreciation for the park and the issues impacting it, such as culling the deer herd. “If I’ve never been there or even felt the effects of that (place), I probably wouldn’t have cared...Shoot them, I don’t care, you know. Bulldoze it down and make it a mall...But because you’ve been there and you’ve experienced it, you kind of have a different flavor on it and you kind of realize its importance” (unit If).
Worst Wilderness Experience. Just as with the worst memories within the first and most recent experiences documented above, four of the Undergraduate Visitors did not have an overall bad incident in wilderness. Perch could not highlight any dominant bad memory related to wilderness. Salmon had some trips with his Boy Scout troop outside of Cincinnati that were badly planned but he had “never been threatened by a bear or wild animal or anything” (unit 9) on any of his wilderness trips. Darter believed that good memories far exceeded and overshadowed any bad memories, which were generally related to weather problems, but again these were not major. Because he had always wanted to take trips or experience wilderness. Pike believed that he never had a real bad memory associated with these ventures. For Trout, her worst experience was hearing the gun-shots during that first trip into the wilderness. Even though the trip itself was good, that particular incident had an 126 influence on her perceived safety levels in such an area. It made her fearful of returning to such settings on her own. Her comfort level increased when she was in a group of people, she even considered bringing a weapon with her (unit 9). As mentioned earlier, this fear was associated with people rather than the landscape or any wild creature.
The Situation and Its Relationship to Life As most of the Undergraduate Visitors believed that they did not have bad experiences in the wilderness, then it seems that wilderness was a positive influence on their lives. Even for Trout, the gun-shot incident still did not prevent her from re entering wilderness, although she did so only with other people.
Best Wilderness Experience. Three of the Undergraduate Visitors had already talked about their best experience in either their first or most recent wilderness visit. Salmon believed that his Alaskan trip was his best trip because the state “is just an incredibly majestic place in relation to the wilderness which it still possesses” (unit 10). Perch stated that his first trip was the best, particularly sledding down the hill and walking on the frozen river. Interestingly, the interview brought back the feelings associated with that trip and he believed that it was possible to recreate such emotions in another location because they exist in the mind. The excitement of entering a new environment also played a role in creating these feelings. Pike had a memorable experience near his grandmother’s home in northern Michigan. One day while out walking he noticed some tracks and when he told his grandmother she informed him that bears were present in the area. A few days later, he actually saw a bear. “I think that was my best experience, just because that was nature...that was something out of the ordinary that I’d never got to see besides in a zoo...And that’s not the same” (unit 10). However, he was unsure if he would consider this a wilderness experience and decided that it “was probably my best nature experience just because...I was near something that was so big. Wilderness experience, I guess, is different just because nature is a part of wilderness” (unit 10). This coincided with Pike’s discussion on the relationship between nature and wilderness. Trout’s best memory was camping with her family for three days. They traveled to an area, established base camp, riding motorcycles in the forests or the environment 127
in which they were camped. In addition, at this time. Trout was learning about plants and animals in school, so she wanted to have some ‘hands-on’ experiences with them. Her worst memory about this and similar trips was that her father would make her ride on his motorcycle and she hated his driving. In relation to the landscape, again a bad incident could not be remembered. Swimming in a nearby waterfall composed Trout’s best memory, she did not expect to see a beautiful waterfall in such an area. Also the time spent with her family was a lasting memory: “I had a close family...I really enjoyed spending time with them, and it was just really a happy time...for all of us to get away and spend time together” (unit lOd). Darter’s best memory was a canoeing trip with a friend on a small tributary of the Ohio River during 1988. Various incidents occurred during the trip, they capsized the canoe once in some rapids, they tried to light a fire when they became cold, but could not accomplish this, so they were becoming rather annoyed with the whole situation. Yet, Darter stated that “all in all it was a good experience” (unit 10b). His friend panicked after the canoe capsized, a reaction Darter was not expecting. “He was in natural resources in college and I was in engineering, and it just kind of surprised me that he’d get bent out of shape and I wouldn’t (unit 10c) Even though this was a bad incident, they still learned the benefits of trip preparation. The calmness of the area, the sense of adventure, and spending time with a friend were all good memories within the trip.
The Situation and Its Relationship to Life Trout’s family camping trips occurred over a five year period, until she moved to Ohio in 1987. She had many happy memories as a result and the wilderness trips helped bring Trout and her family closer together, which confirmed her earlier thoughts that people “get along better when they’re in a secluded area” (unit lOf). Trout believed she may have been closer to God and spiritually influenced during these trips, but at present does not see that connection. These experiences “might have made me a more down-to-earth person...especially when I was there in that setting” (unit lOf). Other than the environment and experience being ‘calming,’ and wanting to take a longer canoe-camping trip. Darter did not see any connection between the trip and his life. 128
Experience with Most Impact on Wilderness Definition Four of the Undergraduate Visitors either had already talked about the experience which had the most impact or could only speak very generally about impacts which influenced the meaning of wilderness. (Refer to Table 7 for a Summary of the Most Important Impacts on Undergraduate Visitors’ Idea of Wilderness.) Salmon stated that his boy scout experience was the most influential “and it sort of helped form my view of what wilderness is all about” (unit 11). Camping trips and the scouting experiences previous to this trip allowed him to be out in nature for a few days, to be on his own and “have time to really think about it” (unit 1 la). Trout believed that there was no one single experience which she could separate as having the most impact on her meaning of wilderness. In fact, traveling into the wilderness always impacted her. However, she did mention that her experiences in Utah did impact her meaning significantly. Darter believed that growing up in close proximity to wilderness had an impact on him. He did not think that TV had any impact on him because “they...depict stereotypes and things like Deliverance...\haX. aren’t really real” (unit 11). Pike thought his meaning of wilderness was impacted by a combination of events, and therefore, could not focus on any one experience. He believed that TV—The Discovery Channel, PBS Specials, nature programs specifically Wild Kingdom (which was his favorite),—the teachers who took him on his first experience, and his parents effected his meaning of wilderness. Perch believed that TV shows and some movies shown on TV had an impact on his idea of wilderness. Movies such as “Swiss Family Robinson and Grizzly Adams...^\\x. in your head what the meaning of wilderness is...They always show some beautiful eagle flying overhead and bears...they always show...a few wild animals” (unit 11). Wilderness was often portrayed as an “unpopulated place...having to fend for yourself and...do it all yourself” (unit 1 la). One particular movie mentioned by Perch was a modem version of Swiss Family Robinson. At one point the house of the stranded family was attacked by a bear. Seeing this. Perch realized that elements exist in “nature that are in control of the environment, that you really can’t do anything about. The force is stronger than what you are. Man’s intellect could kill the bear...shoot a bullet into its heart, but before that, those forces of nature were dominant...I was just realizing that. I wouldn’t call that bad. It’s more just ‘Wow’ (unit 1 lb). 129
The Situation and Its Relationship to Life Salmon believed that if he had not had “these experiences I could have had a different idea of wilderness” (unit 1 Id). Perch was enthralled by movies and for two hours “was mesmerized...by the idea that I should be in there with them...(it) is kind of what you do in any movie, put yourself in there” (unit lid). However, he believed that every piece of land was probably charted or mapped in some way. Perch also had a major problem with private property, he mentioned it many times throughout the interview. He thought it was ironic as the land never belonged to Americans originally: “we stole (it)...I always thought about that...it would be like me going in somebody’s back yard and just planting a flag and saying, ‘This is my property now’...‘You have to leave” (unit 1 le). This also connected to the whole idea of consumerism and becoming locked into a certain type of lifestyle for Perch. “You get all caught up in the hustle bustle...you try to work hard...I bought myself...my own apartment...a nice car...a motorcycle, computer...those kind of things, they strap you, they really do...they lock you into certain lifestyles...and yet they’re hard to sell and...that’s why I like those movies. You don’t have any of that” (unit 1 le).
The Setting. Tvpe and Oualitv of the Wilderness Experience All of the Undergraduate Visitors believed that it was difficult to experience wilderness when not in that setting, however, it was possible to get some sense of the feelings associated with the experience. Salmon stated that “you can remind yourself, but you have to have been there at one point. So my answer would be yes, you can refresh an experience but no, you cannot have an experience without being there at least once...I don’t think I would feel this way about wilderness without having had the experiences I had all through my life” (unit 24a). Salmon, who had between 15-20 extended trips into the wilderness, also believed that a camping or extended trip afforded a richer experience and a better feel for the environment. However, as a result of less time he had changed to more day trips, believing that a day trip “to some undeveloped area is better than not getting out there at all!” (unit 24b). He still thought that it was possible to have a good experience on a day hike. “I think you can still get a pretty good wilderness experience on a day trip, depending on where you are. Obviously it’s kind of a bitch getting to some wilderness places for a day trip! But I 130 think that if you’re in the right place, you can do a nice day trip and have a real wilderness experience...it’s not easy to do it on a day trip, but it can be done. I’ve done it” (unit 24b). His most recent trip to Alaska consisted mainly of day experiences returning to a cabin each night Trout, who had more than a hundred day trips and had been camping between 60-70 times, held similar ideas about the wilderness experience and the length of stay in the environment: “I think that to me the camping trips were more effective because I was there longer and I experienced nature from sunrise to sundown...it was more relaxing to me than a day trip” (24b). However, she still thought that day trips were valuable and many of her biking trips were enjoyable. In relation to having a wilderness experience without the setting. Trout believed that it was not possible unless there was some prior original experience. “I had memories from when I watched the movie but unless you had experienced anything like that I am really not sure that you would really appreciate it as much...it connects with my life because I have experienced it, but I am not really sure that other people who haven’t would experience the same connection” (unit 24a). Darter believed that it was not possible to recreate the ambience of the setting and introduced the idea that he did not want to experience a false wilderness setting: “Just too many things that you have to simulate to do it. It involves all your senses, really...Just the sound of it, the smell, the feel of it, the changing colors...Because I have never experienced it or really don’t want to replace the real experience with a fake one” (unit 24a). He certainly had enough experience, he thought he must have had a few thousand day excursions and about 15-20 extended trips. He believed that it was possible to have a wilderness experience on a day excursion—“because I have when I go out on trips, getting away from people and everything, no matter how short if you are in the right area” (unit 24b). However, he thought the quality of the camping event was better, more enjoyable, more relaxing, and valued more. Such trips did not occur as often as day hikes because of the planning and preparation required. Pike related the setting to the experience and even though he sometimes relaxed with music and visualized the wilderness, he could not have performed this without first having experienced this setting: “when I listen to that music, I can imagine I’m there. But that’s only because I’ve been there, not because of anything else...you can imagine it but you don’t see the real, true value of it” (unit 24a). Experiencing wilderness was connected to certain states of mind, i.e. relaxation, valuing the environment, and to 131
length of time. Pike had hundreds of day trips to wilderness but only between five and ten camping trips. While he stated that it was possible to visit the wilderness on a day trip. Pike thought more time in the setting created a higher quality experience (unit 24b). Perch, because of his definition, believed that it was possible to experience some of the feelings and qualities associated with wilderness outside of that setting, but it was again dependent on a prior visit to such an environment. “Just the mind-set...you can create in other places...you can’t surround yourself with it but you can make yourself feel like it...wildemess is...an area that creates a feeling when you’re there. And then once you know that feeling, you can try to recreate it” (unit 24a). For example. Perch’s first wilderness experience created a serenity in him that he was able to recover in Sharon Woods Metro Park when he was meditating. In addition, “I was kind of excited thinking about it when you sent me this questionnaire...just the whole serenity of it...it’s something that exists in your mind...You can create that feeling anywhere you go, if you’re good at it. But that’s a place (wilderness) that you don’t really have to induce that feeling” (unit 10). Perch had a handful of day trips and about ten camping trips to the wilderness, yet believed that a wilderness experience was possible on both. He felt that while Sharon Woods was limited and controlled, “it possessed an away- from-the-city type feeling of wild...You feel like you’re in the wild when you’re really not. It’s a controlled environment, so there are levels of it” (unit 24b). Levels of wilderness experience existed from Sharon Woods to his first wilderness location. The ability to be able to relate wilderness qualities to a metro park may have been rooted in Perch’s childhood. Playing in a wooded area behind his home, he and his friends would pretend “Indian and cowboy stuff...So I’d call that kind of getting in the wilderness. I mean you’re just living off what the land provides you, what’s there is kind of a wild experience” (unit 24b).
Motivation to return to wilderness, to seek out these experiences generally revolved around becoming relaxed and renewing one’s inner spirit, leaving behind the city, the daily routine and its troubles. In a certain way, having a reality check in life. Trout stated that her motivation was “to visit the places again that I haven’t seen for a while. And it’s just a chance to kind of escape a lot of the problems of civilization” (unit 16). Perch had a similar incentive. Darter believed that the pace of life was slower there, which allowed him to relax and gather his thoughts. Like Trout, Pike wanted to 132 return to renew that special feeling, but also admitted that each experience was different. He also wanted to be able to face life in a fresh manner. “Every time you go, there’s always something new that you see or that you do or you touch or you feel or smell or hear... Definitely, it calms me and then I know that I can come back and do whatever I need to do when I get back, and do it well” (unit 16). However, Salmon summarized the motivating reasons best when he stated that “it’s a cleansing experience...it’s a good chance...to be one with something that’s a hell of a lot older than I am, and been here before I was here and going to be here a long time after I’m gone, I hope. And...it sort of reminds you of the minuscule nature of your own life and what it means in the grand plan, and...reminds you that any little problem you might have—or big problem you might have—is little, in relation to life in general” (unit 16).
Wilderness in the Media Generally, the Undergraduate Visitors believed that wilderness was portrayed in a positive manner in the media, although this depended on the type of media and the depicted situation. Table 7 summarizes the type of media and its influence on the Undergraduate Visitors’ definition of wilderness. Salmon stated that it was portrayed positively but as a dwindling natural resource. Darter believed the complete opposite, stating that in the media wilderness was characterized as a “God-forsaken place” (unit 14) while he viewed cities as ‘God-forsaken.’ Wilderness should remain as it appeared in the media, because God meant it to be that way. The remaining three Undergraduate Visitors, Trout, Pike and Perch, saw wilderness portrayed both negatively and positively depending on the content of the media event. For instance Trout believed that in entertainment media it was depicted in a more negative manner, particularly emphasizing the dangerous aspects of it; while in documentaries, the characterization was more accurate and realistic. Perch thought that the entertainment industry often portrayed it in both ways: “Every wilderness movie...always show it a little negative, the danger of it, but then it always ends up positive...you always want to stay there. You know, they’ve conquered it. They’ve conquered that problem and now they want to stay there, so 1 think it has an up and down. 1 think they’re positively portraying wilderness” (unit 14). Pike believed that media could give a good representation of what to expect, but that they can not capture the essence of the experience. “It gives you...a false sense of what it could really do for you. That was a negative 133 aspect-.there’s also positive ones that they can’t describe to you...when you listen to a running waterfall...is not the same as if you did go and experience yourself...hands on. But it gives you a sense of overall what you can...imagine or...see. And it gets you there when you can’t get there yourself physically...But they can’t get the picture of what you can experience” (unit 14).
Wilderness Concerns as Portraved in Media. Four of the Undergraduate Visitors talked about their concerns for wilderness areas as portrayed by the media. Salmon did not feel concerned about it because he did not see “any real threat on a lot of wilderness areas” (unit 12). While he did acknowledge that some threats existed to some wilderness in the U.S., they were only minor dangers such as acid rain and global warming!! The only place that seemed to face a major threat was the tropical rain forest and he had not considered that issue as he had never visited that type of environment. People living near these rain forest areas need to survive and have been performing ‘slash and bum’ agriculture for many years. While that is not good for the environment “that’s how they live. So that’s something that isn’t good but there’s not much I can do” (unit 12). He also saw over-irrigation as a problem for areas in the southwestern U.S.. Salmon seemed locked into this attitude that as these areas were not immediate to his locality, he did not control their fate. However, the wilderness areas he had visited required traveling great distances. Why were these any different from the areas he could do nothing about? “Obviously that’s probably something I should be a little more concerned about but it’s not something that is immediate to our area or anything that I can really do anything about...so I don’t waste a lot of time worrying about them. I guess maybe I should, but I don’t” (unit 12). Trout, Darter, Pike and Perch were all concerned about the issues media presented to them concerning wilderness. It was interesting that each had a different medium in mind as their example, for Trout it was a documentary she saw in elementary school. Darter referred to the movie Deliverance, Pike discussed a book as his reference, and Perch alluded to the Sharon Woods White-Tailed Deer issue. Trout’s documentary showed the influence of logging on biodiversity when people did not recycle. It made her angry at the portrayal of recycling and its possible impacts. However, she did feel that it made people appreciate the wilderness more and it actually 134 encouraged Trout and her friends to take action by instituting recycling programs (unit 12c) “and it made me want to influence other people to do the same” (unit 12d). Darter referred to TV as showing issues which concerned him. Particularly media events which focused on people “who go into the wilderness, just being scared of everything and scared of animals and things of that sort” (unit 12). Some of the selections almost disgust him to the point where he wants to turn away. An example he cited was the movie Deliverance. This movie was based on four city men taking a white water rafting trip down a river in Appalachian country. The men ended up in trouble with the natives and the movie became a violent escapade in a wilderness setting. The best part of the movie was the scenery “because most of it, most of everything they showed hadn’t...been disturbed any, that I could tell;” the worst aspect of this was that “even though this was a beautiful place, it would soon be dammed and destroyed by people” (unit 12c). However, the “condescending attitude toward the natives, people who lived around there, from the people who came in” (unit 12b) annoyed Darter and made him angry. For Pike, it was a book similar to Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring which he read during a class at the Ohio State University. The book described human neglect of the planet and as a result the possibility of losing it. Pike saw a correlation between his Californian and Smoky Mountain experiences and a deterioration of the wilderness environment. On a recent trip to the Smoky Mountains area, it had changed considerably since his earlier experience. “I don’t think people go up there to enjoy what the wilderness has to offer...I think they go up there for...the Pancake House or...something like that...But...that book, when I read it. It hit home” (unit 12a). The book detailed the changes in various environments through the centuries and examined various issues such as tropical rain forest destruction, as well as citing North American examples. It focused on “how we were destroying everything and...if we kept it up at that rate, we wouldn’t have anything to enjoy in the future...our future generations wouldn’t have...and that’s disturbing” (unit 12a). Pike wanted future generations to be able to experience what he encountered in equal quantities and qualities. Loss of environment and biodiversity over the last twenty years, the focus of the book, was also the “worst reality of the book, because it is a reality” (unit 12b). Pike stated that the Smoky Mountains were very different to what he had experienced as a child. However, in the realization of this ‘worst reality’ Pike believed that people 135
would become more aware of the wilderness areas that still exist and try to preserve them in some way. It offered some hope that if acted upon now, some areas could be saved for future generations. Perch expressed concern over the development and pollution of wilderness areas for economic reasons, how people seem to have become greedy, and “it seems like people don’t care” (unit 12). Locally he matched this to Sharon Woods Metro Park and the culling of deer. In the local news reports, the issue was portrayed as an effective and humane reduction of herd size. Many of the animals were starving, diseased, and slowly dying. Originally, when people objected to shooting the animals it was decided to trap and transport them to a deer farm. This, Perch thought, was the best option of all and was hoping this would occur. He had a problem with hunting: “I don’t believe in it because...before it was a survival thing and now it’s just a game thing, and I say ‘Be more fair to the deer, give them a gun to shoot back’” (unit 12a). Perch also had a low opinion of hunters: they were similar to people “who would cut eighteen million acres out of rain forest (to) turn a profit...sometimes it makes me want to thrash on them...the fact that they’re picking on something that’s weaker than them” (unit 12b). He also believed that society condoned this activity by issuing licenses to control deer populations.
The Situation and Its Relationship to Life Following her own experience with recycling. Trout wanted to influence others to start this practice. The documentary encouraged her to begin and “it really just gave me a lot of ideas of things I could do, even around the house, and turn those things into bigger things” (unit 12e). A recycling club was established in her school. In addition, she has continued with these practices in later life, she supports “other organizations if they’re also trying to help maintain the wilderness or preserve it” (unit 12f). Darter was angered by the stereotypical image of Appalachian people portrayed in Deliverance. Interestingly, the movie did not portray the stereotypical view of wilderness to him. Table 7 Media which made the Undergraduate Visitors (Fish^ Most Concerned about Society’s View of Wilderness, and Media which had an Indirect Impact on the Participant’s Meaning of Wilderness. Events which had the Most Important Impact on the Meaning of Wilderness are also shown
Fish Most Concerned Indirect Impact Most Impact
Perch News Report on Culling White- Modern movie version of Swiss Modern movie version of Swiss Tailed Deer in Columbus Metro Park Family Robinson Family Robinson
Pike Book, similar to Silent Spring Music—Nature Sound Audio Media—Wild Kingdom', PBS and Tapes Discovery Channel Documentaries (also, people and natural influences)
Salmon News Reports on various National Geographic type Boy Scout experiences in woods environmental issues Magazines and wilderness
Darter Movie— Deliverance Movie— Deliverance and sitcoms Wilderness experiences in Ohio
Trout Deforestation documentary in school Movie— Nell Wilderness experiences in Utah
W Os 137
The book helped Pike realize that one person can make a difference—"what I could do can make a difference (especially if) everybody feels that way” (unit 12d). It certainly did not create a pessimism in him and alter his environmentally friendly behaviors. Indeed, it had a major influence on his career choice—“it changed me. That’s when I definitely knew where I was going. I was going into environmental science. I wanted to help. I wanted to make a difference. And I see the future, for myself, doing that” (unit 12f). He doubted if one book, article, or experience—unless it was life-threatening—could change a person’s life instantly, but it “definitely helped me steer into the way I wanted to grow up. It just made me realize that that’s where I wanted to head to” (unit 12f). Perch related his antipathy for hunters to guns and the fact that he uses martial arts as defense rather than such weapons. In addition, he believed that he could not contact any one in authority to complain about the deer culling issue and therefore could not do anything about it. This was similar to Salmon’s idea about not being in control of environmental issues.
Wilderness Portraved Indirectlv in the Media. In relation to the most prominent exposure of wilderness in the media. Darter and Perch stated that they had covered this previously. Darter believed that the “media makes wilderness out to be more dangerous of a place than it actually is” (unit 13). He suggested that standard scenes included people being stranded in an area, often showing “a mountain lion, whether they’re in the area or not” (unit 13). Deliverance was a prime example of this. Perch stated that his Swiss Family Robinson type movie also fitted into this category. On the other hand Salmon had some difficulty pinpointing one specific event. He was not an avid TV viewer, but he was exposed to wilderness in some magazines, particularly ‘National Geographic.’ The magazine was “probably one of the best exposures that wilderness areas get and how people can form an opinion about the wildemess...all around the world, even if they’ve never been there” (unit 13). Trout talked about the movie Nell, while Pike examined the medium of music. Nell was a story of “a lady who had grown up in the wilderness and she didn’t have any exposure to civilization, so it was just interesting to see how she...had adapted her life to growing up without the help of others and technology” (unit 13a). For Trout, the best parts of the movie were “seeing how a person was able to survive without anyone 138 else around” (unit 13c), and in particular the naturalness of the wilderness scenery. The depiction of media in the movie angered Trout; her low opinion of news reporting was confirmed by the scenes where the newspapers discovered “that she (Nell) was there and they all came to watch her and expose her to the rest of the world. And it...really upset her and it upset the naturalness of the world around her” (unit 13b). Pike believed that music was an important reminder of wilderness and its associated qualities for him. He referred to nature music, as opposed to commercial popular music or other types. The nature tapes reminded him of wilderness; “the sounds of rushing water or something like that...(unit 13a)...sometimes I like knowing that I can just turn on a tape and close my eyes and imagine I’m in the wilderness” (unit 13). Pike thought that the reproduction of the wilderness sounds was incredible but he believed that experience of wilderness was required to understand or enjoy them. Without this previous experience, it would be difficult to imagine the setting and the qualities of the environment. In addition. Pike also listened to this type of music when “I’m trying to relax or if I need to relax before a test or before some big event of my life” (unit 13a). This music reminded him of the relaxing feeling related to his wilderness experiences.
The Situation and Its Relationship to Life For Trout, Nell brought back good memories of wilderness experiences with her family during her childhood. She also believed that a person could survive in the wilderness, if she was bom into that setting. Civilization does not always need to absorb people, especially if they were used to living in wilderness conditions. In addition, “I felt that she was still able to have her own sense of spirituality without being influenced by...organized religions...that we’re exposed to in the outside world” (unit 13e). The ability of music to transport Pike back in his mind to the relaxing wilderness experiences was impressive and helpful. “It also helps me to relive experiences in a way. If I am having a bad day and I put on this music and sit in a chair, close my eyes, I can block out the world and remember the trips I’ve had and all the good memories. I am not there, but in my mind I am and that’s great!” (unit 13d). That feeling allowed him to relax and cope with the situation. 139
Wilderness and Virtual Reality. In relation to virtual reality (VR) replacing, helping or hindering the wilderness experience, Salmon stated that when it has become more advanced, it could help the experience, but it will never replace it. “You could get the views. You maybe even could get the smells and maybe even parts of...the touch, but I don’t think that that ever will replace wilderness...! think everything is linked. A virtual reality wilderness won’t support any life” (unit 15). Trout also thought that it could help by encouraging “people to actually go out and have a real experience in the wilderness without the aids of those things” (unit 15). For her, VR would never replace the actual experience, but having access to such technology would be good if access to wilderness was curtailed. However, because Trout had already experienced the ‘real thing’ it would be difficult to get the same feelings from a substitute event. Darter believed that VR might create an awareness in people to preserve wilderness or an interest in them to visit the setting, if they have never been there, but he could not envision that the technology would replace or hinder it Perch had more of the extreme view that if VR could replace the wilderness, then the actual setting could be destroyed. However, he also believed that “it could make people more aware of it...people who haven’t experienced it” (unit 15). For Pike, VR could never replace the actual experience, but, he thought “it would be a great thing...to have something like that at times when you’re not going to be able to go visit wilderness. Especially you could do that in the privacy of your own home. That would be great” (unit 15). Yet, even though Pike was able to recall memories with the nature music, he still had reservations about “how realistic they could ever get it (VR). But to me, knowing that I’m in some room, walking around with something on my head...making me imagine things that aren’t really there...it’s not real to me. It’s like a game...it’s all fun and everything but it’s not real” (unit 15).
Wilderness as a Changing Definition Some Undergraduate Visitors believed that their definition of wilderness had not changed over the long term, from the first to the most recent experience or between the best and worst experience. Salmon stated that “I think it was essentially the same feeling and same definition. It didn’t change for me” (unit 8). Darter also thought the meaning remained the same, it still was “someplace that hasn’t been touched by man” 140
(unit 8). However, following his canoeing trip where the boat capsized, he now had a new found respect for rapid water. Overall, while Trout’s definition had not changed, she noticed subtle differences in the areas she considered wilderness in eastern and western states. Apart from the distinct landscape, the animal life also differed. Even after her bad experience with gun shots. Trout still believed that her meaning of wilderness had not changed, it certainly did not make her fearful of going on trips into such areas. In fact, all of her experiences in the wilderness outweighed those few bad experiences. “It is not even fair to call them experiences, just bad instances within trips” (unit 8). Pike and Perch did feel that their definitions changed slightly. Pike enjoyed his first experience in the Smoky Mountains so much more than his Californian experience because of the over-crowding. He could explore the area on his own and control his own experience. In California, this was far more difficult, if not impossible, and his ideas on curtailing access formed during this trip. In this way, his definition altered. Perch’s definition of wilderness had changed, from his first experience in a wooded area with a rustic cabin to a metro park setting. He finally selected Sharon Woods as wilderness for imparting many of the qualities of this particular setting rather than the physical landscape. Comparing the metro park to the urban environment for his training activities he discovered the park to be significantly cleaner and more relaxing. It seemed he was more concerned with the qualities of the area rather than the physical landscape. He also stated that people “could control it and confine it, but I really don’t think that we can...The animals have to be killed off firom there because they can’t be supported” (unit 8) by the natural systems. Many people would point to similar problems with wilderness areas and national parks.
Wilderness as a Challenging Experience Undergraduate Visitors found the wilderness challenging for a number of reasons, one of the most common was trying to get the time to actually organize a trip. Perch cited time as a constraint. He also wondered if wilderness really existed, because he doubted if any areas remained where a person could get away from everything. Another participant. Trout, worked and attended school, so she did not have much time for wilderness trips, even though she wanted it as a larger part of her life. She also thought that wilderness was now more intellectually challenging or stimulating and she 141
appreciated “it even more...because I’m able to think more clearly...and I notice that I felt better about myself and about things when I was there” (unit 17). Pike also mentioned time as a problem. He did not think that his meaning of wilderness was challenged spiritually because he already had a firm definition. Pike believed that he was lucky to have experienced wilderness the way he had. Some people “when they go out there, they just see things...‘Oh, yeah, big deal! I want to go to an amusement park or something!’ I mean that, to me, is no comparison to what you can find in the wilderness” (unit 17). His big hope for future generations was that they, too, would be able “to enjoy «...spiritually or emotionally, as much as I have. But, of course, we need to keep those places for them to do that” (unit 17). Darter thought that his definition had changed since he was a young boy. “Just going over the hill was a big experience, but going further and further away and staying out for longer periods of time, taking longer trips” (unit 17). He thought that this change had been a part of the natural progression of his definition. Under optimum conditions, he would like to live in Alaska, probably an extreme to some people. This was based on his feeling towards the environment, he wanted to live in harmony with and from the wilderness, to be self-sufficient. He also believed that this area still had the “last frontier kind of feeling” (unit 17). Salmon also mentioned time as a constraint, but more in the sense that he would run out of time to meet all his desired wilderness experiences. On the other hand, he expected his experiences to become more challenging—he had climbed Mount McKinley and scaling Mount Everest was a future goal. Such thoughts and plans brought Salmon’s mortality to his consciousness: “Maybe I am reaching for higher goals...realizing my...own mortality...I’m almost thirty and if I don’t do some things soon, I may not do them” (unit 17).
Wilderness as a Spiritual/Religious and Valued Experience The Undergraduate Visitors had various ideas on the influence of spiritual/religious 1 beliefs on their view and society’s view of wilderness. In addition, they also placed great personal value on wilderness and found it a positive influence on their lives. This group demonstrated the value placed on wilderness in similar ways, as noted in Table 8.
1 Unless otherwise noted, spiritual beliefs represents spiritual/religious beliefs. Table 8 MethodsJLJsed bv Undergraduate Visitors (Fish) to Demonstrate the Different Values Placed on Wilderness
Fish Personal Value Intrinsic Value
Perch Contributed to Environmental Organization, Appreciation of the place of wilderness Recycles at work, but not at home, does not produce large amounts of trash
Pike Tread lightly when visiting areas Tread lightly, future career—restoring aquatic areas
Salmon Member National Geographic Society Appreciation, Awareness of some wilderness issues
Darter Tread lightly. Contributes to National Wildlife As for Personal Value Federation and National Wild Turkey Federation
Trout Appreciation of Areas near her home in Utah, Tread lightly did contribute to Environmental Organization, Tread lightly 143
Perch was the only participant who did not believe that there was a relationship between personal or societal spiritual beliefs and wilderness. “I guess the world was mostly wilderness way back in the bible, when they’re talking about the bible and everything, but today I don’t put the two together...Religions really don’t talk about wilderness any more” (unit 18). However, all of the other Undergraduate Visitors recognized some influence of their meaning of wilderness on their spiritual beliefs or vice versa. Salmon thought that his view of wilderness had influenced his spiritual beliefs. While he did consider himself spiritual, organized religion did not play a major role in his life. He did believe in a “Higher Power and in a higher order, and that helps my view of nature being part of an important system, an important ecosystem and an important plan. Everything is here for a reason and we should obviously take good care of nature. And my view of nature just helps remind me of maybe of my spiritual views” (unit 18). Salmon placed great personal value on the coimections of life and the support systems which sustain life on the planet. Being in wilderness allowed people to reflect “in a spiritual way...(have a) cleansing experience and returning to the city or wherever, that stays with you at least for some period of time” (unit 18). Just as Trout had related in her first wilderness experience, she believed that “it was wilderness that first introduced me to...spirituality and I think that...I felt...closer to myself and closer to what’s around me when I am out there than when I am not” (unit 18). This was clearly very important to Trout and she did want to revive these feelings by returning to wilderness on different occasions. The setting made her feel extremely comfortable and while there Trout would feel closer to “God, or myself, and...whoever I am with...it is easier to be closer to each other when you are there than it would be when you are not” (unit 18). This closeness arose from the fact that pressures and constraints of daily life were removed and “everyone is on a level...ground. I also think that it makes me feel closer to the land” (unit 18). This connection to the land increased her desire not to impact it when she visited wilderness. Darter had begun reading about Native American beliefs and thought that he would not understand their spiritual basis if he had not personally experienced wilderness. He also believed that a god had created wilderness just as it appeared, “he made it that way to begin with so he must have wanted it that way, and people made the 144
cities and they’re unnatural” (unit 14). It was clear that Darter found greater peace in wilderness than in cities. Pike had difficulty in expressing his thoughts on this topic, but eventually stated that “I think it’s the experience you see and that you’re in, that should decide your spiritual beliefs. And I think that wilderness has definitely done that for me” (unit 18a). His beliefs, however, were very much slanted toward the traditional biblical images of Genesis. However, he was not sure of the gender or singularity of God. “I think that he gave...Adam and Eve the perfect suiroundings...unfortunately they messed it up but that’s how he intended it to be. And they were surrounded in the wilderness per se. And I think that that’s the way, when they were banned from it, that was the direction that we had to go in...he brought us to the Industrial Revolution” (unit 18a).
The Situation and Its Relationship to Life Salmon believed that his view of spirituality and nature, of which wilderness was a part, were connected and an important part of his life. Not alone was the experience reflective and cleansing, but “every time I think about my spirituality, I think nature is probably in the back of my mind somewhere. And every time I’m in nature, it reminds me of my spirituality” (unit 18b). Salmon’s personal experiences allowed him to realize the spiritual aspects and values of wilderness. People who have never visited wilderness may not have the same feelings for the place as he did and for this reason access such not be denied to these areas. Not alone did wilderness contribute to the spiritual aspects of human life, but it also supported all life on the planet and he valued it for that reason. Its intrinsic value was just that: it supported life. “It has a chain link effect, both negatively and positively. If it’s there and it’s working well, then there’s a positive effect and everything works in synergy. And if it doesn’t, then things fall apart” (unit 21). Salmon stated that it may appear as if business only values wilderness for its resources, however, he generally did not think this was the case. For Trout, she related better to people, God, her spirituality, herself, and the land more effectively in this setting and valued it for these reasons. “I guess...it makes me want to...work with other people more in doing things to protect the wilderness and I think that it brings people closer together, so that it has connected me...to other people as opposed to myself’ (unit 18b). Trout believed that wilderness was irreplaceable, priceless and should be appreciated for itself. Because of this, when people visit such 145 areas they should respect it and leave it the way it was when they entered. She also valued it for the amenities and resources it offered. Trout also just wanted to know that “some sort of untamed or touched region” (unit 20) was preserved where she could go, if she so desired, to renew some of her wilderness experiences. Darter will inherit a large area of land in the future and his personal view of wilderness will give him “a better frame of reference in making decisions about change in the wilderness, because..(the land)..will be near the wilderness and then I will have the decision on what way to treat the land” (unit 18). Darter valued wilderness because it was part of the natural environment and he enjoyed the setting, the activities that he could do in there, and its beauty. However, he believed value, whether intrinsic or extrinsic, was based on interaction between the person and the place, and if that interaction does not occur, then the value can not be appreciated or formed. Pike’s basis of his spiritual belief was wilderness. He saw a correlation between the destruction of the wilderness through the Industrial Revolution and Adam and Eve being cast out of the ‘perfect surroundings.’ However, when he was in wilderness “I can just imagine that that’s how God might have wanted us to live in, to learn and...wildemess, to me, is just something that is part of my religious belief’ (unit 18). In addition. Pike also placed a high personal value on such environments and the experiences from them. “I don’t think that there’s any price you can put on wilderness, and I think I’d say that you can’t put a price on an experience, as what I’ve experienced out of it” (unit 20). He also thought that the wilderness had an intrinsic value: “it’s an aspect of life that’s just totally different in the society that we grow up in...it’s a gift to us” (unit 21), again this tied in with his spiritual views. Pike also believed that humans should be denied access to some wilderness areas, “because that was the way it was before we came. And who is to say that we should be able to go in there and do whatever we want to it? So absolutely. Yeah, it’s a waste of space, if you think of it that way, but that was the way it should have been” (unit 21a). Perch, while not recognizing any clear connection between wilderness and spirituality, mentioned at one point that “when man totally destroys everything that was there...that’s going to be our destruction, our second coming type thing. So...maybe I’m putting religion and wilderness together right there” (unit 21). It was obvious that he did place great personal value on wilderness. 146
“Leaving some nature is definitely beneficial to our environment, so when I think of wilderness, I think of it as being wild and untouched...and let nature take its course type thing. I think that’s very good...when they totally make every environment controlled...that’s when it’s destructive. It’s valuable to me and to others as a place to get away...just show people something different, that the world isn’t made up of concrete. The world was originally made out of dirt and grass and trees, and I think that’s important...that it’s important to have all different types of habitats for everything” (unit 20).
In addition, he did not think that any aspect of life should be closed to people, they should have the opportunity to try everything. He realized that everyone would not value the experience. “I believe in having benefits from every aspect of life...I’m sure people go there and say, ‘This sucks,’ you know? ‘Where’s my cable? Where’s my mall? I can’t do any shopping.’ But for the next guy, there’s somebody that would say, I really enjoy this place.’ Even for the hunter, I guess he enjoys it” (unit 20). Perch also saw wilderness as being of value to its inhabitants and that it had a natural purpose in its existent. He connected this to his life in an interesting way: “I think that everything has its place, so I don’t just stick to my curriculum...I learn by what things I want to know, not by what I think they (OSU) want me to know” (unit 21a). This was tied to his belief of non-adherence to one aspect of life, but attempting many different experiences and learning from them.
Wilderness in Societv For most of the Undergraduate Visitors, the belief was that society’s view had changed toward wilderness in certain respects and, on the whole, it had become positive. Salmon believed that spiritual beliefs influenced wilderness and vice versa: “all the way back to the Mayans and the American Indians and the Egyptians—just about everybody that you see back in history—nature influences religion and religion influences the views on nature a little bit. I think everybody connects the two, to an extent” (unit 18b). In addition, people had progressed beyond the ‘conquering wilderness’ attitude and realized that some preservation was required. Sometimes he witnessed environmental issues locally which would impact wilderness (because everything was connected) and was not so sure about the change in attitude. This reinforced the idea of striking “a balance” (unit 23). 147
Darter confessed to not knowing much about religion but he stated that “society’s view of religion has influenced their view of wilderness” (unit 18b). As development expanded across the U.S., the structured, orderly and institutional religions viewed the Native Americans as savages because “they didn’t worship the same God” (unit 18b). This resulted in the area where these savages lived being considered nasty and the wilderness had to be conquered to expel the Native American tribes. What followed, according to Darter “had a bad impact on wilderness” (unit 18b) and did not, in his mind, assist society. “I think it ruined a lot of things we’ll never get back. As far as...buffalo herds and things of that sort, moose herds, elk herds” (18b). However, Darter believed that society’s view was changing, or it was becoming more politically correct to show regard for the environment and wilderness. He cited examples of the growing environmental movement, with organizations such as the Sierra Club, but also the réintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Paric. Perch thought that generally society would view wilderness in the same way, as its portrayal in the media. However, he thought that the attitude toward wilderness and the environment was changing. A good environmental attitude was more socially acceptable now, as witnessed by the success of recycling. But, this attitude would only alter more as a result of the immediacy of wilderness to individuals’ lives. “I don’t think people really think about wilderness that much. I think everybody gets caught up in their little lives...and I think people start to have tunnel vision, where they only see what affects them in the immediate sense” (unit 23). Pike and Trout were more pessimistic about the situation. Originally Pike’s perception was that society was not very concerned about wilderness, then he decided that he did not have enough information to fashion any statement on the impact of society’s spiritual beliefs on wilderness. He doubted if “society’s view of wilderness, as a whole, has ever changed...! think there’s always been those handfuls of people, those who say, ‘Oh, yeah, let’s keep this.’ But I think society overall...(is) into our industrial revolution. I think that they’d rather have a resort to go to than to go and enjoy what wildemess...has to provide” (unit 23). His concern was visible in the development of wild places as golf courses and resorts. Pike did like resorts, but given the option, he would choose a wilderness experience every time. This development imperative existed in the viewpoint or paradigm of society and Pike’s big fear was that 148 he did not “know if it’s going to just totally wipe out what I believe is wilderness. It might, in the future. I hope not to see it, but it might” (unit 23). Trout believed society’s attitude toward wilderness represented a lack of appreciation. The value placed on it had changed to one of disrespect and negligence. Such an attitude was clearly visible in the deforestation and development of land. She also thought that “religious beliefs have influenced society’s view of wilderness” (unit 18b). Perhaps the domination of nature and wilderness encouraged by some religious traditions had produced that disrespect and negligence which Trout cited. However, she believed that people discovered spirituality through wilderness on an individual basis and that the person “needs to maintain that and preserve it in that way” (unit 18b). Perhaps, the institutional structure does not allow this individual contact with wilderness and resulting spirituality to influence the religion.
Wilderness as a Legal and Personal Definition Wilderness is a term which is utilized to such an extent in everyday life that one would imagine a single definition would be clearly available to people. One definition is the legal definition, noted in Chapter 2. While most of the Undergraduate Visitors thought that such a definition might exist, none of them had ever seen or read it. However, all of them believed that their personal wilderness definitions did largely correspond with the legal definition. Salmon stated that “basically the legal definition includes all of the important parts of wilderness” (unit 25). Perch agreed with this. Trout believed that it was correct that “man is only a visitor to the area, that’s the way it should be. Because if we do anything permanent in there then it is destroyed” (unit 25). Darter had one caveat, he thought that wilderness could also be “considerably smaller...(than)...a 5,000 acre tract of land which has not been altered by man” (unit 25). Pike also was concerned about size, but it was something which he had not considered, yet assumed that wilderness would constitute a large area. He was the only participant who knew that a difference existed between national parks and legal wilderness areas. None of the Undergraduate Visitors had visited legal wilderness, but Trout summarized it best: “I don’t really think so after reading this (legal) definition, but for me it was still wilderness!” (unit 25). The correspondence of the personal and legal wilderness definitions changed for three of the Undergraduate Visitors after reading the activities (grazing, sport-hunting. 149 subsistence hunting, fishing, scientific research) allowed in such designated areas. Salmon and Darter still believed that the two definitions corresponded. “I am sure that the people who manage wilderness areas keep all of the different activities well segregated, so that they don’t impinge on each othef’ (Salmon, unit 25a). Darter held a similar view: “the land is protected and managed to minimize the effects of man and maintain the natural appearance and wildlife populations” (unit 25a). Pike, Perch and Trout did not agree with the activities allowed in designated wilderness areas. Pike was dismayed that such activities could be allowed: “I think this changes everything! How can all these activities occur in a wilderness area...! like the fact that motorized vehicles are banned...But how can these agencies allow grazing and sport hunting in there? Aren’t there other areas where people can do these things? So, I don’t think it really fits anymore, in theory I guess it does but not in practice” (unit 25a). Perch believed that tolerating these activities was similar to permitting people to inhabit and control the wilderness: “how can they call it a wilderness and say that, by definition, it’s where man doesn’t impose his will on the land, and yet here we are” (unit 25a) allowing these activities. Trout could not visualize how these activities could benefit the wilderness: “all they seem to do is take stuff from the wilderness and bring people...lots and lots of people in there” (unit 25a).
From summarizing the data the following points were extracted about the meaning of wilderness for each of the Undergraduate Visitors.
Words Used to Describe Wilderness and Influences on Undergraduate Visitors’ Definitions Wilderness was described by the Undergraduate Visitors using similar words. “Pristine, clean, untamed, peaceful, wild, unrestricted, undeveloped” (unit 1) were some of the terms used by the participants. Descriptors were dependent on the location the participant visited for a particular experience but in the more general definition the above terms were popular. The Undergraduate Visitors described wilderness as positive within their lives. All their wilderness experiences were beneficial to them in some way, even when some bad incidents occurred. Salmon stated that “it’s a very spiritual place that people can go to reflect on themselves and...that every problem...may not be as big a deal when they 150 put it in perspective” (unit 22). As a life support system it was also essential. Trout had a spiritual connection to the land as a result of visiting wilderness and “it is a positive part of my life and it makes me feel...more secure and positive about myself’ (unit 22). Darter also thought it had a calming effect on his life. Perch found it to be a peaceful place and did not see any negative aspects to it “other than it may prevent that mall from being opened or may cause us to be more crowded into our little confined areas rather than spreading us out, but the more we spread out, the more we populate” (unit 22). Perhaps Pike summed it up best when he stated “I like to live my life around it. I like to have that as an aspect of my life, and...it’s always given me positive feedback every time I visit it and I watch it on TV or listen to it. It’s a positive thing to me and it makes me feel good inside...you can’t call something that great, that feeling, negative towards you” (unit 22). In addition to the people or reasons why they visited the various wilderness areas in the experiences described above, they all believed that education or media influenced their meaning of wilderness. Salmon stated that education and his own experiences were the major influences on him: “If people...don’t have a personal experience with the wilderness or have never been educated about ecosystems and how life systems support each other, they probably wouldn’t think about or care about the wilderness and nature in general. But when you realize everything’s connected... then you start to think a little bit more about it” (unit 19). Because of this, he tried to reduce his consumption of goods. Education was also an important factor for Trout: “when...I learn about the deterioration of the ozone layer...(and its)...bad effect on wilderness it makes me want to...try and do something about that...when I see things...like all the forest fires...I guess it just really makes me feel bad and...I feel somewhat responsible” (unit 19). She would like to educate other people to be aware of the results of their actions. Trout saw it as “part of our responsibility to care for everything around us” (unit 19). Table 9 represents a summary of the areas considered to be wilderness visited and listed by the Undergraduate Visitors. Note the similarity in areas described as specific wilderness. Table 9 Areas Considered to be Wilderness which were Visited, and Specific Wilderness Areas Listed by the Undergraduate Visitors Œishl
Fish Wilderness Visited Specific Wilderness Areas
Perch S.E. Ohio, Sharon Woods Metro Park, OH Areas of Alaska and Idaho
Pike Smoky Mountains; Yosemite National Park, CA; Sequoia National Park, CA areas of Alaska, Brazil, Africa
Salmon Yosemite National Park, CA; Areas in southwestern states; some coastal areas on the Denali National Park, AK; eastern seaboard; areas of Canada, Siberia, South America, areas in ME Europe, India, and Australia
Darter S.E. Ohio; southern W. Virginia Alaska; Yukon; Idaho; Wyoming; Utah
Trout Northern California; Yellowstone National Park, CA; Utah canyons; areas of desert areas of Utah and Nevada; California, and Colorado; jungles of Amazon; S.E. Ohio areas of Central/South America, Africa, and Australia
KJi 152
Darter believed that his view of wilderness was influenced by his local culture, particularly his extended family, some of the members of which taught him how to hunt. However, for society he thought that its view was primarily influenced by media. Because people in the city were separated from wilderness and most of the U.S. population was urban then the media, particularly television, was the only source of information. When relatives brought friends from the city, he thought their interaction with wilderness was interesting and fun to watch. Perch also thought that media and direct experience were important influences on his definition of wilderness. Direct experience for Pike was the main source for his idea of wilderness. However, while this had the greater influence, it had to be combined with media and people for him to gain his full understanding of wilderness. He saw society’s problem with wilderness, the fact that its view of wilderness has never really changed, resulting from the lack of direct experience with that environment. Perhaps through education and direct contact, people’s idea of wilderness could be changed.
Journal Reflections on Each Participant’s Meaning of Wilderness While the wilderness experiences were all different for the Undergraduate Visitors, it was clear from the data that common patterns existed. At this point, my reflections on the data are introduced as part of the exploration of each participant’s meaning of wilderness. Wilderness had the following meaning and life connection for each of the Undergraduate Visitors. Salmon—words used to describe wilderness included: any sort of pristine or undeveloped area that supports life, open, expansive, arid, a place where people can be regenerated emotionally (unit 1). Salmon was interested in business and one of the major points which he iterated many times was the requirement of a balance between development and preservation of areas. However, he also made the point that this balance had to allow ‘people to do business,’ because people could not beg for charity. (This point was also made by Bobcat in a later interview.) He seemed committed to maintaining wilderness areas, but only as long as they did not interfere with the ‘balance,’ the issue of balancing economic necessity with environmental ideals. Again, at least the way that I saw “this issue was developing from the previous interviews and this one—economic reasons were necessities whereas environmental concerns. 153
especially in relation to wilderness, were ideals. It seemed that economic interests would inevitably outweigh the preservation or conservation of wilderness” (Journal, 1/11/95). Reading this interview at a later time, this issue again hit a ‘hot spot.’2 Currently, there is the newest term ‘sustainable development’ to contend with in the whole milieu of economics and the environment. I still found that I definitely agreed with Salmon’s point about the poisons and the need for their regulation, but when is too much regulation present?
‘‘What risk are we willing to take and what price will we pay for it? I don’t think we have a whole lot of environmental regulation right now and I still see people begging for money. Is this connected in any way to environmental regulation? I think not, although I do think that the overall health of people and the economy is attached to the health of the environment. ÉF we have excessive regulations and should abolish them, will it help the people I see every morning on the way to work, begging for money? I do not think so! Yes, we n e ^ to keep a balance and for that we have to pay, but are we willing to do that? That is the question” (Journal, 7/25/95)
He had a clear perception of the necessity and value of wilderness and its role in the health of the planet with all its life. Salmon also made the point that wilderness could have different types of physical characteristics. ‘‘It’s easier in my mind to think of wilderness when you think of green and forest and mountains...although..(this area in Texas is)...very much wilderness but it’s arid and there’s sand and rocks” (unit 1). The force and majesty of nature visible in wilderness also was a point highlighted by Salmon. (For Wolf, another participant, this was a major descriptor of wilderness, the uncontrolled factors of nature.) Salmon mentioned many times the spirituality of his wilderness experiences and the value of such places to humans and as habitat for other creatures. ‘‘There’s a lot of time for reflection, so there’s a natural urge in each individual to reflect on themselves in a spiritual way...that probably happens to most people in wildemess”(unit 18). He and Pike both saw the experience as a method of cleansing the body, mind, and soul.
2 ‘Hot spot’ refers to a statement which triggered an emotional response in the interviewer. 154
Trout—words used to describe wilderness included: untamed area or regions that have not been touched by modernization, peaceful, forest area, mountains, waterfall, wild animals, exciting, beautiful, overpowering, a place to gain a spiritual connection to the land and God (unit 1). The spiritual connection which these areas afforded Trout were high on her list as a value that wilderness possessed. Getting closer to the land, God, people with her, and her own self were an integral part of this connection. Even though she had a bad experience in wilderness at one point, by any standards quite a frightening event with gun-shots, it did not influence her overall idea of wilderness or stop her from entering these areas. “Every year, people are killed in hunting accidents...! am surprised but glad that it did not have a major impact on Trout’s definition of wilderness. She did tell people about it...as a conversation piece, but...the saving grace of the incident was finding the trail that she had never seen before which led her home” (Journal, 7/16/95). This in many ways made the spiritual connection to the land stronger for her. Trout made the point of getting a sense of power from surveying all below her on her first trip to the wilderness. She played outside her backyard, climbed the mountains in the undeveloped terrain and viewed her domain, suggesting that she could do with it as she saw fit. However, “I don’t think she was referring to actually dominating the land because her experience gave her an appreciation for the area” (Journal, 7/3/95). But, when she began talking about using motorcycles in an area of canyons, she hit a ‘hot spot’ for me. The shock was lessened when she thought that they must not have been in designated wilderness, after reading the legal definition. Motorcycles can do incredible amounts of damage to desert or arid environments. A personal memory was raised reading about the motorcycle experience. It reminded me of trips I had taken with my friends, but mainly my parents, siblings, or the family unit. The closeness of her family as a result of these trips was great to hear. My family would have some Sunday outings where we hiked in the national park or climbed some local hills. In addition, “I guess these trips, combined with the walks with my mother down through the national park near Killamey helped me form my idea of wilderness, but also brought us closer together as a family, just as the trips did for Trout” (Journal, 7/16/95). Darter—words used to describe wilderness included: peaceful, calming, undeveloped, rugged, unforgiving, forest prairies, deserts, mountains, rapid rivers. 155 spiritual connection (unit 1). He believed that he lived in close proximity to wilderness and from his experiences thought that trees were a necessary requirement for wilderness, yet towards the end of the interview stated that prairies and deserts could also be included in his definition. Darter also saw a connection between self-sufficiency and the wilderness, thus the ability to hunt was an important facet of the wilderness. Hunting is something which, while I am not keen on it, is necessary to control animal populations because habitats have been drastically altered by humans. “Darter did not like the fact that wilderness areas could be out-of-bounds for hunting. He saw wilderness very much as an area where people were more than visitors, where they live off the land as the early settlers did...However, he also believed that there should be a respect for the wilderness, not a need to conquer it, but to live in harmony with it” (Journal, 1/10/95). Darter considered the point that he lived next to wilderness, which I found very intriguing and wondered why he believed this was the case. Killamey has a national park next to it and while I could say I lived next to a national park, I would not compare this to a wilderness area. Both are human constructs, but why the difference? I can not definitely answer this, but I will share my thoughts on it. “Living in Appalachia is pretty remote, probably more remote than where I lived. Because of this, development would be very scarce and the human population quite low. The area around Killamey National Park is fairly well developed as the area is a popular tourist destination” (Joumal, 7/20/95). The remoteness of the land and the fact that Darter could hunt in the area led him to consider the area as wildemess. But, he did state that recent developments were disturbing. Darter’s thoughts on the media and stereotypes were interesting, especially in relation to the movie Deliverance. Hollywood can perpetuate stereotypes by portraying certain views of people and places. For Darter, this movie projected the stereotypical image of the native Appalachian, but not that of wildemess. Pike—words used to describe wildemess included: an ecosystem that has not been disturbed by man, untouched, incredible landscape, exhilarating, thick and full of vegetation, lots of trees, waterfalls, wild animals and plants, soil microbes, mysterious at night, mountain and huge cliffs, ocean, overcrowded, relaxing, it ‘cleans my insides out’ spiritually and emotionally (unit 1). For Pike, the coimection between the biblical God and the creation of wildemess was high. On the other hand, many of the other 156
Undergraduate Visitors talked of a spiritual feeling or a creator-like god, but did not see a direct relationship with the Judeo-Christian God. Access was an issue for Pike, he thought that the Sequoia National Park was over-crowded when he and his family visited the area. (This was also an issue with other participants particularly Coyote, Fox and Grizzly). Pike was not sure if his interest in natural resources and career could be traced to his first wildemess experience, but it had at least some impact. (Other interviews and the related literature pointed to such a connection.) He believed that people who had influenced him most initially were his science teachers, who took some of the class on a camp into the Smoky Mountains. While he believed his parents played a role, for him his teachers were the main influence. This was different firom the other Undergraduate Visitors, but it was not that surprising. “My own elementary and high school science teachers influenced my interest in the environment greatly. However, just as with the previous participants, the experience occurred during his childhood, a period...that is crucial in the development of environmental awareness and sensitivity” (Journal, 1/11/95). For Pike, one of the major attributes of a wildemess experience was its cleansing effect. This was quite similar to the statements of Coyote and many of the other participants. In my mind, “wildemess experiences are very cleansing, for the soul and the mind and this factor may often overshadow any particular bad experiences within the overall, total wildemess experience. This could be the reason that people don’t see any bad experience emanating from the wildemess, because this cleansing is so profound” (Joumal, 1/11/95). Pike noticed an interesting distinction between ‘tree-huggers’ and environmentalists. “He considered himself to be an environmentalist rather than in the former category. He defined the ‘tree-hugger’ as a person who does not compromise, who is not willing to see all the issues, whereas an environmentalist is one who does see all the sides and weighs up the issues and will do what is best” (Joumal, 1/11/95) for everyone. He hit a ‘hot spot’ with this idea. The impression from Pike was that the ‘tree-huggers’ were eco-terrorists, people belonging to an environmental activism group such as Earth First! However, environmentalist is another term that is loosely defined by people. But, groups such as Earth First! evolved in response to compromising environmentalists, where the 157 environment was always seen to lose. Such a sentiment made me angry because under it John Muir would be considered a ‘tree-hugger’ and without him many areas that Pike visited would not exist. “Groups like Earth First! are necessary, being at the extreme or being radical helps decenter issues, helps stir things up and create some disequilibrium and hopefully changes. Whether these changes are positive or negative is another issue” (Joumal, 1/11/95). When Pike defined environmentalist, “I thought of the rancher I heard in Montana call himself an environmentalist in front of a room of environmental educators and give his viewpoint of the wolf réintroduction there. I also thought of material I had read in environmental disputes exhibiting the point that when environmentalists go into dispute resolution, that they often compromise” (Joumal, 1/11/95). They tend to be poor negotiators in such situations. We can all be environmentalists when we want to be and when it suits our purposes. As of 1995, about 4% of the contiguous U.S. was designated as wildemess. In relation to existing wildemess areas “there should not be a compromise, why can’t we live with that four percent of land undisturbed. I realize that compromises are required, but we have already compromised 96% of the wildemess that was here. Can’t we exist on that amount of land? Environmentalists often make bad negotiators and the environment ends up losing. This can’t continue if we are to maintain what little we have left” (Joumal, 1/11/95). Perch—words used to describe wildemess included; wild, free of people but particularly undeveloped, unchanged land, free-flowing land, unrestricted land, rivers, forests, deer, peaceful (unit 1). This interview was very interesting as Perch spanned the spectmm of natural settings in the Natural Environment Spectmm (NES). This spectrum was composed of the city environment at one end, at the other extreme wild places were grouped together. Perch described visiting a more stereotypical wildemess and metro park to describing ‘real’ wilderness in the west. (People would tend to move in the opposite direction from Perch, progressing from developed areas to more remote, less developed land.) He admitted that the environment in the park was more controlled. Even in some of the interview he described wildemess as unrestricted land, free-flowing land, but he still did not consider that the metro park was completely developed and would conform to his wildemess definition. 158
“However, I think Perch has done something unusual in his own mind. Why do people visit wilderness? Why did Perch visit wildemess? For Perch, it was to relax, to get that feeling of peacefulness. For most people, including the group, they tend to go for feelings of peacefulness, a place to relax and recoup from the pressures of life. People also go for the scenery, the wildlife, experiencing nature on its own terms. Most, I think, go for some combination of these two—the physical characteristics of the place, and the qualities associated with it. But Perch, had separated these into two distinct areas, not necessarily thinking that they needed to be linked, so he could get the wildemess feeling that was different from his usual urban environment, but not one as wild as the place he first visited” (Joumal, 7/3/95).
This may have been linked to his childhood, in that he played a ‘Cowboys and Indians’ game in a wooded area near his home and imagined all sorts of places. When I was younger and in Ireland, after watching a westem on the TV, my friends, some of my siblings, and I played this game as well. “People often found this amazing that we would play such a game in Ireland, it just shows the influence of TV and the globalization of cultures, but it also is an example of the power of the imagination. (Trout also said that she played games like this, but at least they were in a similar environment in Utah to that portrayed in the movie!!)” (Joumal, 7/3/95). Perch also considered the OSU campus a wildemess, although developed, it was difficult to navigate around sometimes and it could be dangerous, one of the reasons why he leamed self defense. He also had a major problem with private property and the treatment of land as a commodity. Perch’s preoccupation with the ownership of land was intriguing. He could not understand why people became so possessive about the ownership of land. When they would die, the land would remain, and other people could do things with it. “Because of this, he could not understand why people would be so upset when he would cross their land. In some of my readings about the evolution of civilization, it was suggested that the concept of land ownership developed with the rise of the agricultural tradition as opposed to the hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Perhaps Perch was seeking a partial retum to this lifestyle, which some writers also suggest (Joumal, 7/3/95). 159
Mammals—Graduate Visitors Participants in this group varied considerably in their experiences with wildemess. Two students had three or less experiences in wildemess while the remaining three Graduate Visitors had over a dozen (Table 10). Yet, wildemess had a profound impact on each one, and while a spectrum of environments would conform to their meaning (definition), distinct pattems emerged as to the qualities expected in such landscapes and areas.
Wildemess as Experience All the Graduate Visitors had experiences which would fall into the stereotypical and, in some cases, legal definitions of wildemess. However, some of them also had experiences in what Bobcat referred to as ‘softened wilderness’ (unit 7g), an area which imparted the wildemess experience or feeling, but the physical landscape was not very rugged.
First Wildemess Experience. All the Graduate Visitors had their first wildemess experience with either their parents/family or a friend (unit 6a). Trips with parents tended to occur throughout childhood, while the trips with friends happened either in teenage years or later. Fox had many camping experiences with his parents/family, but he did not visit wildemess until he took a trip with a friend in his teenage years. Wolf and Grizzly both had their first experiences in their early twenties. Interestingly, all the first wildemess experiences for the group occurred in three westem states—Colorado, Montana, Califomia—typically areas which contain significant acreage administered by federal agencies, such as the Forest Service, National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management. (Refer to Table 11 for a summary of first and most recent wildemess experiences for the Graduate Visitors.) Table 10 Characteristics of the ParticlDaatsJnJhe_Graduate Visitor (Mammals) Group and the Number of Wilderness Trips Experienced
Mammals Sex Age Resided Post Spiritual Beliefs # of wildemess day # of wildemess (Years) Secondary trips extended trips Education
Grizzly M 36 Town 10 years Non-organized 1 2
Wolf M 29 City 5 years Non-denominational None 2 Center Christian but trips into woods
Fox M 31 City 10 years Christian Approx. 50 Approx. 20 Suburb
Coyote F 36 City 10 years Non-religious, but None Approx. 12 Suburb spiritual
Bobcat F 27 City 5 years Agnostic 12 2 Suburb 161
While good memories were prominent in the experiences related by the Graduate Visitors, some bad incidents did occur. These were not major and certainly did not prevent the Graduate Visitors from returning to wildemess. Wolf, for instance, was frightened when his friend showed him some bear scat and told him of the presence of bear in the local area. Fox became disoriented in a tree stand for a few minutes, which was certainly disconcerting but did not cause major anxiety. Bobcat was cold on her first trip to an area of high altitude with deep snow; again it was not any colder than previous experiences with snow, so it did not deter her from returning to wildemess. Coyote missed the amenities of everyday life and for her the whole operation of cooking and cleaning oneself were the major problems in wildemess areas, but she leamed to handle and cope with them. Grizzly had no negative memory of his first trip. Good memories, in general, overshadowed any bad incidents. The Graduate Visitors described these memories in more detail and enjoyed talking about them. Wolf had two good memories, one was catching a fish, the other was wimessing a night sky that he did not realize existed.
“I remember later that night, my friend, John, went outdoors and he said, ‘Come on out here. I want to show you something.’ So I stepped out and he said, ‘Look up.’ And I looked up in the sky and I couldn’t believe it. I’ve never seen stars like this. I’d never seen the night sky...the stars were just so brilliant and it was like diamonds set against velvet...I just didn’t realize you could see a night sky that looked like that before” (unit 6d).
Wolf felt completely amazed that such a view existed and had never experienced it before. For Grizzly, it was the expansiveness of the scenery and that ‘‘extensive feeling of awe that was pleasing” (unit 6d). Bobcat, on the other hand, had a memory dealing with the closeness of nature when she walked through a fallen Sequoia tree. The grandeur of the tree seemed to make her insignificant. Coyote used photographs to capture certain moments of her experiences and these visual images reminded her of particular events and situations. She described a photograph of her parents on a boulder in a river and how this influenced her trip. 162
“That photograph shows them more relaxed and at ease than almost any photograph I have. And, for me, that really tells the story of that trip and that time, because they’re just...stretched out in a very relaxed pose and their expressions look totally relaxed...that’s probably die best thing about that trip is that I do remember everybody was just totally low key and relaxed. There weren’t any pressures’’ (unit 6d).
Relaxation was primarily the quality which wildemess imparted for Coyote. Fox had no single best memory; his first experience was a number of years ago, he did enjoy being in such areas and being able to access ‘wild’ places.
The Situation and Its Relationship to Life The first trip to wilderness did influence the Graduate Visitors and laid the foundation for the meaning associated with wildemess and also the reasons for visiting such areas. For those who had their first experience in their twenties, it differed somewhat firom the younger Graduate Visitors. Wolf, for instance, was intrigued by the amazement that nature provided, while Grizzly was thankful for the memory this experience provided which could be called upon when the experience itself could not be revisited. This was similar in ways to Coyote’s use of photographs to encode memories from trips. Such experiences also reinforced prior beliefs conceming the wildemess or nature and the necessity to preserve such environments. The remaining three Graduate Visitors had their first experience at a younger age. For Bobcat and Fox, the experience gave them an appreciation of nature, a connection to wild places and the desire to visit many more such environments. Coyote realized that it was hard work to be in the wildemess, but that the setting was also beneficial for relaxation, shedding the cares of daily life. Because of this quality, such trips were worth the effort. In most of the cases, the Graduate Visitors believed that these types of areas should be relatively accessible for people. Table 11 Characteristics of the First and Most Recent Wilderness Experiences for the Graduate Visitors (Mammals)
First Most First Most First Most First Most First Most Recent Recent Recent Recent Recent Grizzly Grizzly Wolf Wolf Fox Fox Coyote Coyote Bobcat Bobcat Location Glacier S.E. Montana Amazon, Flat Wind Sangre de Shenandoah Sequoia Arran National South Brazil T ops, River Christo Valley National Island, Park. Carolina CO area, Mountain, Park, CA Scotland MT WY CO Age 22 years 27 years 21 years 24 years 16 years 29 years 8-10 years 26 8 years 26 years old old old old old old old years old old old With Friends/ Friends/ Friend/ Language Friend/ Friend/ Family/ Friend/ Family/ Friends/ W hom/ Vacation Vacation Vacation program Vacation Vacation Vacation Vacation Vacation Vacation Reason Trip Type Camping Canoe- Cabin/ Cabin/ Five day Cabin/ Camping/ Camping/ Hotel/ Hotel/ 2 days camping W eek trip Day Trips trip Day Trips Few days 3-4 days Day Day Trips trip to Few days Trips 3 days Amazon mainly 164
Most Recent Wilderness Experience. Three of the Graduate Visitors had wilderness experiences since 1990, the other two had experiences within the last 10-11 years. As opposed to the first wilderness trips confined to the western U.S., the locations of their most recent experiences differed considerably. Two were in international settings—one was in Brazil, the second on an island off Scotland. The three U.S. wilderness experiences were located in Wyoming, S. Carolina and Virginia. Four of the trips occurred with a friend/ colleague, the final one was associated with a Language Study Program in Brazil. The latter trip was significant in W olfs life and a turning point in his career. While the wilderness experience was not the focal point of the trip, it did contribute in a small way to the turning point in W olfs career. (Refer to Table 11 for a summary of first and most recent wilderness experiences for this group.) W olfs experience was associated with two aspects of the wilderness: one was a boat ride to the convergence of two rivers which constitute the Amazon River. Again, as in his Montana trip, he stayed in a cabin, but in this case they were located along the rain forest frontier. A second event occurred within this trip which represented his bad memory of wilderness, a monkey terrorized the occupants of his cabin. While he was not in fear for his life, he definitely felt threatened by this occurrence.
“Being scared. Being scared that this monkey was going to attack me (laughs).-.that feeling of panic. I’m confronted with this wild creature and this creature is loolang very hostile...the things that flash through your mind...“How am I going to get myself out of this situation?” (unit 7c).
Grizzly, on his three day canoe-camping trip had some discomfort because of ground dampness coming through his tent and some minor sunburn. Bobcat’s trip to ‘softened wilderness’ was within a larger trip to the British Isles. She and her friend had decided to try and see Scotland in miniature by visiting Arran Island, off Scotland. Rain was a problem and in part represented the bad memory of this trip. As in some cases, bad memories about trips were not related to the direct experience but to the preparation or return stage of the trip. This was the case for Coyote, who was exhausted from driving to meet with her friend and then continuing on to Shenandoah Valley. This can often color an experience, but in this case, partly because of the ‘easy-going’ nature of her companion, and other events in her life, the exhaustion did not overwhelm her experience. However, it did lead her to believe that 165 wilderness should be more proximate to people, preventing long exhaustive drives for those seeking access to these areas. On the other hand. Fox did not have any bad memories on his most recent trip. He believed that bad memories were associated with poor planning and Fox had arranged and prepared for many trips without the occurrence of any major negative incidents. As in the first experience, the good memories came to the forefront for the Graduate Visitors. Wolf was amazed by the size of the Amazon River, “From North America, that was something I was totally unaccustomed to seeing. I’d seen the Mississippi, the Ohio, but this thing...was too wide...So I was kind of awe-struck by that” (unit 7d). Grizzly’s canoe trip allowed him to get to know the other two people on the trip under perfect weather conditions. Often they would just float down the river, allowing the current to take them on their journey. Frightening his friend in a fun way was Fox’s best memory of his most recent trip:
“I was up running and he had...led a hiking trip up there...and they were back in a place that was relatively hard to find but somebody had...told me they were up at such-and-such falls, and I had taken a run up there and they were back in there...six or seven miles, and I saw them...coming down from the falls and so I hid out behind a big rock until they had gone hiking and then I went running out and blasted past them and just said, “Excuse me” and knocked into him!...it wasn’t that that was any great wilderness experience, but...that does stand out because it was funny” (unit 7d).
Bobcat’s best memory about her most recent experience was related to the whole muddy trail incident because the trail led to a beautiful waterfall. “Well, I remember we just kind of sat there for a while and watched it, and it was nice, very peaceful. And the way the waterfall is, you can get a great view of it from one certain lookout point” (unit 7d). For Coyote, her most recent wilderness trip held special significance because it represented her loss of personal freedom, she became pregnant shortly after the trip. She remembered the trip very fondly for this reason, and also that she could relax after some graduate schooling and it allowed her to bond closely with the friend accompanying her on the trip. 166
The Situation and Its Relationship to Life The most recent experience for each of the Graduate Visitors reaffirmed their belief that such areas required protection and preservation and for some it was a point on their continuum of life. In Bobcat’s case, it helped her appreciate the American wilderness and the fact that so much space remains undeveloped here; while Europe’s cultural artifacts are magnificent, it was the natural, undeveloped landscapes in the U.S. which were worth visiting. Europe and other developed western countries, basically consisted of a ‘softened wilderness.’ While the wilderness experience was a part of a larger significant event in Wolfs life, he highlighted the need for the preservation of the Amazon for future generations. Coyote was going through a transition during her most recent wilderness experience. She was changing from a wife and graduate student to a graduate student and mother. During the past ten years with her son, she had often thought that wilderness experiences were important for him but was unsure of her ability to care for him in such situations. However, at this age, she now thought it possible for him to have some of the experiences she had at his present age. Indeed, during the interview, she suddenly realized that her first trip to wilderness was when she was younger than ten years. The ability to take wilderness trips was an important part of life. Fox savored the experience, enjoyed seeing a friend have some fun on the trip, and felt spiritually and emotionally renewed by the experience. The latter aspect played a major role in Fox’s wilderness experiences. He felt his spiritual life was being hampered by living in Ohio, away from wilderness areas and clearly signifying his strongest connection to wilderness. Grizzly had a significant social experience during his most recent trip and learned more about the two people with him than he had working with them in the confinement of a submarine. The trip also reaffirmed his commitment to the preservation of these areas.
Worst Wilderness Experience. Bad memories of the first and most recent wilderness experiences were not dominant for the Graduate Visitors. A similar case existed for an overall bad wilderness trip. Wolf had two trips to wilderness, the only incident was the monkey tribulation in the Amazon, which was not considered very disturbing. Fox had a scary experience 167 kayaking in the Sea of Cortez, as well as experiencing some bad storms on his hiking trips, but none that he would consider bad experiences. He did attribute all of these to his own poor planning, something which he tried to avoid. Bobcat had an experience with a horse while on a trip in the Black Hills of South Dakota. However, this bad memory was associated with the horse, not the wilderness, and was not considered a major negative incident. Grizzly had only three wilderness experiences and he considered them all to be satisfactory. Coyote was the only participant who detailed a bad memory in a wilderness experience. However, it was mainly a result of the person accompanying her and not the physical environment.
“I’m the kind of person to where I feel like I can get a National Forest map and wander around until a place looks good. There are people that that’s not comfortable, at all...I went on a trip with a person whose style was so different that I never felt like we could relax at all. And...that colored my perspective on ‘who will I take with me on these trips?’ They can make or break the experience” (unit 9).
On this particular trip, she also had her child which was exhausting and stressful caring for a more dependent person. The stress and responsibility of having her child and an uncooperative adult created an unhappy atmosphere. In many cases, wilderness is a social setting (even though many people do not visualize it as such) and the experience is another social event.
The Situation and Its Relationship to Life It was interesting to note that not only did the Graduate Visitors have difficulty in describing a bad memory in their first, most recent and best trips, but it was also not easy to characterize an experience which was considered a bad trip overall. In many cases, the worst memory seems to be associated with a particular person or animals/plants with which the Graduate Visitors did not connect. The setting in particular certainly did not have any major impact on the individual’s plans to visit wilderness again. 168
Best Wilderness Experience. A few of the Graduate Visitors had a small number of wilderness experiences, therefore, their best experience often corresponded to a first or more recent trip. Such was the case with Wolf, Grizzly, and Bobcat. For Wolf, his best trip was to Montana which was also his first time experiencing wilderness. This was based on the landscape: “the mountains are just so...visually stimulating. The sheer size...the grandeur, the scale of the place was so much more awesome to me” (unit 10). Grizzly’s first trip was also his best experience. (It, too, occurred in Montana, in Glacier National Park.) However, he added an extra dimension in that moments of his third experience, a rafting trip in Idaho, held special significance for him. Such a trip gave him a different experience of wilderness, allowing him to get to areas that probably would otherwise be inaccessible, but more important it gave him a different vantage point, a different perspective of wilderness which comes from different modes of transport in such areas. These moments or ‘micro-impressions’ as he referred to them were bound together and revolved around great symbolism for him as an American and a military person.
“On the rafting trip...just going through this gorge...coming out, and a couple of bald eagles sitting up in the tree. I’m socialized my entire life to attach great...affective...everything that’s great and good about my country into this symbol...then this sort of exhilarating experience of the gorge...coming out into this sort of quiescent area and then you see this...that brings up all this affective ffeight...when I can sit...analyze ...realize what was happening, was...for that minute, an extraordinary experience” (unit 10b).
At that moment. Grizzly believed he sensed an interaction of the different wilderness perspective and wimessing the bald eagles perched in a natural setting. If the eagles were in a developed area or in a human controlled facility then the reaction would not have occurred.
“(It wasn’t)...bald eagle and all this symbolism stuff comes to mind...it was...a general...feeling you describe as (a) swelling heart or whatever...the physiological responses are, but totally unbidden...you think about it afterwards and realize how the setting and your socialization have teamed up on you...being in wilderness (isolated)...all the things that fuel the affective...and symbolic connotations...actually made it stronger” (unit lOd). 169
The strong feeling associated with this particular area caused by such a reaction strengthened his appreciation for such places and it disturbed him that motorized boats were being considered for these areas. Bobcat, on the other hand had categorized her trip to the Arran Island, off Scotland, as her best trip. It was a rewarding experience because she and her friend felt as if they had discovered this place, this miniature representation of Scottish countryside or ‘softened wilderness.’ The final Graduate Visitors also had some difficulty labeling one particular trip their best memory. For Coyote, while she considered the Shenandoah trip as a possibility, she had to re-examine many past experiences with her family for her final selection, but she associated the best memory more with a type of landscape which they visited on trips and where she saw her father relax the most.
“On one occasion where we fished and caught little trout and then had them over the campfire. Those were simple things...it’s hard for me to pick out a best trip, overall. But I would say...that the best kinds of overall memory of saying...‘This was a great trip!’ had a lot to do with being able to observe, especially my father (relax)’’ (unit 10).
Relaxation played a major role in Coyote’s meaning attributed to wilderness, not alone for herself but also her family, and in particular her father. “Like I said, a lot of my value in it is... relaxing times of laying with the tent flap open with a book with nothing better to do than to read a good book while the air wafts in’’ (unit 10c). The impact of wilderness for her was the fact that her father could escape the contact with work so that he could relax. In fact. Coyote stated that “it’s a little bit funny to say that the value of wilderness is that there are no phones. But that may be part of it’’ (unit, 11). Again these best memories added to the ‘storehouse of memories’ which can be referred to and reflected upon to recall those ‘beautiful moments’ (unit lOe). However, just as in the Shenandoah experience, the worst memory of many of her family excursions was the return trip back home by car. Each year they seemed to go further and further into areas, making the return journey longer and longer and more exhaustive. This was something which Coyote did not cherish then or when she was older and had to drive to wilderness areas for relaxation. Fox had a similar predicament in selecting his best trip but settled on a more recent trip to canyon country outside Moab, Utah. He visited this particular area 170 because he was “feeling very much in need of an infusion of the deseit...because I’ve been in Ohio for a year and a half at that point” (unit 10a), and his sister also resided near the community of Moab. Fox had been shown the wilderness area he was about to visit by his younger brother. Even though there were roads present in some of the area. Fox would still consider this a wilderness, although
“it’s very close—not that proximity is necessarily a problem...close to th e town of Moab...It’s just an area that people don’t go. It’s very rugged. I couldn’t call it wilderness because there are roads in some places of it. But there are square miles without roads, if you wanted to...say to me, ‘Well, according to your definition, is this a wilderness area?’ then I’d have to say, yes, as far as the area where I was...there are no roads and...very little evidence of humans... I’m not talking footprints...if I see a footprint there it’s a bummer but it doesn’t mean that it’s not a wilderness” (unit 10).
This experience was no different than any of his previous ones in that it helped Fox cope with his work and spiritually renewed him. “There’s no question that it feels spiritually fulfilling to me, to be in a spot like that and see the sun rise and to enjoy that...For some reason, I feel closer to God when I’m out in a spot like that” (unit lOd). A development which saddened Fox was that the canyon had been gated. He was charged a dollar for access through the private land to get to the spot where he would sleep for the night. However, this controlled access had advantages. The volume of mountain-bikers had increased over the last number of years and the gate prevented them firam entering the area. He also stated that people who located a specific spot first believed that it belonged to them and they could use it as they saw fit.
The Situation and Its Relationship to Life Generally, as opposed to the lack of worst memories about wilderness, the Graduate Visitors freely described best memories associated with that particular environment. In addition, it is interesting to note that the best memories tend to be coimected with the landscape and the atmosphere which it created. This characteristic was conducive to positive interaction either between the landscape and the individual or a group of individuals within that environment. 171
Experience with Most Impact on Wilderness Definition Meanings for words are defîned over many years from various influences and within a cultural context. For Wolf, he already had some idea of wilderness before his Montana trip. The experience which impacted his idea of wilderness most was the Wild Kingdom shows which he saw when he was about 10-11 years old. Such shows often seemed to highlight the dangerous aspects of wilderness; in one episode Wolf saw a person wrestle with an alligator which frightened him. “They probably formed some of my feelings of danger about the wilderness" (unit 1 le). However, almost the opposite or in parallel to the danger was the adventure which these programs portrayed. Seeing an exotic location with wild animals was exciting and fun, but did not influence him to visit such areas. His two wildemess experiences were very much side trips, in one case he was “visiting a friend and he’s got this cabin in the wildemess, and on the other. I’m on this language program and they’ve got this Amazon adventure as part of it...I’m not really what you’d consider to be a wildemess adventure type. But I’ve enjoyed those experiences’’ (unit 1 le). He does plan to visit more wildemess in the future. Fox’s parents influenced him, as well as educational television, friends, the rest of his family, and reading. He had difficulty settling on one particular event which had the most impact on his meaning of wildemess, but people were the greatest influence on him. His parents enjoyed exploring the wildemess and mountains and they instilled in him through outdoor experiences and discussion a love for the natural environment. The synergy of his parents in the wildemess and the setting itself influenced his definition of wildemess.
“For them (parents) to get excited about how beautiful it was or for them to...enjoy that...And so it was that they were around, but...I can’t separate that from the spot where we were. So it would have to be both, but it was definitely that they were there...it wouldn’t have been the same if we had gone to Pizza Hut...It was the place, and the people were the ones responsible for getting me there’’ (Fox, unit 11).
His friends brought this to another level by exploring more remote areas with him for longer periods of time. For Bobcat a ‘real’ wildemess experience had the most impact on her idea of wildemess. She defined ‘real’ as having to rough it with the family—camping in Montana with some of her relations. In addition, they had to bathe “in the stream and 172 go to the bathroom outside...on a log, stuff like that” (unit 11). All her other experiences were in designated parks and campgrounds with other campers, “whereas this...experience, we were kind of out there and there weren’t other people around and we were far away from roads, and so that seemed like a more authentic experience” (unit 11). The worst memory of the trip was one of the cousins crying, again “it wasn’t anything with the wildemess” (unit 11) but a person. The peaceful, pretty landscape devoid of people was the most enjoyable aspect of the trip. The experience was conducive to her learning more about her cousins; she enjoyed camping and wanted to continue with this activity. To Coyote the most dominant impact on her meaning of wildemess was the ability of the area to relax a person. During her younger experiences with wildemess, she saw how relaxed her father became as a result of the lack of phones!! “To me, that’s part of it, is that separation, that temporary kind of distance. You’re in a place where nobody can find you for a few minutes. That to me, that made me realize that wildemess—my definition of wildemess—can be available...it should be available to most people within a few hours of where they are, and the important thing is to cut some of those ties...Not have the world quite so close” (unit 11). Grizzly’s drive across country from Oklahoma to Idaho had a major impact on his idea of wildemess. It was during the section across westem Wyoming where he witnessed, not a natural mountain but human constmcted mountains of mine-tailings. The contrast of traveling through natural mountains and heaps of mine-tailings had a significant impact on Grizzly.
“That was the feeling I had at the time, that these were...monuments to the activity that had gone on, some of whose ore had probably contributed to building the car I was driving...going from that and going back in time into all this very old, exposed rock and then hitting the Tetons...And that experience, sandwiched between the two other settings, while I was never, in my definition, in wildemess...did have a profound effect and probably the most important effect” (unit 1 lb).
Grizzly was glad to see that some undeveloped areas still existed out west, which he would later experience as wildemess. Even though the mine-tailings experience may seem negative, it helped him realize the necessity “to preserve and maintain natural areas or all the environment and wildemess will end up as a wasteland” (unit 1 Id). During the interview. Grizzly realized that his Glacier National Park trip 173 was actually a confirmation of his idea of wildemess, which was impacted by the drive cross-country and his encounter with the mine-tailings. Prior to industrialization, this land was wildemess. Grizzly, like Wolf, thought that there is a point when humans need to cease developing areas. While a certain amount of development is required, people should be able to re-use, or redeploy within already developed areas. (Wolf voiced a similar opinion.) This point became an additional condition of Grizzly’s idea of wildemess.
“there have to be no signs of any activity...that having those signs there damages what’s going on, even if they don’t have a particular...or traceable effect on the undeveloped area...meiely having them adjacent, in immediate time and space to an area that otherwise might be wildemess, makes it not wildemess...!’ve been out lots of...times in rural areas...in the Adironacks or on a lake...but...those are outdoors and there’s a greater sense of being in nature...it’s not wildemess...you have to be isolated from development. To convince yourself...for however short a time, that that doesn’t exist, to get the sense that you’re in what I call wildemess” (unit 1 If).
The Situation and Its Relationship to Life This experience, for most of the Graduate Visitors did not have a relationship to the rest of their life. However, it did influence their wildemess definition as outlined already.
The Setting. Type and Oualitv of the Wildemess Experience Generally, the group believed that a person had to be in a natural setting to have anything similar to a wildemess experience, although it was possible to recapture some of the flavor of a trip through photographs and memories. Wolf, for instance stated that “you can watch a TV show that’s particularly well done, or a movie, and you can gain a sense of wildemess. But certainly not to the degree that you can by being there” (unit 24a). Even though his experience with wildemess was not extensive, “I think it is difficult to have a wildemess experience without being there or having experienced it previously” (unit 24a). Fox, on the other hand, was adamant that the setting was cmcial. People can watch TV or drive through Arches National Park, never leave their vehicle and think that was a wildemess experience. 174
“I’m all for that. I think it’s great that people can do that and that they’re able to and that’s fine because it leaves more spots for me to go to with less people in them! But I don’t think that it’s experiencing...wildemess ...they haven’t felt the sand and felt the slick rock under their feet or hands, and...that’s all a part of it...in wildemess...you’re disconnected and there’s a certain element of danger...not that danger has to be a part of it, as well as the smells, and the feels and having to maybe exert some effort to get there” (unit 24a).
Fox also believed that trying to imitate the wildemess setting in his home environment would be a regression for him, although he does enjoy watching the scenery on TV and movies, but these do not impart the same feeling. Bobcat also believed that it was not possible to experience wildemess without being in the correct setting. For example, in relation to the movie experience “you get this wonderful, grand view in the movie with the cinematography and the music, which is a wonderful experience, but I think an experience somewhat different than if you’re actually there” (unit 24a). In addition, she thought that wildemess experiences had a higher quality than any natural simulacmm. Coyote thought that photographs and memories from actual experiences would remind her of the “good times...but I don’t think...that some of the media portrayals are getting in touch with that” (unit 24a). These memories are valuable because of the experience associated with them. Because of her perception of media portraying wildemess as a macho experience, she did not think that they were a real substitute for the wildemess, “it’s more of a holistic sort of experience” (unit 24a). This was similar to Grizzly’s idea of the interaction with the wildemess environment being a gestalt, rather than just a sum of all its parts. Grizzly also believed that the memories of trips were useful but they were a “pale imitation of actually experiencing it” (unit 24a). The memory could not be formed without the experience and therefore Grizzly thought that these memories should be refreshed by trips to the wildemess. However, he also saw this as a problem “that’s all we need is more people going to recharge their wildemess memories, therefore not making it wildemess anymore” (unit 24a). It would seem, then, that some natural setting is required for wildemess experiences to occur, so that these memories can be recalled at a later time. In relation to the quality and types of experiences, the group again generally presumed that a difference existed between day trips and extended visits to the 175 wildemess. Wolf believed that a number of days were required to become acquainted with a new environment. “Being any place for a day or for a very brief period of time is just enough to get a taste of what it’s like. But it’s not enough to develop a profound...depth of knowledge or it doesn’t allow the opportunity for the experience in...the full realm of sensory experiences. You can’t gain that in a day’s time’’ (unit 24b). However, he did state that a day trip may produce some positive results. Coyote also believed more time was required in the setting to “catch your breath...relax’’ (unit 24b). Examining her son’s experiences with the YMCA, she thought that day trips were a good introduction to the necessary outdoor skills and the foundation of longer wildemess trips. But “it takes a few days to unwind. There’s a little slower process...of letting go of the tension’’ (unit 24b). Coyote therefore thought that a day trip was too short especially if there was traveling involved. “In most cases, most situations, you would spend more time traveling than you would being able to relax...Sometimes the traveling is relaxing and...I have certainly done that kind of thing. I realize that just getting in the car and driving was half of the experience’’ (unit 24b). While Grizzly did feel that he had a wildemess experience on his Idaho rafting trip, a ‘micro-level’ trip as he called it, he did believe that a difference existed between day and extended trips. This was based on his idea about the person’s knowledge of development near the wildemess being visited. “Being on the other side of Yucca Mountain and not being able to see any of the development...knowing that you’re going to be there in three hours or eight hours or whatever is somehow qualitatively different” (unit 24b). This he believed was based on the idea of remoteness—“it comes down to, again, the distancing, that there is a distance in time as well as in space and that you need both for the fullest appreciation of what you’re doing” (unit 24b). Fox had become a great believer in day trips because of family and time pressures. While he did feel that the preparation, planning and camping created a different experience, he did believe that it was possible to have a wildemess experience on a day trip. “If you’re willing to expend some effort, that you can go back somewhere in a day and be in an area that’s pretty wild and...if you’re four miles into it...that’s usually sufficient to render it a feeling of wildemess” (unit 24b). Also as he was getting older “there’s the comfort factor to come back and sleep in a warm bed. That’s not so bad! Take a shower and go to bed in sheets is all right!” (unit 24b). 176
Bobcat had not camped out much, but she did believe that a different feeling was experienced from sleeping out in the wildemess than having a day trip with the comforts of everyday life awaiting your return. Also, she considered that all of her day trips were valid and valuable experiences.
Wildemess in the Media Media, directly and indirectly, was also an important influence on the Graduate Visitors’ idea of wildemess. However, the experiences which created most concem among the Graduate Visitors about society’s view of wildemess were centered on news stories or nature/adventure documentaries as opposed to entertainment media. The Exxon Valdez oil spill disaster in Alaska was mentioned by Bobcat and Grizzly, although in both cases this event was involved in a larger environmental discussion. Wolf discussed the destruction of the Amazon rain forest which he saw in the media nearly a decade prior to his trip to the area. Fox expounded on Interior Secretary Luhan’s comments about species in the media. Adventure documentaries were selected by Coyote.
Wildemess Concems as Portrayed in the Media. The Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker owned by the Exxon Oil Company, spilled oil in the pristine waters of Prince Edward Sound in Alaska. This caused ecological damage on an incredible scale and millions of dollars worth of compensation had to be paid by the company to local people. For Bobcat, the worst memory of the episode were the images of “the terrible pictures of the animals...struggling in oil and obviously dying and huge pictures of this black ocean everywhere’’ (unit 12a). She considered the spill as an accident “not as a raw sign of mankind’s evil toward nature or anything like that” (unit 12e). She noted as her best memory that perhaps through this incident “a certain amount of awareness about the values of preserving nature and not destroying things needlessly...and the horrible effects that can happen from irresponsible behavior” (unit 12c) was created. Bobcat discussed the point that such accidents would not happen if people did not use gas, still she still did not reduce the use of her car; although, it did create an awareness in her about the dangers inherent in the oil industry. However, earlier Bobcat had talked about the whole issue of employment as opposed to the environment. Ill particularly referring to the Spotted Owl controversy. She was glad that undeveloped areas and wildemess were being preserved and stated that “we shouldn’t go around randomly killing animal species and making them extinct” (unit 12), but she also thought that people
“get a little over zealous with their concem for protecting...wild life...over ...what might be best...for human beings...people sometimes fail to see that people make their living (from logging) and we do need wood” (unit 12).
Grizzly, on the other hand, believed that the media should concentrate more on showing the damage and environment rather than people cleaning birds. This connected to a larger issue for Grizzly: the abundance of oil rigs off the Californian coast which greatly surprised him. He believed that even though people were more aware of spills occurring fix>m rigs and tankers the inevitable acceptance of such problems and incidents was actually increasing. Grizzly was worried about developing pristine areas for this reason:
“That’s why the Valdez thing was so striking, because there was an area, most of which wasn’t developed, and yet you see that (spill)...the end of the Alaskan pipeline is not a small, single location of development, but still, having the effect...on this huge area...the thing I draw together from all these things is that if you make any encroachment, something’s going to happen...to the extent diat you can have good experiences here from the naturalness of it, you’re getting it on borrowed time. If you still decide (to go ahead with the development)...reco^ize the full cost. An oil spill at the end of a terminal (or) from a ship...is not an externality. You can delay the cost, but it’s going to be there”(unit 12b).
This had an important influence on Grizzly, introducing a fatalism in his mind about wild areas that were adjacent to development; he believed that some people often decided such areas were doomed to eventual development. However, he also stated that this fatalism created a reaction to development and made some people more opposed to any development in a wild area. Wolf was deeply concerned about the rate of deforestation in the Amazon and the media experience stood out in his mind as “being most typical of how man has really over-exploited the environment” (unit 12). Witnessing the Amazon images in the program and “seeing how lush and discovering how teeming with life it is...it was just 178 amazing...and mind-boggling to realize how...extensive life really is” (unit 12c). It did facilitate his understanding of the magnitude of the deforestation problem as well as creating an awareness about the abundance of life provided in the natural environment. Watching this program helped Wolf conclude how exploitative humans are and he was devastated by the fact that such an incredible area, which could never be replaced, was being destroyed. While it did not have a direct impact on W olfs actions, he stated that if a person
“had called me immediately after that program and...said I want you to join a committee to send out letters to...various people, talking about the dangers and...perils of the Amazon deforestation’ I would have done so. It didn’t lead me to go out and...pursue any action, but it left me in a mental state where I would have been very agreeable to someone else’s initiative” (unit 12e).
This is an interesting attribute and the ability to create such a mental state may be useful in environmental activism. Fox was concerned by policy-makers such as James Watt, Interior Secretary under President Ronald Reagan and Manuel Luhan, Interior Secretary in the President Bush administration. Through reading Luhan’s quotes. Fox realized “how ignorant some people in government are and their view on the environment” (unit 12d) and “how precarious a position the natural environment is in when certain people are in control, in power” (unit 12f). This also connected to other events for Fox, such as the ability of people to visualize life and issues from different perspectives—for instance an environmentalist, a rancher—and the realization that there were no easy solutions. He became angry about the attitudes of some sections of society who had little interest in preserving wild places and showing disrespect toward the land when visiting these settings. Coyote was concerned with the quasi-survivalist representations that were presented in adventure programs and the ‘macho’ image of wildemess experiences generated by such media. The programs suggested that “wildemess is something for proving how tough you are, proving how strong you are, and dueling with nature. And that’s wildemess. I don’t see that” (unit 12a). For Coyote, this was a betrayal of her idea of wildemess, a place for relaxation and reconnecting with nature and oneself. She believed wildemess should be an experience 179
“much more open to everyday people, no matter where they live or how fit they are...there are people who are unfit who would croak walking twenty-five yards from their car. They would take a battery-operated TV...and that would be as far as they would want to go...that, I hope, is an extreme. I hope most people have the ability to go...read a book with the tent flap open for a day or two. That’s considerably more benign” (unit 12b).
This statement has importance for the NES; the extreme that Coyote mentioned should occur only in an area similar to urban parks or specific sections of national parks, whereas reading a book in a tent could certainly be performed in many natural settings including wilderness. The actual images used in the programs give an optimal presentation of the area and people expect to see the exact representation when they visit such areas. Coyote believed that the areas were beautiful but over-exaggerated in the programs. Watching these documentaries with her son, she informed him that they too would enjoy similar areas, but certainly not the macho-type adventure. Taking care of a child would be dangerous in some of the scenes and enviromnents presented in these programs. Coyote decided that “the grueling experience should be avoided. We’ll leave that to the film makers to make these dramatic media presentation on how they endured hardship in order to do this. I don’t have to endure hardship. I’ll go relax in a motel” (unit 12e).
Wildemess Portraved Indirectlv in the Media. The media events where the Graduate Visitors experienced wildemess indirectly included nature documentaries, entertainment shows, particularly movies, and some news programming. Wolf watched a program on the explosion of Mount Pinatubo, and what amazed him about this was the coincidental presence of a research team studying the volcano when it erupted. For Wolf, this event highlighted the danger of such wild settings—“it was exciting to see that but this real sense where you could empathize with them, and it gave you—to the degree that you could empathize with their situation—a very great sense of danger, a very real sense of death being close” (unit 13b). In addition, the program also demonstrated the powerfulness and force of nature and in this specific case, “the colossal force...the devastation...and sheer force of...that particular explosion” (unit 13c). It gave Wolf a stronger comprehension of the power of nature and the planet. 180
Fox and Grizzly had been influenced by news reports. For Fox, it concerned the shooting of wolves from helicopters in Alaska in an effort to raise the population of caribou for hunters. He was distressed about this method of wildlife control but again noted that with an issue such as animal population control, easy solutions do not exist. He related this to the Sharon Woods Metro Park issue in Columbus. This park had an over-population problem with its herd of White-Tailed Deer. While the obvious solution may seem to be culling the herd, a number of groups opposed this action. The media event itself reminded Fox of the powerful position of this industry.
“Seeing pictures of an aborted fetus...pick out the most gut wrenching thing...show them to people and obviously that’s what {^ople want to do for tiie desired effect...the media...tend to do that sometimes, I don’t like that. Not a good way to...present a view of what might...be happening’’ (unit 13b).
This often gave him the impression that he was still uninformed about an issue or was viewing a biased presentation. Because of his background in wildlife management. Fox was probably more knowledgeable about wildlife issues than most people, but still he was unhappy about the presentation of points of view. In relation to culling animal populations, some solutions promoted by environmental groups sounded feasible but generally were impractical. Frequently, he thought that “I haven’t been given enough information to be able to make up my own mind” (unit 13c). Grizzly considered the storage of nuclear waste under a mountain in a westem state. He was concerned about the media’s treatment of such a serious subject and that it suggested that “symbolically...you can hide these things away, out of sight” (unit 13). While the mountain may appear as it always did, stored underneath it was this radio active material. The media projected a certain image about this facility—“they always do the long distance shot of the mountain in what looks like wildemess except for the one little road going up to it. And I was stmck by the extreme difference between what’s actually there and what it can be made to appear” (unit 13a). Such reporting made Grizzly suspicious of the media. This connected with his idea of fatalism. Being in that wildemess area, just seeing the road would be enough to diminish his experience. Bobcat discussed the following movies which impacted her image of wildemess— Out o f Africa, A River Runs Through and It, Legends o f the Fall. Another movie mentioned. On GoL t Pond, was associated more with nature than wildemess. 181
The first three movies were filmed in “untouched wildemess areas...and they had encounters with wild animals” (unit 13). She choose to describe the environment in the movie Out o f Africa in great detail. The worst part of the movie concerned the death of one of the main characters, a ‘love-doomed’ scenario, as opposed to any wildemess incident. For a movie such as this, locations were selected for their grandeur and magnificence and the cinematography was incredible. “I think that...the best part about the movie was the photography and the views of the wildemess” (unit 13c). The movie also allowed Bobcat to experience something that she may never get to see, the African wildemess. While she was thankful for this she stated that the environment probably appeared better in the movie than in real life because “they’ve got the benefit of...the lovely flowing music in the background and the great camera angle” (unit 13d). Bobcat’s statement concerning the use of the best cinematography and movie soundtrack was similar to Coyote’s point that wild areas were beautiful but often over-exaggerated in some programming.
The Situation and Its Relationship to Life For Wolf, the danger sensed by the research team near Mount Pinatubo became very real during a period when he lived in Iowa. It was during the heavy rains in the summer of 1993 when the Mississippi flooded and this event gave Wolf “the recognition that nature can change your life in some very dramatic ways without you ever realizing that” (unit 13e). It is not until natural disasters that people realize the impact nature can have on their lives. Humans had become so separated from nature that we believed nature could be controlled and manipulated to such a degree
“that nature is almost at our beck and call, and we can completely ...engineer and rig it to where we’ll never have to worry about it. But that’s not trae. You look at the Califomia floods...and...realize...that Man’s ability to control nature is far less than what he thinks it is...there’s always something out there just latent, waiting, which could...change life for us as we know it” (unit 13e).
When a person entered wildemess there was this same sense of danger and lack of control. The regulation of immediate surroundings, possible in civilization, is not available in this setting. Table 12 Media which made the Graduate Visitors (Mammals) Most Concerned about Society’s View of Wilderness, and Media which had an Indirect Impact on the Participant’s Meaning of Wilderness. Events which had the Most Important Impact on the Meaning of Wildemess are also shown
Mammals Most Concerned Indirect Impact Most Impact
Grizzly News reports on oil spills from Specific reports on nuclear Driving across the Santa Barbara to the Exxon waste storage under a mountain westem states, witnessing development Valdez in a westem state of land
Wolf Reports on the deforestation of PBS program on Mount Media— Wild Kingdom shows the Amazon region Pinatubo volcanic explosion
Fox Statements of U.S. Secretaries Reports on hunting wolves Parents, educational TV, friends, books of the Interior, specifically with helicopters in Alaska James Watt and Manuel Luhan
Coyote Adventure programs Nature programs and adventure Witnessing her father relax in wildemess representing wildemess as a programs ‘macho’ experience
Bobcat Reports on Logging, Exxon Out of Africa Camping trip in Montana Valdez Oil Spill A River Runs Through It Legends of the Fall
00 N> 183
“In your apartment...your air-conditioned or heat-controlled environment ...everything is engineered and set up just the way you like it. And you’re protected from the elements and...you have that sense that ‘I control nature. I control my environment.’...You get that false sense of power and security...out into the wildemess, you realize...how unreal that sense is” (unit 13e).
Wolf also believed that, in general, wildemess was portrayed as a reserve, a place “very much apart from human society...it tends to be removed from what we call civilization” (unit 14). Humans have to care for and manage the place, the section of nature that has been compartmentalized into wildemess. In past centuries, wildemess was very much a part of human life and existence, where “we were just meant to carve out our own little civilized niches within nature, within the wildemess that was all around us. Now it’s very much the opposite...it’s a matter of our carving out there little wildemess niches around civilization” (unit 14). Fox and Grizzly thought that the media did not always report events as they should, especially in relation to environmental issues. While Fox was adamant he could make good voting decisions he was not sure if the rest of the general public could do so, especially if the media did not give a balanced presentation of the issue. However, he did contend that at this time, if the media did err on one side, it should be on the pro- environmental side rather than the development side. In general, media portrayed “wild places with, to some extent, wildlife intact” as wildemess, but sections of Yellowstone National Park or Rocky Mountain National Park would also be categorized by the media as wildemess. Fox did not agree with this. While areas exist within these parks which Fox would consider wildemess, many times the locations portrayed as wild by media were in fact heavily influenced by people and their activities. Reintroducing wolves into the park definitely does not create a wildemess if traffic jams appeared in the park as a result of people trying to catch glimpses of this predator. Fox would like to see the distinction made by the media between heavily impacted natural areas and wildemess. Grizzly was also skeptical of the role of media in wildemess issues. He speculated that stories about wildemess were never reported unless concerned with development of an area. As a consequence, he believed that people often became desensitized to the destruction seeing the same images when a disaster occurs (i.e. the emotional shot of cleaning birds with dishwashing liquid following an oil spill.) 184
“this may feed back into...the build-up and the fatalism about these things happening...! don’t know how they would or should do it different, but it gets to the point where, when a story comes on, you recognize the...script that they’re going to follow in the story, and to extent...you’re less attentive...and that...probably subconsciously leads you to feeling that, ‘Oh, it’s another one. It’s like the last one’...to the extent that...the world I sense didn’t particularly change the last time, this is the same’’ (unit 14).
In other types of media. Grizzly stated that wildemess was used as background or “the milieu in which things take place...some of the things that take place are a function of the setting but it’s still just that...it never transcends that” (unit 14). Coyote did not have a vivid memory of media impacting her indirectly. She did speak of the survivalist programs earlier but was not concerned about them here. She read guides, maps and a few books about areas, but these did not impress her greatly. Her major concem about media was the inaccurate portrayal of wildemess as a macho- encounter which only ‘real men and women’ could experience. She certainly did not want to experience this type of wildemess. Bobcat believed that while less African wildemess was in existence, it still probably appeared very similar at present as it did in the 1800s, the time period of the movie. Out of Africa. In relation to American wildemess. Bobcat believed that it was difficult to locate areas that have been totally untouched by humans since the 1800s. Perhaps some desert land out in the westem states “looks quite..the same because no one’s bothered to develop it. Nobody really wants to go out there” (unit 13a). Every other area that could be considered wildemess had “been tapped and developed a little bit in the United States” (unit 13e). Her comment on desert was interesting—is desert considered to be a wasteland as well as a wildemess? It would seem, for Bobcat, this was the case. The issue of wildemess versus wasteland and the images of both has been prominent in this environmental discussion for many years. Generally, though. Bobcat stated that wildemess was viewed as “something that we should preserve and is valuable” and that “for the most part, the wildemess has the media’s sympathy and most people take the part of wanting to preserve wildemess” (unit 14). While much media attention was given to the negative aspects of suburban, urban or city environments, very little negativity appeared about wildemess in the media. As opposed to other emotional issues such as abortion. Bobcat stated that “you rarely hear stories about... 185 environmentalists who have gone wacko or...going out and killing loggers” (unit 14). She also thought that it would be difficult to locate someone who would not be in favor of preserving wildemess.
Wildemess and Virtual Reality. In relation to the use of media channels, interactive computer generated images or virtual reality to replace wildemess, all the Graduate Visitors were skeptical that it could, or that such images and sensations could actually be created. Responses varied depending on the possibility of recreating the experience of wildemess in a virtual reality situation. Fox thought that it could help, especially to give people with a disability the option of visiting such areas through this medium. He also hoped that it would make people more aware of wildemess and its value. Bobcat also had similar ideas to Fox, although while she thought it would be possible to recreate the images and sounds, it would be difficult to produce the “nuances that you get in a real experience” (unit 15). Coyote had similar thoughts about the use of this medium as a training process, but believed that one of the great advantages of wildemess was the ability to escape from technology. So, she really thought there was no “substitute for the real thing” (unit 15). Grizzly thought that the interaction of the senses and experiences in the wildemess setting was more than the sum of the parts, that these media could not “replicate the interaction that you get from some sort of gestalt...from being there” (unit 15). Wildemess experiences, according to Grizzly, were exceptional because they do not belong to the daily routine. If it becomes easy to recreate the experience in the home on a daily basis, then its value would diminish. Each participant, in one way or another, was anxious about the possibility of this medium promoting the development of wild places. Grizzly stated it best when he said
“I hope it doesn’t, because if nothing else, if you could truly replicate it... that gives you the excuse to get rid of the real stuff. So the answer to that question is all bound up in past impressions, wishes, hopes, and worry about unintended consequences, because to the extent that something can be readily replaced, its value goes down” (unit 15). 186
Wildemess as a Changing Definition The meaning of wildemess tended to alter over time as a result of a series of experiences, although in W olfs case, he only had two experiences. It is important to note that most Graduate Visitors did believe that they did not have a worst experience or in general bad memories connected to wilderness trips. The meaning associated with wildemess did alter over time. The first experience generally laid the foundation of the meaning, although it was not necessarily the first time the participant had camped in or visited a natural environment. However, the whole experience, the setting, the person/people the participant was with created an atmosphere where she considered this to be the first significant experience with wildemess and therefore the basis of her meaning. Fox, for instance, who had two definitions of wildemess believed that his broader meaning of wildemess was formed when he was fifteen years old, but he had previous experience camping.
“Ideally, I’d like it (wildemess) to be a totally unspoiled, natural environment, including the complement of the flora and fauna, as well as the geographical, the topography. But my more standard, working definition, which is slightly easier to fit into...is a place where I can go where L .don’t see the evidence of other humans...of other human action or destruction, is what it usually winds up being...such as roads, clear cuts, that sort of thing” (unit 1).
However, his stricter definition was formed as a result of wildemess experiences between what he categorized as his first and his most recent trip. He also credited educational programs and reading with assisting him form this stricter definition. Bobcat had her first wildemess experience when she was eight years old and her meaning had changed by the time she was twenty-three years. “I had more of an awareness between the time I was eight and the time I was twenty-three...the Sequoia National Park seemed totally untouched to me...And by the time I was older, I realized that it wasn’t quite the untamed” (unit 8) environment she once considered it. She had a friend who worked in this national park with the Student Conservation Corps on trail maintenance and realized that “people actually had to go out and build this trail” (unit 8). This event helped her realize that “when I go visit parks and places...(the environment has)...been developed for people to see nature or wildemess...(these developments)... soften the wildemess” (unit 8). 187
Coyote did not think that her definition had altered dramatically over time, although she had seen her focus change for wildemess, but she always believed it should be a place of relaxation accessible to most people. (The access issue is a point which appears many times in literature and debates on wildemess.) In Coyote’s first trip, “probably my biggest concem was finding interesting rocks, and as time changed, I realized the responsibilities involved” (unit 8) in wildemess trips. Such responsibilities included the preparation of equipment, routes, and other planning. Organizing a current wildemess trip, “I would probably have even more increased concems with knowing or thinking through what we do in case of emergency, in case of injury... some of that’s just plain age and being responsible for a child” (unit 8). This concem resulted from her worst experience where the accompanying adult was not cooperative with her. Coyote discovered that the responsibility of a child created the necessity of areas which were accessible:
“The one thing that I mentioned that did change was my responsibilities with having a small child and feeling that there does need to be places that you can get into and out of very easily so it can be done with a small child...now I’m understanding it should be the same for more elderly...or disabled people. We should have places that are easier to get...into and out of. I know at the time...that wasn’t such an issue when I was a college student. Over time I realized that you needed to be able to make them more accessible” (unit 8).
The other two Graduate Visitors experienced wildemess for the first time in their twenties. Wolf had only two wildemess experiences and believed that while the denotation of wildemess had not altered for him, his connotation of wildemess, his visual perception had been expanded by his Amazonian (second) trip. He had always defined wildemess in the same way, but while his experiences were in two very different environments “they share those common wildemess elements, the remoteness, the isolation. Some of the feelings were similar...the vastness of the place...were all common elements to those two experiences” (unit 8). Grizzly’s last visit to wildemess broadened his definition to include areas in the eastem states. He had lived primarily in the westem states and “so (always) associated the thought of wildemess...with these great big spaces...geological time...the strata...rocks and all of that, and this (canoeing trip in S. Carolina) was a very, very different setting. And yet I group them together under the mbric of wildemess” (unit 188
8). Following this refinement in his definition. Grizzly would include other areas within his meaning of wilderness,
“it’s just that I hadn’t thought of all the different sorts of settings that could fall under what I was at least implicitly then defining as wilderness, and so, were I to see a news item about someone wanting to protect some type of wilderness that I’ve not been exposed to...I guess my threshold...for accepting that as something just as worthy of protection as...the majestic, wide open stuff...! would be more supportive...even though it doesn’t fit in the sense of the areas I grew up in and things I was exposed to’’ (unit 8).
Wilderness as a Challenging Experience Wolf and Grizzly, who had the least number of experiences, did not travel to wilderness for a challenge. Neither did their wilderness experiences become more challenging over time, although Wolf’s Amazonian trip was more rigorous than his Montana trip. While Wolf did want to visit wild areas in the future. Grizzly believed that finances and time would prevent him from taking future trips. The remaining Graduate Visitors believed that the biggest challenge for them was allotting time for wilderness experiences. Fox even though he could visit beautiful natural areas in W. Virginia did not consider these wilderness. Traveling a long distance to visit the wilderness areas he was connected to spiritually and emotionally was a major constraint. In addition, he learned rock-climbing skills to enhance his ability to meet some of the more physically challenging experiences. Bobcat, like Coyote, wanted very physically unchallenging experiences. They visited wilderness to relax and escape the mundane duties of life and the technology of daily routine. However, as with Fox, time was the major obstacle facing these two Graduate Visitors.
Wilderness as a Spiritual/Religious and Valued Experience It was clear that the Graduate Visitors did value the wilderness experience as they all considered it to be a positive experience. They demonstrated the personal value placed on wilderness and its intrinsic value in similar ways (see Table 12). Wolf, even though he only had two experiences in wilderness, wanted existing wild areas protected from human improvements and economic costs factored into protection and development. “I’m kind of the belief that there needs to be some consideration for the economic effects that protecting wilderness has, and trying to reclaim lands that have 189 been developed, that have substantial economic impact on the people in that community (unit 20). However, he was anxious about the current backlash against the environment among society in general. People are examining environmental issues, such as the Spotted Owl, and saying
“Where’s it going to end? Who’s thinking about Man? Who’s thinking about the economic needs of people...where people are trying to give greater emphasis (to) nature. Like...trying to introduce those gray wolves into...Yellowstone...the big furor that’s creating amongst a lot of people, particularly amongst the ranchers who live in that area...trying to bring back what existed, what is natural, sixty years ago but now people are saying ‘Hey, who’s thinking about me? Who’s thinking about the economic interests of this area?’...so now you’re starting to get the talk shows, the Rush Limbaughs and others...to foment a lot of reaction’’ (unit 20).
Grizzly, after only three experiences, placed great value on wilderness. However, while he thought it was valuable he believed that people generally undervalue it except when in the setting. So “the less that you’re there, the more that you undervalue it, relative to what I would assign its true value. And so to that extent, wilderness is, in economic terms, a positive externality. It’s not taken account of as much as it should be in people’s relative evaluations of how we do things as a society and as individuals’’ (unit 20). However, he also noted that the less there is of the commodity, the more value placed on it. Increasing development, mobility and communications allowed more people to see and hear about wilderness, according to Grizzly. Yet, wilderness is continuing to disappear, “so there’s a strange trade off between the two...a paradox’’ (unit 19), learning more about this resource while it is quickly disappearing. The image of wilderness on the television though was not any different from an image of “pandas on loan in the zoo’’ (unit 19), which could give the impression of wilderness being cared for in a similar way to animals in a zoo. Fox placed great value on wilderness because of his spiritual connection with the land. He was thankful that other people held similar beliefs because they helped safeguard these areas. Bobcat and Coyote believed that trips to the wilderness or away from urban environments allowed life with its daily routine to be put in perspective and placed great value on this. Being graduate students, time was very precious and any amount of time away from school on such trips was relaxing and a ‘perspective exercise.’ 190
Most of the Graduate Visitors also believed that wilderness possessed intrinsic value. For some, talking about this value illustrated the separateness of humans and nature. Wolf stated that
“it’s a home to many other creatures...in a very real sense, we have no reason to consider human life to be any more valuable than we consider... animal life. They’re entitled to their shelter and to their own environment. ‘Their own environment.’ That’s how removed we think...it’s not even our environment anymore...it’s the natural state of earth. It’s the earth the way it’s been for many millions of years...that shouldn’t change’’ (unit 21).
This returns to W olfs original statement about the protection of such areas whether wilderness or just nature in general. Fox held similar views, stating that “everything is not relative to humans’’ (unit 21) as we believe. Saving small fish and insects from extinction was just as important as preserving larger animals. Bobcat believed that wilderness had value because “it’s the earth as it was originally...and it’s life” (unit 21). Grizzly stated that valuing something resulted from interacting with that object. He had interacted with wilderness, thus valued that experience and could transmit that value to all wilderness. “Projecting the experience from those places that I (visited)...on the assumption that were I to experience this other place...it would also be a positive experience...it has a value...just knowing it’s there, that I could at some point in the future...experience that” (unit 21). He also was happy that inaccessible areas existed which humans would not be able to develop. Coyote believed the intrinsic value of wilderness lay in its ability to remove people from the hustle and bustle of their everyday life, allowing them to get in contact with themselves and their surroundings once more. She wanted to encourage people close to her to relax in more remote locations than in areas which appeared more familiar and convenient. Three of the Graduate Visitors believed that wilderness had either a spiritual or religious influence on their life. Wolf, who had been raised as a very religious person maintained that this had an influence on his view of wilderness. During his younger years. Wolf believed that this type of land was present for the purposes of humans and less a manifestation of God. Teachings within his religion, which were probably typical of other western religions based on the Bible, gave humans dominion over nature. However, as he grew older and experienced wilderness he saw “wilderness more...as 191 being a manifestation of God, rather than something that was put under Man’s dominion” (unit 18a). As opposed to dominating wilderness, humans could learn from it.
‘“Here, Man. Nature is yours to control. Control it,’ vs. what I’ve come to see as being more...the Native American concept of ‘Nature is divine.’ Nature is a manifestation of God. It has its own divinity, its own spiritual quality and there’s much to be learned from that, and not dominate it. There are lessons within the natural, within the wilderness experience, to be gained and added to one’s life” (unit 18a).
Clearly for Wolf his wilderness experiences influenced his view of “our relationship with nature and wilderness” (unit 18). For Fox his idea of wilderness had also influenced his spiritual beliefs. He had problems with organized religion and did not agree with certain aspects of the organization. However, in wilderness “you get to...mold God any way you think you like...I can see God’s influence in things, though I am very much...a believer in evolution...But nonetheIess...I feel like he— somebody, so to speak—somebody had influence in that” (unit 18a). Relaxation was the key element of a wilderness trip for Coyote, however she concluded that the experience was a “perspective exercise. It says that nature and its forces are bigger than Man. And every once in a while I have to be reminded of that” (unit 18). Her wilderness experiences allowed her to witness the vastness, size and beauty of the environment and they showed her that “we sometimes get caught up in how much control Man and modem civilization has on the environment. And every once in a while it’s nice to see that it gets along just fine without us. Maybe a little better, without us” (unit 18). Coyote stated that she was not very religious but she wanted her son to experience the spiritual aspects of life, which were connected with wilderness encounters. She also believed that “some people have that...connection experience when they spend time there, in part because...it is often an easier place to think and reflect and to be in touch with things that get crowded out of everyday life” (unit 18). Bobcat and Grizzly did not believe that their view of wilderness had an influence on their spiritual beliefs or vice versa. Table 13 Methods Used bv Graduate Visitors (Mammals) to Demonstrate the Different Values Placed on Wilderness
Mammals Personal Value Intrinsic Value
Grizzly Financial contributions to environmental organizations Conversations with friends/family (Natural Defense Council, Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club, Audubon Society); conversations with family/friends
Wolf sharing experiences with family/friends Using environmentally-friendly products; being environmentally-conscious with waste
Fox Financial contributions to environmental organizations; Financial contributions to environmental voting action; tread lightly when visiting areas organizations (Nature Conservancy); voting action
Coyote Member of Sierra Club; sharing experiences with Conversations with friends/family, family/friends encouraging people to visit ‘real’ wilderness as opposed to media version
Bobcat Tread lightly when visiting areas; member of Sierra Club Tread lightly when visiting areas; recycle 193
The Situation and Its Relationship to Life It was clear fipom the interviews that the Graduate Visitors all valued wilderness, it was a positive experience for them and they had enjoyed having these experiences as part of their life. While most of them did see some religious or spiritual connection with wilderness, others were not sure if a connection existed. Retunting to wilderness to be removed from the pressures of everyday life was a definite motivation for the Graduate Visitors. Fox enjoyed the feeling of seeing wildlife, fishing, and witnessing the scenery; Bobcat wanted to relax and reflect; Coyote needed time away from her degree and to share some experiences with her son; Grizzly enjoyed the social aspects of the trips and the solitude afforded by the experience; and Wolf wanted to escape his daily routine (unit 16). Grizzly’s idea on the value of wilderness was formed from what he termed the “development imperative...people do not see the direct effects of wilderness on their day-to-day lives. It does not increase the size of your bank account to have wilderness” (unit 19). In addition,
“it’s not immediate enough for you to value it in the same way and at the same time that you’re valuing the other things in your life. Its very isolation makes it such that you don’t consider its value, when you’re valuing things, whether they be economic or emotional or whatever, in your life...it’s that very remove that allows people to undervalue wilderness” (unit 19).
The willingness of people to pay for wilderness areas directly or indirectly is another issue which has come to the forefront of preservation discussions. An interesting point is that even though the Graduate Visitors valued wilderness highly, they rarely had solo experiences in this setting. Wilderness experiences are very much social events. In the case of Wolf and Grizzly, someone else had initiated the trip. The other Graduate Visitors were either visiting friends in the area located near wilderness and taking day trips in there, or visiting wilderness with family or friends. Fox did take some solo trips, his trip to the canyon area in Utah was one example. This was not surprising as wilderness is another type of social setting; dynamics of the group may alter within the setting but it is an area for group interaction. Interestingly, the Graduate Visitors did associate different aspects of trips with the dynamics within the group rather than the environment. For instance, many of the 194 worst memories were associated with people rather than the physical landscape. In addition, some Graduate Visitors stated that various wilderness areas afforded different interaction possibilities. Grizzly, for instance, in his Glacier National Park trip believed that it was more individualistic, whereas his canoeing trip in S. Carolina was more of a small group trip. The latter afforded him the opportunity to learn more about his companions than working with them in the confinement of a submarine, which he believed was beneficial.
“Here the isolation of the three people made us, I think, closer friends, which is really rather remarkable, given that these are two people that I was serving with on a submarine and was accustomed to spending time, in relative isolation from the rest of society, with...Just those extensive periods of time without having to deal with the minutiae of daily life that you don’t even realize takes up your time and your thoughts’’ (unit 7e).
The environment was the catalyst for many interactions between people. Coyote talked of her parents relaxing in this environment, particularly seeing her father relax away from the phones and spend time with the family. In addition, this setting was valued by all the Graduate Visitors as a type of ‘reality check’ where life and human existence could be placed in perspective. The requirement of cutting oneself off from the troubles and technology of everyday life, to recharge the batteries was seen as an important role for wilderness. The value of wilderness in allowing people the opportunity to attain this ‘reality check’ was summarized best by Wolf:
“it should be a reminder to us of the power of nature, of how subject we are to its influences, to its forces...Man should let certain forces run their course and realize the futility of trying to change something that’s far larger than our ability to manipulate it...it gives us an appreciation of...nature (which) is both awesome and all-powerful...it’s extremely volatile and it’s extremely...delicate...It’s a real interesting mixture of force and delicateness” (unit 1).
Wilderness in Society Four of the Graduate Visitors believed that the religious aspects of society had an influence on the treatment of wilderness. Wolf, Fox, Grizzly all suggested that the idea of humans dominating nature and wilderness was clearly visible in the history of 195 the world and particularly western civilization. Wolf talked about how the U.S. was founded on the domination principle within Judeo-Christianity—
“this country is a great example of how the...this feeling of...man’s domination of nature is what we’re here for. We’re here to dam rivers. We re here to clear forests...what was that phrase that they used as justification...divine providence...But what it amounted to was the power of eminent domain. Western Man is here. We’re here to dominate. And we’re going to do evetything necessary to turn this heathen land into civilization, to shape it into our view as to what God has given us, to the charge that God has given Man to have dominion over all the earth’’ (unit 18).
He also saw society as believing that it has control over nature and wilderness, possibly by dominating it. “This sense of trying to control the uncontrollable, trying to make predictable the irregular. Trying to reduce the element of danger’’ (unit 19). However, during the last twenty years Wolf believed that society had altered its perspective and now considered wilderness to be valuable, probably becoming more protective of it. He thought media portrayed environments becoming degraded. Combining this with the increasing number of environmental groups, environmental, as well as wilderness, protection had become important to society. Wolf also made the point that “we’re talking about wilderness now as if it were this thing that is removed, detached from our lives...we want to put these big fences around wilderness. Wilderness now is like a park. It’s this little area that we want to protect vs. wilderness was man’s environment’’ (unit 23). In addition, he speculated that if people were asked over a hundred years ago what wilderness was “they would probably have had a completely different response than...how most people...would answer that question today. Wilderness...was the predominant way of things. It was the natural environment and civilization was more the exception to the norm versus Now” (unit 23).
Fox made similar points, that western society believes that God created the earth and put us here to do with it as we see fit. In addition, the hostile wilderness had to be tamed by people as they traveled west and settled the area and that. Fox believed, lingered in people’s consciousness. Bobcat made the point that there is a connection between religion and wilderness, but that the “earth is sort of God’s gift to people and 196 it’s our responsibility to try to use it wisely and maintain as much of the wildemess...that we can out of respect for God and the gift of the earth” (unit 18). Grizzly suggested that the institutionalized religion was so strong and powerful that it sweeps over any individual feelings which may form from personal experiences with wilderness. While the change may happen at the “person-by-person, individual...micro-level (it)...gets overwhelmed by the broader social and religious imperative” (unit 18). Because of the hierarchy implied in the Bible, Grizzly believed that it gave western civilization the carte blanche to dominate nature and wilderness. Interestingly though he does state that “people would have found other rationalizations, but that was a strong one” (unit 18). Coyote intimated a similar point when she stated that even though individuals may make the religious/spiritual connection in the wilderness, society does not integrate that into our daily routine. Therefore, she did not see a major link between society’s view of wilderness and society’s view of religion.
The Situation and Its Relationship to Life Wolf realized that “we are all guilty in someway ‘cause we just all impact the earth, no matter how little, in our everyday life and routine” (unit 18), a point that not everyone realizes. While Fox did state a similar viewpoint in relation to religion’s influence on society’s view of wilderness, he presented more of the general public’s view of companies being at fault—“I’m not sure you could ever pin down an individual, but I think that companies...tend to...think that it’s here and we can make a profit off of it and so let’s use it” (unit 18). However, in recent years he wimessed a change in view of wilderness held by many sections of society. It had changed from the old frontier and taming the hostile wilderness mentality to a preservation option so that people could enjoy the experience. “I think that’s because there is less wilderness now than there was back at...the time period of the expansion...when there’s a McDonald’s on every fifty miles...you start to think, ‘Geez, maybe we’re losing something’” (unit 23). This was similar to Grizzly’s point about the resource becoming valuable because of its scarcity. Bobcat stated that we only have one life and “we’re...temporary inhabitants here, so it is sort of a responsibility to try to leave it (the earth) as we got it when we first came, or as much as possible, not to use it unwisely” (unit 18). While she does 197 want to leave a positive impression on the planet, it seemed that in relation to the Spotted Owl issue she may compromise on what she would define as ‘wise use’ (unit 12). She did, however, also think that society’s view of wilderness had changed from one of “something to be conquered and brought under control...(to)..something that needs to be preserved and we need to stay out o f’ (unit 23). For Grizzly the interaction of wilderness and society was clearly visible in issues such as federal land grazing fees in the west. He suggested that it was impossible to discuss such issues with people who held the conviction of humans at the top of the natural hierarchy. Such beliefs were often based on strong faith. He considered rifts which appeared between such people and others who did not hold such views as generally dangerous to society.
“No one can argue with them because when something is grounded in that way, whether subconsciously it’s a rationalization or whether it’s a sincerely-held belief...then you can’t change their minds about such things ...to some extent, that disadvantages those people who aren’t in the position of faith because their position is not as immoveable...so to that extent, as long as there are lots of these people on the side, whether it be with development or whatever, the side of faith, then as long as there are enough of those people, the encroachments continue, the rift can’t be healed, and the situation can’t be resolved to anyone’s satisfaction unless it goes all the way toward the direction of those people that are operating on die basis of some higher approval’’ (unit 18).
Grizzly grew up in the Bible Belt and saw people with strongly held beliefs who could not be argued with and would often see people do “things that are demonstrably harmful or negative to the entire group...society...and even to themselves” (unit 18). Relating this to the issue of grazing rights in the west, the ranchers talk about “the inviolability of subsidized grazing fees...to sort of the immovability of those people and the feeling that no good can come of this...yet, in some cases, you can’t let them have full sway because in some sense, whether you believe or not, some of this is rationalization” (unit 18). In general though. Western society’s view of wilderness has changed because it could afford to, according to Grizzly. The affluence of countries has allowed areas to be set aside “it’s...the value of the animal in the zoo...as long as it’s off there, not interfering with things. That’s a function of affluence...wildemess being viewed as a luxury good...most societies do view it as a luxury good...so until a certain level of 198 affluence is reached, it’s going to be sacrificed to reaching that level of affluence” (unit 23). So while there is an awareness, the ability to actually preserve wilderness is dependent on the wealth of the country. Scientists try to institute international conventions which prevent damage to the environment and protect wilderness “but my evaluation of those things at this point is that those good wishes can’t overcome this problem with the undervaluation of wilderness, because either of its isolation or its view as a luxury good relative to being able to develop...as long as those things are stronger, that drive is stronger” (unit 23). Coyote also referred to a divide between people discussing the wilderness issue, where both sides were often viewed as extremes. She wanted to be able to live an integrated, balanced and diversified life where wilderness experiences were open to her to relax, reflect and escape from the pressures of life. In addition. Coyote would also like to give her son more information on such issues so that he can decide on the dilemmas facing him in the future. She also believed that media had influenced society’s view of wilderness, creating a negative image of it with its survivalist emphasis. “It makes people think that it’s not for them...that is not for me. I’m not going to go out and risk life and limb. But they think that the alternative to that is the Holiday Inn. There are places that you don’t have to be...an explorer/survivalist person, to be on your own in a very wonderful place” (unit 23). Coyote suggested that a spectrum of environments should exist for people with disabilities as well as the explorer, so that all could avail of the experience.
Wilderness as a Legal and Personal Definition While all of the Graduate Visitors believed that the legal definition of wilderness corresponded largely to their personal meaning for this setting, there was quite a discrepancy when the Graduate Visitors read the activities which are allowed in designated wilderness areas. Fox was the only participant who had seen or read the legal definition of wilderness previously. This was a function of his wildlife management background. He thought the correlation with his ‘working definition’ was good especially as the wilderness was to be “unaffected by man” (unit 25) and it had to be of sufficient size to allow for solitude experiences. Wolf talked of the separation of human and wilderness, “it almost implies something apart from man, as if man had no business being...in the area” (unit 25). While he realized the purpose of this in the 199 legislation “it also has the effect of placing wilderness into its own separate category in a way that makes it...more distant from Man and his day-to-day considerations...(being) in wilderness vs. being in our environment is now some separate part of life” (unit 25). In relation to the permitted activities in designated wilderness. Wolf was surprised that hunting was allowed but thought it might be necessary for population control, however he opposed sport trapping. Fox still believed the legal definition corresponded to his personal meaning except for grazing. He could not see any problems with hunting, trapping and research, probably a function of his background. Coyote also had a problem with some of the activities allowed but did not specify which ones, and therefore the two definitions only corresponded in part. Grizzly and Bobcat thought that their definitions did not correspond to the legal definition mainly because of the activities allowed. Bobcat stated that “it even seems that in an area that’s been designated wilderness, that’s an area that should be untouched...I’m not sure what the point is of designating them as a wilderness area if these activities (trapping, hunting, fishing, grazing)...are allowed” (unit 25). However, she also thought that “it seems to me even less harmful to have motorized equipment...if someone’s going through on an old moped or whatever, than to let someone go out and shoot things that are alive” (unit 25). Grizzly did not believe his idea of wilderness corresponded to the legal definition because of “the activities such as grazing and the infrastructure required to support it” (unit 25). Wolf and Bobcat did not know that national parks and wilderness areas were created under different legislation with distinct purposes/roles. Grizzly, Fox and Coyote all knew there was a difference but Coyote “wouldn’t necessarily go to a defined wilderness for a wilderness experience” (unit 25).
From summarizing the data the following points were extracted about the meaning of wilderness for each of the Graduate Visitors in the group.
Words Used to Describe Wilderness and Influences on Graduate Visitors’ Definitions Similar words and conditions were used to define wilderness. Terms such as “rustic, isolated, unspoiled, undeveloped, a natural environment, sparsely populated” were used in a general description by the Graduate Visitors. However, these words often changed during the specific situation and experience which they described. Words 200 used to describe the first wilderness experience included: rugged, isolated, remote, beautiful, majestic (Wolf, unit 1); beautiful, wild, fulfilling (Fox, unit 1); grand, magnificence, beautiful, deep snow, high elevation, huge, tall trees (Bobcat, unit 1); an easiness (Coyote, unit 1); solitude, animal life, the idea of the expanse, the seeming unlimitedness of it, a timelessness, and a lack of constraint (Grizzly, unit 1). Words can clearly be divided into two main categories: those which portray the physical characteristics of the area and those which describe the qualities or characteristics imparted by the area. While the words in the first category change depending on the physical characteristic of the area visited, the second set of words tend to remain the same. The Graduate Visitors saw wilderness as a positive experience and influence on their life. Wolf considered wilderness to be the “most pristine part of nature” (unit 22). Civilization is a human attempt to make life more tolerable, but Wolf stated that there is a point where humans need to cease the development. Areas need to be preserved where natural elements (plants, animals, natural activities) as Wolf called them, can continue to exist without being affected by humans. Even though Wolf spoke of danger in wilderness areas, he did so acknowledging that danger is a part of life, whether one is in wilderness or civilization. In fact, he had more reasons to fear the streets of Columbus than the woods of Montana, however confironting a wild elk would be more difficult for him, a mugger would be easier to handle. Bobcat also spoke of dangers associated with wilderness, however, it is safer than one may think and the rewards from the experience are much greater than any problems. Coyote stated that many of the “hale, hearty and macho” (unit 22) images portrayed by the media were negative, but her own impressions and experiences have created a positive wilderness vision for her. Both Grizzly and Fox stated that their positive impression of wilderness was a result of their experiences. Table 14 represents a summary of the areas considered to be wilderness visited and listed by the Graduate Visitors. Notice the similarity in the areas described as specific wilderness. Table 14 Areas Considered to be Wilderness which were Visited, and Specific Wilderness Areas Listed bv the Graduate Visitors (Mammals)
Mammals Wilderness Visited Specific Wilderness Areas
Grizzly Glacier National Park, MT; Upper Snake River, ID; Areas of Alaska; northern Canada; South American southeastern S. Carolina rain forest; parts of Siberia; Nordic States; central Africa
Wolf Areas in the mountains of Montana and the Amazon Alaska; Florida Everglades; Rockies; Grand Canyon; areas of Africa; South America
Fox Flat Tops Wilderness, CO; Absaroka Mountains, the Alaska; Flat Tops, CO; Ray way Wilderness, Wind River Mountains, WY; Canyonlands, UT; Baja, deserts of Badge, CA; Tiburon Island, Gulf of areas of Canada; Antarctica, CA.
Coyote mountains of CA; Panhandle, Big Thicket, TX; Boundary Waters Canoe Area, MN; areas of Shenandoah Valley, VA; Vinalhaven Island, ME. Colorado, Maine, southern Ohio, upstate New York, and Nevada; hills of W. Virginia
Bobcat Badlands, SD; Sequoia National Park, CA; parts of National park in Arkansas; Big Bend National Park; MT and OH; whitewater rafting in WV and PA; Wye Sequoia National Park, CA; River Valley, Wales; Arran Island, Scotland other national parks in CA; areas of ME.
o 202
Journal Reflections on Each Participant’s Meaning of Wilderness While wilderness experiences differed for the Graduate Visitors, it was clear from the data that common patterns existed. At this point, my reflections on the data are introduced as part of the exploration of each participant’s meaning of wilderness. Wilderness had the following meaning and life connection for each of the Graduate Visitors. Grizzly—words used to describe wilderness included: isolated and distinct in time/space from any indication of human development, wild, wildlife, seemingly unlimited, symbolic (unit 1). Grizzly following the description of his drive country cross stated that “we need to preserve and maintain the environment or...wildemess will end up as a wasteland” (unit 1 Id). The point that wilderness could be transformed into a ‘wasteland’ by extraction of resources is interesting, as this environment has often been considered a waste even with its resources intact. Grizzly also pointed out that as wilderness diminished and more technology became available showing wilderness to the public, it became more valuable as a resource. Therefore, many developing countries may have to attain the standards of living of the more developed countries, before wilderness becomes valuable to them; as he stated it, wilderness was a function of affluence. The social setting of wilderness for important for him, he noticed a marked difference between his Montana hiking trip which was more individualistic and the S. Carolina canoeing experience which was more group oriented. Wilderness as a social setting gives “life to the old adage, if you want to know someone then go live with him/her...In civilized living, all the conveniences exist, and a person can always get away from other people, but in the wilderness people...are much more dependent on each other. Many friendships have ended...but...many have been created, reinforced and strengthened” (Journal, 1/12/95). (Coyote made a similar point when she had a problem with a friend on a trip which was as her worst wilderness experience.) Witnessing a bald eagle on a rafting trip had a profound impact on Grizzly; it raised the whole idea of symbolism for him, which was especially relevant to him as a military person. Witnessing this spectacle following an adrenalin pumping ride on some rapids, the bird representing this country and all the ideals which it stands for and being part of the military, created a patriotic feeling in Grizzly. Eagles always have an impact when I see them in the wild, soaring high above or perched on a tree. Such majesty. 203
These birds create a proud personal feeling, one that is based on the fact that I can access these areas to see such wonderful animals, but also that the bird has returned from extinction. Nature and wilderness can recover if we practice restraint. Grizzly’s point on fatalism about development versus the opposition to development was interesting and very true. When development begins, it is often one building on the edge of an urban area, then this increases with more and more construction. “This is why many environmentalists say ‘enough is enough’ because no matter how many times policy-makers say they will stop at a particular boundary with the development, it never happens’’ (Journal, 10/4/95). Grizzly’s statement that knowledge of a development near wilderness can be damaging to the experience was intriguing. Many wilderness areas exist within national parks or forests and so are buffered to a certain extent by this area; but I would agree with Grizzly on this point, particularly if aircraft are heard overhead or significant development is viewed from a high peak in wilderness. I would also contend that this development “may be physically damaging to the wilderness environment. This case is clearly shown by the controversy surrounding the proposed gold mine near Yellowstone National Park” (Journal, 10/4/95). Grizzly’s concern about fatalism and development near and in wilderness was clearly evident during the interview. His point on the development imperative was quite accurate. However, having wilderness increases the size of bank accounts, certainly for some people who are in the support industry of outdoor equipment, but also in the areas where the wilderness is located. “Recent reports have shown that traditional extractive industries are losing ground in financial and employment terms to tourism in communities surrounding many of the western national parks. Also, I think that being removed from wilderness makes trips there more ‘exceptional,’ and because wilderness creates such exceptional memories...it overshadows the distance factor, to a certain degree” (Journal, 10/4/95). Grizzly, on the other hand, believed that the distance from the wilderness may make it less valuable. Wolf—words used to describe wilderness included: wilderness had to be remote from human development, dangerous, adventurous, woods, trees, wildlife, water areas, wildlife, lush, green, tropical (unit 1). While Wolf only had limited experiences, they had a profound influence on his definition of wilderness. This setting offered him some relaxation, a spiritual feeling, and a sense of awe at the power of nature (Salmon made a 204 similar point). Wolf already had a deep concern for nature and the environment and described the possible impact that modem lifestyles have on the natural environment and ultimately wilderness. “The far-reaching effects of civilized development can’t help but eventually come to degrade what we call wilderness” (unit 21). He also stated that each one of us created impact, no matter how small, on nature and eventually wilderness. His final definition summed up his idea of wilderness which “would be, for me, the natural settings, the elements, the flora, the fauna...that place where Man has not had any visible impact...any place that you see nature as it exists in its most natural state” (unit 1). Some of the points that Wolf made were very interesting. His idea on the separation of humans from nature was very perceptive, even though many people feel this way, few could verbalize it as well as he did.
“Wolf believed that the legal definition...solidified the distinction between humans and wilderness. I have often thought about this quandary; it is something of a paradox, the way we have separated ourselves from nature and then try to re-create that connection through wilderness experiences in areas that we are but visitors. This was similar to Darter’s point that civilization is the unnatural condition. However, I would tend to agree with the legal definition...because we have destroyed...the rest of the wilderness...(so) we can only be a visitor to such areas” (Journal, 1/14/95).
After a few months, when I had time to consider some of the other interviews and research and listen to the data again, this issue still gave me some thoughts on my own idea of wilderness;
“we had created a dualism, we have been separated from nature, we also speak of the dualism of civilization and wilderness. However, when I enter wilderness I hope that I do so with a respect for the inhabitants, I know I cannot live there or probably even survive there, just as I know some of the animals present would not be able to live in the areas humans have created. (In truth, they would probably have a higher chance of survival in civilization than I would in wilderness! !)...Will we ever get to the point of wilderness being able to survive along side our human wilderness? I don’t know. Is it possible that we can accomplish the goals of the Wildlands ProjectT (Journal, 3/27/95). 205
The Wildlands Project (1992) is a challenge by some scientists, environmentalists, and philosophers to create a larger system of wild areas in the U.S. which are connected by large corridors to allow animals/plants to migrate when required. It would entail re-establishing some ecosystems across the country. If we are to live in parallel to wilderness or in such a setting, our understanding of nature and living skills need to accommodate this new lifestyle. W olfs concern about the separation issue was clear throughout the interview. What made him anxious was the false sense of power and security which this gave to people. Of course, we have little, if any, influence over the forces of nature even with all our advanced technology. However, Wolf was also unhappy about constructing boundaries, legal or otherwise, around wilderness areas. Fox—words used to describe wilderness included: a place to be spiritually renewed and fulfilled, without signs of human disturbance the complement of the flora and fauna, wilderness threatened (unit 1). Clearly, one of the major aspects of wilderness was the spiritual feelings it imparted to him. He constantly referred to trips renewing him spiritually and emotionally, preparing him to face the daily routine of life. An interesting aspect about Fox’s choice on going into the mountains or desert to feel closer to God was its parallelism to that of the biblical prophets. Wilderness was visualized as a wasteland but also as a way of communing with God. Fox altered his wilderness visitation patterns to day instead of extended trips because of time and family constraints. Yet he did believe that it was still possible to attain that spiritual connection on day trips. Such spiritual encounters are probably only possible because of his extensive wilderness experiences and his already strong spiritual connection with this setting. Fox stated that people need access to wilderness to learn appreciation of it, but that if areas were over-utilized then access should be curtailed. Access is an issue which is problematic and it is an aspect of wilderness that is difficult to balance. The last Audubon group I guided in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, MN, discussed this issue. They were disturbed by another group canoeing in with modem conveniences (lawn chairs, radios, and huge tents) and camping at a site near the entry point to the wilderness. This created an uneasiness in the Audubon group because we had been cut off from these conveniences for a week. However, the Audubon group believed that the other people had not earned the right to be there because they had not portaged on 206 trails or paddled on many lakes. This whole attitude to access was generated within the trip because at the beginning the group had not expressed such sentiments. Fox discussed the image of wilderness in the mind of the general public and thought that many still believed in the hostile wilderness of the frontier. (I would concur with him on this point for large sections of society.)
“The U.S. is a young country founded on the taming of the wilderness, as Wolf also stated. All you have to do is examine the politics of the western states where the cowboy tradition and myth is still very much alive. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this, but when it comes to issues such as grazing fees, mining, environmental regulations, then people seem to reconnect with the frontier history, forgetting that the political, and some would say the physical, landscape frontier officially closed in the 1890s and really is dead. The times they are a changing, but sometimes the attitudes of people are slow to keep pace. I am not advocating progress here, all progress in my mind is not necessarily good or warranted. But when soil is being washed away at a phenomenal rate because of traditional agricultural practices (in this case traditional is probably not older than 150 years) and the ecosystem in general is being degraded, then attimdes toward the land need to change” (Journal, 10/4/95).
Covote—words used to describe wilderness included: away from human populations, awe-inspiring, easiness, high altitudes, incredible majesty, bigness, powerfulness, wildlife (unit 1). She also talked about a range of environmental settings for recreation and other purposes. While wilderness was considered a nice place to visit. Coyote thought that living there might not be as enjoyable. Her trips to wilderness made her realize the value of civilization, a place where employment and cultural aspects of life existed. Coyote made the point that “we need to make our urban environment inhabitable, and not poison to us...I think it made me understand that it’s a balance...the urban environment is not bad. We need to take care of the wilderness so that we can go there...but I need to live in civilization” (unit lOf). In addition to the wilderness experiences, two important aspects of her life helped Coyote define this setting. The first was her recovery from a near-death experience, a brain aneuiysm. Her resulting disability made her aware of the media image of wilderness as a macho-experience which disgusted her, because she believed that such images prevented people with various disabilities from encountering this setting. Secondly, her peasant lineage which connected her to the land. When her ancestors arrived in the U.S. they had some wheat grains with them which they planted 207 in the Great Plains. “That image of basic ties with the earth and the soil has made me feel it’s more important to understand and be in touch with the earth and its moods and needs.-that’s not the same as scaling Mount Everest. It’s being in touch with nature” (unit 19). Coyote was cognizant of the risks entailed in a wilderness trip, but perhaps she had allowed this to hold her back from experiencing it with her son. While she wanted to go to extreme wilderness, this anxiety prevented her from even entering relatively wild areas. Coyote also mentioned different types of wilderness, from the macho-type wilderness to the more controlled setting, a range of environments along the NES. Because of her near-death experience, she also believed that wilderness should be more accessible for all people. Everyone would not want the macho-experience, but she believed that most people would desire some medium exposure to this setting. Bobcat—words used to describe wilderness included: consisted of nature in its natural state, lush, green, wide open, peaceful, untouched, undeveloped by humans, sparsely populated (unit 1). She introduced the term ‘softened wilderness’ as a result of her trip to the island off Scotland, which is another type of environment on the NES. She contrasted ‘real’ and ‘softened’ wilderness and the difference in associated experiences. Scottish people wondered why she had visited the island to experience wilderness while America still had so much remaining. This leads to the question: is it possible to have a wilderness experience in the ‘softened’ setting? It is possible but is on a completely different level.
“I have had wilderness experiences in parts of Ireland and England. These experiences are very different from the wilderness experiences here in the U.S., they differ in the way ‘softened’ and ‘real’ wilderness experiences differ—in their level of sensations, texture, however, I still remember them vividly and cherish those memories. They are no less important than any wilderness experience I have had here. I believe that Bobcat was speaking of this level of difference, in her experiences here and between those and the Scottish one” (Journal, 1/17/95).
During the interview, when Bobcat talked about the loggers and the timber industry this brought up many issues in my mind and it also hit a ‘hot spot.’ I connected this with “the Dominant Social Paradigm (DSP) which would suggest that humans are the highest on the evolutionary ladder, therefore, whatever we see fit is good and right” (Journal, 1/17/95). (Some of the other participants also raised this issue in my mind.) 208
If the DSP was combined with the generation of the greatest good for the greatest number of people, then the views of many of the participants are covered. I thought it was intriguing that Bobcat had the perception that radical environmentalists were not really that radical in the sense that they did not attack and kill people as the anti-abortion activists had done. “Evidently, she didn’t know about the eco-terrorists who spike trees, damage logging equipment, etc. (Perhaps she)...should read Edward Abbey’s The Monkey Wrench Gang, which some say was the foundation of eco-tage”3 (Journal, l/17/’95). The point that Bobcat made here brought the debate about the environment versus economics and jobs to mind. Because of her interview,
“I found it hard to believe that someone who seemed to hold such a strong conviction to wilderness could say such things...! felt that perhaps I too thought like this, but hoped not...! l^lieve that there is a level which you must arrive at that you are comfortable with, a level of living that allows you to be at ease with your ethical, moral, spiritual or whatever type of convictions or beliefs you possess. I felt that Bobcat came to a point with the logging and the birds issue where she would not go beyond. I don’t want to seem like the self-righteous environmentalist, I hope that I am not that, but I do hope that I can tolerate more denial in my lifestyle’’ (Journal, 1/17/95).
Bobcat mentioned that most people want to preserve wilderness. Maybe this was true for the last few decades, but right now in 1996 it is very much the opposite. Perhaps she should travel out west or down south or even to certain areas in the eastern states and discover many people who do not want to preserve wilderness. The 104th Congress is also a great example of people intent on developing wilderness and legislation such as the Utah Wilderness Bill is indicative of their pro-development stance. In relation to the activities allowed in wilderness. Bobcat had a problem with practices such as hunting, but thought that motorized vehicles should be permitted. I think this returns to the DSP, again what is convenient to us seems allowable. However,
3 Eco-tage is a phrase representing ecological sabotage and was coined following the emergence of radical environmental groups, such as Earth First!, and the publication of Abbey’s book. The Monkey Wrench Gang. 209
“while it may seem logical, the noise from some of these vehicles, whether they are boats, snow-mobiles or ATV’s carry for great distances in wilderness areas and can be as disturbing to animals as hunting. Hunting and trapping are usually performed to cull populations (and keep hunters happy!!)...because we have reduced animus’ habitats so much” (Journal, 10/5/95).
Reduction in habitat is related to increasing human population, something which we seem reluctant to deal with, even as we manage other species’ populations.
Birds—Undergraduate Non-Visitors As opposed to the Undergraduate Visitors (Fish) and Graduate Visitors (Mammals), the participants in the next two groups had not visited an area considered to be wilderness. Yet, all had an idea of wilderness. Patterns related to the qualities expected from these areas and experiences did emerge.
Wilderness as Experience While some of the participants had natural experiences, wilderness was mainly encountered through some form of media. It is interesting to note the differences between the natural experiences of this group and those of the previous groups who had visited wilderness.
Experience with Most Impact on Wilderness Definition. Hawk, Owl, and Osprey cited some form of media as influencing their idea of wilderness the most, while for the two remaining Undergraduate Non-Visitors (Raven and Eagle) natural experiences had the most impact. Hawk mentioned that TV programs or books about scientists conducting research on some aspect of wilderness were most influential on her idea of wilderness. One example was a program about Jane Goodall, a female scientist who researches gorillas and their behavior. Hawk believed the images portrayed Goodall in wilderness because she had to adapt to the environment of the animals. “She was the outsider...the more time she spent there, the more she adapted...the apes became more adapted to seeing her around...and by the end, she had basically become a part of their family” (unit 6a). However, when Hawk was younger nature documentaries were influential, particularly programs showing various undeveloped habitats around the world. She 210 enjoyed these programs and consequently had a desire to see these locations. Areas included in the documentaries were “the plains in Africa...the desert...the rain forest...most of them dealt with animals and how it was (that) they have less area now due to human populations, and there’s less area that would be considered wilderness” (unit 6a). Owl also indicated that media impacted her idea of wilderness. Significant influences included documentaries such as National Geographic and other nature programs, as well as “reading and school and it just...built up a picture in my head of what it would...be” (unit 6a). People never talked with Osprey about namral experiences and she had never visited a wilderness, therefore she believed that media was the most influential event on her meaning of wilderness. She cited movies such as Indiana Jones and The Raiders of the Lost Ark and Crocodile Dundee, concentrating on the latter for the interview. This movie involved Crocodile Dundee, the main character, who “was out in the jungle with that lady and...he showed her where his boat...was up in there (the jungle) and there was like nothing around...forever” (unit 6a). Raven and Eagle cited natural experiences as being the most influential on their idea of wilderness. This was interesting because in both cases the experiences could have paralleled some of the experiences of the visitor groups. Raven began his description of the natural experience by stating “if you consider the ocean, wilderness” (unit 6) yet did not consider this an experience which would have placed him in the visitor category. This was not the first time that a participant had considered ocean as wilderness. (Aspen also mentioned the ocean as a wilderness.) Raven’s encounter with the ocean was very dangerous and he almost died in the incident. However, that event “defined wildemess...as being kind of uncontrollable...there wasn’t anything out there that could help us so...that’s why I consider wilderness to be out beyond man’s reach” (unit 6). Table 15 Characteristics of the Participants in the Undergraduate Non-Visitor (Birds’) Group and Reasons for Not Visiting Wilderness
Birds Sex Age Resided Post Secondary Spiritual Beliefs Reasons for Not Visiting (Years) Education Wilderness
Hawk F 20 Town 2 years Presbyterian No opportunity: parents not interested in trips
Owl F 22 City Suburb 3 years Jewish Traveled to civilized areas mainly
Osprey F 19 Town 1 year Catholic No opportunity; parents not interested in trips
Raven M 23 City Suburb 5 years Christian Time; funds
Eagle M 25 Rural 4 years Nondenominational/ Inaccessible; individualistic beliefs no opportunity 212
Eagle’s experiences centered on trips to woods and state forest where he was disgusted with the amount of visible litter. It disturbed him “how people have...! don’t know if contaminated is the right word, but perhaps it is...kind of infiltrated and left litter...behind...and the juxtaposition of that is...in the city...you’ll see something like a telephone pole that’s completely covered with living...vines” (unit 6). The experience which impacted him the most was a solo hike in Zaleski State Park, near Wayne National Forest, Ohio. During this trip, he was enjoying the beautiful scenery, and plants when “all of a sudden you walk into a clearing that’s just stumps” (unit 6a). Such an experience in the woods and seeing the vines in the city contributed to his “perception of wilderness, as seeing it as something that...people try to...push it down but it still comes back out in unexpected ways” (unit 6). Hawk’s worst memory about the nature programs was of habitats being destroyed, the displacement and eventual extinction of wildlife. Interestingly, she began to address the situation in the third person, stating that “it’s all humans and their decisions are what stand...if they want to, they can destroy everything. And there’s not enough people that are going to stand up to...companies that are tearing down the rain forest or poachers” (unit 6b). As in many cases. Hawk blamed other people, although she was pleased that some people did defend such areas from development. The programs also presented the beauty of these environments and how the animals live and communicate in a community which was intact before human intervention. Owl’s thoughts were similar on this matter. She mentioned that “people are a lot stronger and more powerful than” (unit 6b) animals, but should maintain some areas for creatures to live. The portrayal of the wilderness environment evoked feelings of peacefulness in Owl. Also, it was relaxing and beautiful and she enjoyed watching the animals. Even though this was a wild setting, “it really doesn’t bring any negative or scary thoughts or anything like that” (unit 6c) to mind. For Osprey, a particular scene in Crocodile Dundee scared her. A crocodile attempted to bite the lead female actress. She remarked that she would not “want to be put in that situation! I wouldn’t know what to do” (unit 6b). Very few people would want to be in this predicament. Osprey’s best memory concerned the characters in New York City. Dundee had never been to a city and thought some people strange in their mannerisms. Osprey admitted she had never been in that situation and while it would be a horrible feeling, still believed the situation would be funny. 213
Raven’s ocean experience was frightening, a “feeling of helplessness” (unit 6b) overcame him. The physical sensations of the cold water created this emotion—“I remember...almost feeling...! was in some sort of a machine, to where it was just dragging me around and...was so overwhelming” (unit 6b). Once Raven was out of the water, he relaxed and reversed the feelings of shock and fear about the incident. He “realized that I was about thirty feet away from the ocean and there was no way it was going to climb out and get me...pretty much!” (unit 6c). In fact he returned to the water that night and “it was almost like everything was erased even though...! sit here now and say...this is my lasting memoiy of the ocean...! can still say that it didn’t affect me that much, at least immediately afterwards because we kind of jumped back in that day” (unit 6c). Eagle’s worst memory about the hiking trip created a “self awareness..(of)...my own living patterns and how it might be hypocritical of me to do certain things and then to go out there and feel a certain way” (unit 6b). He believed if people were more aware of their “own personal environment as well as the broader environment...(it) might help the critical problem” (unit 6b). The remainder of his trip, away from the sight of clear cuts, was much more enjoyable for Eagle. During this solo winter trip, he relaxed and experienced solitude as he “didn’t see another human...for...three days...! had been stressed before ! left” (unit 6c) on his return he was relaxed.
The Situation and Its Relationship to Life Hawk believed the nature programs helped her because they allowed her to experience areas which she may never have the opportunity to visit. She reaffirmed her earlier statement concerning people defending wild areas and the wildlife, “because once it’s gone, it’s gone forever” (unit 6e). Unlike some people, who continually berate companies and other members of the human species for destroying habitats and wildlife without relating their own impact to these statements. Hawk was “a member of the National Wildlife Federation. ! do volunteer work...to help handle injured wild animals and to feed them and take care of them” (unit 6e). !t was clear that such TV programs did influence Hawk and her interest in wildlife. Another important experience for her was a visit to a zoo, where she had the opportunity to go watch the feeding and handling of animals. Such experiences impacted Hawk “! just love to work with large, wild 214 creatures” (unit 6d) and “it helped influence my decision to go into zoology as my major...thinking to myself that I could help in some way, that there maybe be something I could do” (unit 6f). The media experiences assisted Owl in becoming more educated about different types of environments. She did not believe that the experiences made any difference in her feelings or in relation to her life, although “if anything, it maybe made a difference in the way I appreciate things, in that sense...Just educated me on something else, something different” (unit 6f). Osprey’s worst memory was associated with images of wilderness, her best with the portrayal of the city. “I think that’s just the way it happened in the movie. I don’t think it has anything to do with me...I wouldn’t want to go into that type of wilderness. I wouldn’t want to do that. I love being in the city, so that probably has something to do with it (unit 6c). This in turn led Osprey to begin her distinction about seeing the wilderness and experiencing it, a point which would continue to emerge several times in her interview. Basically, Osprey stated that she would like to see wilderness but not experience it, because “I can watch that on TV but I don’t have to be there. But experiencing it, I would be there...in the whole thing. I don’t know if I’d like that” (unit 6e). She believed that this particular event did not have any relationship to her life. Following the ocean experience in Cape Hatteras, Raven came to a
“realization of the potential that was out there, more than it was a fear or anything like that...I...figured out that I wasn’t immune...! still have, to some degree, the idea that nothing can ever happen to me because I’m young. But it really was kind of a realization that anything can happen, but...now I realize that...with the proper precautions...! can go out and do whatever and not really have to worry about the danger because I survived it once” (unit 6d).
While Raven stated that the incident did not have any lasting impression on him, it did make him more cautious of the conditions of the water and shoreline there. On some of his trips there since this event, he determined the swimming conditions as a precaution because “every year the ocean changes down there” (unit 6e). For Eagle, the hike in the woods with the clear cut sections helped foster a “self-awareness” about lifestyles and personal impact on the environment, while the untouched setting allowed him to relax and experience some solitude. “It just made me 215 feel a connection with not only other human beings in our lifestyles, but also with the forest...I think it helped my awareness of myself and of the forest” (unit 6f). This awareness of his ‘self and the forest resulted from the solo hike; he did not have anyone to communicate with and stopped talking. During the “first half of the (first) day, I was talking to myself a little bit and then I stopped talking and just listened, and it was nice to hear a lot of the natural sounds...it was never completely quiet. It was very serene. And when I came back, it was really strange for me to hear my voice. But it was very relaxing. I think it was just a combination of not seeing, not having to deal with the day-to-day responsibilities, but to be faced with a new kind of responsibility of shelter and eating” (unit 6f). This allowed the understanding of, what Eagle termed, “an intellectualization of it...I...could see that life is a system, that everything seemed very connected there, whereas opposed to a very disjointed life here in an urban setting” (unit 6e). He had begun to internalize these connections but this experience reinforced them.
Wilderness in the Media For this group, the media selections which made them most concerned about the portrayal of wilderness in media were either TV presentations or movies. Raven and Eagle selected news reports. Osprey examined commercials and public service announcements, while Owl and Hawk chose entertainment movies. Table 16 summaries the experience with the most impact and the influence of media on the Undergraduate Non-Visitors’ meaning of wilderness.
Type and Oualitv of Wilderness Experience in Non-Wilderness Setting Three of the Undergraduate Non-Visitors believed that they could experience wilderness in non-wilderness environments, whereas the remainder of the group thought it was not possible. However, most of the Undergraduate Non-Visitors believed that virtual reality was a technology which could not replace the wilderness experience. Owl, who had never been to wilderness, could still imagine and picture the landscape in her head. “So you can...go through life without actually seeing something that you picture in your head. But...I wouldn’t mind experiencing it but it’s not something that is my goal in life...you can experience it without being there” (unit 18a). Having this mental image of the wilderness was important for Owl, an image which always seemed to have been present in her mind. While she did not see a direct 216 connection between this and her life. Owl did want to visit wilderness at some point, although it was not a priority. However, she made an interesting point here as well that “even though this is a city, there is still...some (wilderness) around you here, some you are experiencing no matter where you go. You just don’t have the full aspect of it” (unit 18a). (This was similar to the thoughts of Perch and Eagle.) Owl was indifferent to the whole idea of virtual reality. She could picture herself being there in her mind so she did not think that this new technology would enhance that image. Eagle had some natural experiences (which other people could have considered as wilderness experiences), and so he believed that it was possible to have feelings associated with wilderness in certain types of environment. “In some of my experiences in the Wayne National Forest, I had that wilderness feeling and in other parts...when I was on the logging road and the clear cut area, I felt very much not in the wilderness, although I was in a wilderness setting...Because...(I saw)...how we are affecting the wilderness” (unit 18a). However, in addition to this he believed that “the idea of wilderness kind of exists in everything” (unit 18a). Eagle related his idea on the symbolism of the vine growing on a pole, which had become one of his favorite places in Columbus. “It’s just this light pole with vines growing around it, and it’s really neat...it’s...a personal symbol...although a lot of people feel that we are on top of the food chain or pyramid or hierarchy...if we’re on top, then it’s a pretty vigilant kind of thing because there are things that are kind of overgrowing us all the time...bacteria and plants...I think that’s an example...of the idea of wilderness right here in the city...It’s kind of a chaotic growth” (unit 18a). Wilderness in the city, was an idea expressed by other participants, but this symbolism of the wilderness never being fully trampled was profound. “In the Wayne (National Forest), I saw civilization intruding upon the forest. And I saw this (vine) as wilderness intruding upon the city” (unit 18a). Eagle enjoyed looking at stills or movies of wilderness, he thought it was not possible to experience wilderness from these media, although he could relate to them more as a result of his natural experiences. Photography then could not capture wilderness “because it’s only one of five senses...I think there’s so much more going on, and also I guess movies capture a little bit more but not really...I would imagine if you’re in most of these areas you’re looking at...there’s adrenaline pumping through your body and...it’s different than just sitting...on my couch looking at a coffee table book of wilderness” (unit 8). However, in relation to virtual reality, “as that technology 217
improves, I think that we’ll be able to do something fairly realistic” (unit 10). This could have an indirect positive impact on the wilderness environment as the number of people visiting this area could decrease, but it would never really replace the experience. On a day trip into Yosemite National Park, California, Osprey did believe she had a wilderness experience to a certain extent. “Just because the feeling (of the setting) was very different (from) where I live. There were these...big trees...they were huge. They were red...We got to walk through one of them. That was neat...you feel differently. I’ve never seen anything like that before” (unit 18a). This experience did impact Osprey in her memory but did not create a great concern in her for wilderness in general. She had talked earlier of the difference between seeing and experiencing the wilderness, for Osprey the former was her preference. She would even prefer a virtual reality wilderness experience. “Because they make it so it’s real to you” (unit 10). Osprey would even go camping in this virtual environment as opposed to the natural landscape. She had never experienced camping but “wouldn’t like it. Just being out there...it would be dirty and it’s really superficial but it would just be dirty and bugs and I’d be afraid everything is going to crawl up in our tent and...I would not deal with it well” (unit 10). Osprey believed that nature programs which documented researchers in the field would “make you feel like you are there” (unit 18a). However, earlier she had stated that seeing the wilderness but not experiencing it would be sufficient for her. “When I watch a program like this. I’m seeing it but not feeling it” (unit 18a). However, Osprey did think that a person who had visited wilderness would not be able to experience it from watching such a program. The person would think “T remember what it felt like and this isn’t exactly it.’ To some extent, yes, but not totally” (unit 18a). Hawk and Raven believed that it was difficult, if not impossible, to have a wilderness experience in a non-wildemess setting. Hawk described the scene where “you may be sitting there watching it on TV and hearing the sounds...with electricity and there’s people talking behind you listening to the radio...I think you actually have to be there, outside” (unit 18a). The landscape had to surround you, according to her, otherwise “you can (not) really experience it” (unit 18a). This motivated Hawk to visit areas where roofs and walls do not exist to learn more about the setting. Virtual environments would not be of use to a person who wants a wilderness experience, according to Hawk. The technology could only imitate the environment and after all it 218 would be human created, trying to replicate wilderness, a natural creation. She thought virtual reality might help slightly because “if someone would experience that, then they may actually want to go there” (unit 10). But Hawk still had reservations as the virtual landscape would be “an imitation. I don’t think the experience would be good... although you may feel like you’re there, something in your mind is telling you, ‘I’m not really there’” (unit 10). Raven believed that certain degrees of wilderness could be experienced in a variety of settings. However, a wilderness experience was a holistic experience: “you can buy one of those audio tapes that has the birds chirping and the waterfalls in the background but it doesn’t change the fact that when you open your eyes, you’re sitting...in a room...it’s not an experience that can...be had with one of your senses. It...has to be all of them” (unit 18a). However, “you can go out in the farmlands here in Ohio and...it gets a lot quieter and the stars are brighter...so...there is a degree of wilderness that can be had without going too far away. So...even if I believe that you can’t have wilderness without actually being there, there are ways of at least having a decent degree of experience...if you feel the need to...experience 100% wilderness... and (if) all you can do is go to the zoo or listen to an audio tape or whatever, then that should be enough” (unit 18a). This is an indirect reference to a continuum of environments (NES) mentioned by many of the participants. Raven believed strongly that virtual reality would “hinder (the wilderness experience), because virtual reality is not reality...it’s almost like they have to take the word ‘real’ out of ‘reality’ if they want to call it that, because it’s so unreal that it would have to hinder wildemess...because there’s just no way to compare the two” (unit 10). According to Raven, when people try to replicate a natural phenomenon, the knowledge of imitation is still present in the mind. For example, “look at cultured pearls and you still have that feeling in the back of your head that that’s not a real pearl, even though, technically, it is” (unit 10). Not alone was virtual reality an imitation, but a bad imitation: “it’ll wash out some of that experience. It’s almost like if you took a picture of something and then didn’t develop the picture that well and...it’s not a true representation of what was taken...if you were in that virtual reality program and you reached down to grab some dirt, there’s just no way that they could duplicate that feeling” (unit 10). Wilderness had a special quality, according to Raven, that would be difficult, if not impossible, to replicate. “There’s always a sense of randomness to 219 being out in nature...that I don’t think they could duplicate in a computer setting, the way they want to have you believe...they can” (unit 10).
Wilderness Concerns as Portrayed in Media. (See Table 16.) Raven described an incident where a moose killed a person on the campus of the University of Alaska. While the actual event itself was not very troubling (although he did not enjoy seeing this person being trampled to death). Raven was very upset and disgusted at the news program for showing this. “It was in poor taste to show it in the first place because the first night that they had it on, they showed from the moment he was knocked down to the time he was dead...I couldn’t believe that they showed it as much as they did because I thought it was kind of ridiculous” (unit 7a). Raven believed that the students on campus had set up the whole event by harassing the moose, which had a calf with her. The media’s response to this was judging that the moose was not evil, but just protecting its young. Raven’s worst memory about this news report was just watching the intent of the moose killing this person. “I remember sitting there watching the moose and it would turn around and get set up, almost like a football player would get set up, and would kick him and then it would turn around and get set up again and then kick him again” (unit 7b). He also commented that no one seemed to come to the rescue of this man who “been around for seven decades and this is how he goes out, getting beaten, by a moose, to death” (unit 7b). Raven was shocked by this whole incident, not just the media’s attitude toward it, but the action of the animal. “I’ve always been really into animals...ever since I was little, and...granted the child (calf) was in danger, but still, it was...a shocking thing to see it (moose) just keep going...and keep going” (unit 7b). Even though Raven was studying journalism, he stated that he did not “like joumaIists...it was yet another on the con side of joumalism...it ranked right up there with chasing the Ford Bronco all up and down Los Angeles Freeways...when the OJ media blitz was just starting” (unit 7c). He did not have any good memories about this media event, in fact he was amazed when the TV station replayed it the following night. “It was ridiculous that they showed it again...‘Here’s the guy getting the life beaten out of him by a moose! Here it is again for those...who missed it!’ And they prefaced it with...‘This footage may shock you 220 and you may want to turn your head,’ but then they got it right up there and showed it again” (unit 7c). Raven did not have a very positive opinion of the media in general; this incident confirmed that for him. Eagle discussed a news feature on President Bush talking to some loggers in the northwest and how the audience at this rally responded to some of the President’s comments. From the media event. Eagle specifically remembered one statement of the President. “He said that jobs were more important than owls” (unit 7a). Eagle could not follow the President’s logic because preserving the jobs at this time by logging trees would not solve the issue. The industry was the problem not the trees; it was not responding to the new needs of society. Eagle’s worst and best memory about this event were identical: “feeling that the President was kind of full of it!” (unit 7b). He believed that this politician lacked an “awareness of the big picture” (unit 7b), employment was important but it was a short-term solution to a major problem. In this way, it confirmed for Eagle his belief about politicians in general: “I felt...unhappy about the fact that our leader...schmoozing, basically, just trying to be popular...but it made me feel good in the sense that I’d never really liked the guy that much...That sounds bad but...it...reinforced my feelings about politicians” (unit 7c). For Osprey commercials or public service announcements (PSAs) concerned her the most about media’s portrayal of wilderness. These appeared in magazines, newspapers or on TV. They focused on deforestation and the hole in the ozone layer. References to lack of oxygen for breathing as a result of deforestation worried Osprey the most: “I think you’re scared about that...I don’t think it will happen. In my lifetime, probably not. Maybe years down the road something like that would happen” (unit 7b). On the other hand, she was glad that some people were caring for the forests, as visible through these commercials and direct action. Hawk selected the movie Gorillas in the Mist, and mentioned that nature documentaries also had influenced her. For the interview, she decided to concentrate on the movie, a story about Diane Fosse living with gorillas in Rwanadan jungles. The movie dealt with the dangers of poaching and Fosse “ended up being killed...trying to help” (unit 7a). The death of gorillas was upsetting for Hawk particularly when they were poached for ashtrays. “Just how cruel it was and how (people) did it only for their benefit, and they didn’t think about what would happen, how (gorillas) were endangered and they could be killing off the species just for an ashtray...something that 221
should never happen” (unit 7b). Hawk enjoyed “seeing the intelligence of the animals—how similar they are to us in their communication...how they care for each other...They may lack speech, but they compensate other ways...and...to see them in the natural environment” (unit 7c). Owl’s selected movie was Medicine Man, a movie concerning an unorthodox doctor, working for a pharmaceutical company, who found a cure for cancer in the Amazonian rain forest. However, all the drug was used before being replicated. Toward the end of the movie, loggers began to approach his camp and eventually his laboratory was destroyed in a fire, just as the doctor realized where he discovered the cure. (Owl watched the older Tarzan movies.) The images portrayed in these feature films bother hen “just the fact that they’re burning down all those woods and killing off all those animals” (unit 7). Owl could not remember the details of Medicine Man other than the overall theme, but “I just like movies where it concerns traveling through the jungles and safaris, so that’s why I went to see it” (unit 7a). Another aspect of these movies which annoyed her was stereotyping of the characters. (This was a point made by Darter concerning the movie. Deliverance.) “They basically...made it seem...like the American people were very selfish and crude and didn’t care, and were taking...nature and everything around it away...the Americans are heartless...don’t care...will go in with their money and will...tear everything down” (unit 7a). Interestingly, when Owl saw the images of the burning forest, she began to think of killed or displaced animals. (This was similar to some of the other participants who talked about forest fires, particularly Birch who talked of the impacts of fires on wildlife.) Owl found the movie overrated, but did enjoy the scenery: “Just seeing the wildemess...the surroundings. I like those kind of movies...where it’s...based in a tropical forest or woods and just wild animals” (unit 7b).
The Situation and Its Relationship to Life Raven did not believe that the media event showing the moose killing the man had any major impact on him. However, he did think that the media operates on ‘shock value’ and this confirmed his high level of skepticism for the media. “Our culture seems to run on fear and you’ve got these cop shows and...the one thing people are going to remember is just that this moose killed somebody. So the next time they see a moose or they see some other animal in their neighborhood—whether it’s something small like a 212 raccoon or...a grizzly bear wanders in—their first instinct is going to be ‘Kill it,’ because that’s all they see on the news” (unit 7e). Positive wilderness events were rarely shown or if they were they received brief exposure on the screen as such incidents were not newsworthy. “That’s the only thing that concerns me, everything that is in the news tends to be bad...they could try to find some kind of an event...that would balance out what they have been showing” (unit 7e). Raven’s original perception of wilderness was confirmed by this event: “the idea that it’s all out of your control...But I hate saying that, just because there are a lot of good things about nature...the same with the ocean...there were plenty of mornings where we woke up and watched the dolphins swim by but...when you think of one story, the bad one comes up” (unit 7f). The uncontrollable factor of wilderness was an issue for many of the participants. More interesting, though, was Raven’s claim that the bad recollection was more memorable than any good one, which was very different from most of the visitors to wilderness. Watching people’s response to the Presidential campaign and speeches in certain locations. Eagle was “concerned about whether the average person thought much of their inter-relationship with their respective environment, and with the environment as a whole, other than...what’s pushed down our throats...Recycling and things like that, which makes sense, but...they don’t think about it...preventatively” (unit 7e). While Eagle thought that recycling was a positive step, he saw it as a justification to continue consuming “‘let’s throw our soda can in the recycling bin,’ and not think about where that can came from originally” (unit 7e). Certainly a valid observation. Eagle thought that watching the presidential campaign assisted him in two ways: first, he saw that politicians did not always follow through on their speeches and that candidates often pandered to the group being addressed. He stated that earlier in the campaign. President Bush had expressed concern for the environment, but with the loggers employment was more important; second, “it made me think about the issue some more...about the longer term...more than just one generation” (unit 7d). In addition, the event helped him realize that “there might be more in the issue than I’d previously perceived. That’s also about the same time that I joined SEAC (Student Environmental Action Coalition)” (unit 7e). Osprey thought that the image of deforestation in the ‘infomercial’ was not depressing, because it claimed the company was reforesting logged areas. To reduce the 223 impact of logging, it also emphasized recycling. She believed that the ‘infomercial’ did not help or hinder her, although her recycling may have been a result of this media event, and she would continue this practice. Hawk’s viewing of Gorillas in the Mist saddened her, in that she could not believe “how humans could do that (cut off the gorillas hands to use as ashtrays) to something else, because they feel (gorillas are) not as important’’ (unit 7d). However, she did learn more about the environment and the efforts of some people to save animals. Hawk believed that the gorillas and their habitat required assistance because “they can’t do it on their own. They need somebody to protect them so that they can go on living their lives as they have...They need their room” (unit 7e). In addition, the movie also helped in her decision about her major as “gorillas are one of the animals I’m considering trying to study. And it just helped me learn more about that field” (unit 7f). Owl became agitated at the portrayal of the stereotypical American in Medicine Man “but then I started thinking...everybody is not like that, not every American who goes there, goes there to damage it” (unit 7d). The movie bored her considerably and other than expressing anger over the stereotyping, she believed that it did not relate in any way to her life.
Wilderness Portraved Indirectlv in the Media. (See Table 16.) Media events which indirectly impacted this group’s meaning of wilderness consisted of nature magazines (Hawk), weather reports (Raven), movies (Owl, Osprey), and some nature photography (Eagle). Hawk, as a result of her interest in wildlife, discussed the National Wildlife Federation magazine and referred particularly to articles about wolves, a species she considered studying. Wolves interested her because of their reputation: “they have been blamed for things that aren’t their fault, such as with the farmers...they’ve never attacked humans (but) they’re looked upon as being evil...and nobody can really understand...that’s their nature” (unit 8). The magazine usually focused on “one animal...where it lives and...its personality...anything that involves its life, or if it’s endangered or what’s the possibility of extinction. Just what it’s like in its natural habitat (unit 8a). The articles on wolves documented the historical and present distribution of this species, wolf- livestock interactions, possible réintroductions in some wild areas (national parks and legally designated wilderness areas). Hawk was upset by the lack of understanding by 224 people, generally ranchers, who shot wolves when they were only scouting for food. These people ‘shot first and asked questions’ later, when wolves entered their property, whether or not the animals were going to hunt livestock. Photographs in the articles were beautiful, “just seeing (the wolves) play or sitting out in the snow...just how they look and what they’re doing, what their life is really like. I was...given an insight on something that I may never see and it just helped me learn more about them” (unit 8c). Raven selected weather reports because he was exposed to these frequently. He mentioned “earthquakes, mud slides and rainstorms in California. You got an earthquake in Japan. You’ve got all these different things that are going on, volcanoes in Hawaii...so what tends to stand out is just weather-related incidents more than anything else...because they’re more frequent” (unit 8a). However, some of these were not weather-related—earthquakes, volcanoes—although they could certainly influence weather systems. Perhaps, he was talking about natural disasters. Raven also believed that weather related events did affect him. For him, the worst memory about such incidents was the amount of coverage received. “If they have an earthquake, they’ll (media) show...pulling the bodies out of the wreckage...So it’s always something awful. But, I mean you can’t really turn an earthquake or a tornado or whatever into something really nice...but at the same time, it is kind of bad the way they will take anything, just to get you glued to the TV set for a little while...It’s almost the same with the moose” (unit 8b). Raven’s best memory was that a motel they stayed in on vacation in North Carolina had survived a hurricane. Owl discussed the series of Tarzan movies of which she was an avid fan. Generally, the movies were based on “people invading...the wilderness to ruin it or to take something away from it...always the hero came to the rescue and it was a person who appreciated wilderness” (unit 8a). She enjoyed watching the hero save the day or the wilderness and “perhaps I wanted to be that hero or may be saved by Tarzan! !” (unit 8a). When Tarzan was removed from the wilderness where he grew up, it irritated and angered Owl to see how “upset and destroyed he was, and how people can really adapt to the way things are naturally, and how people couldn’t understand that” (unit 8b). Tarzan’s rescuers believed that he was crazy because they could not see how he had adapted to living in wilderness. Even though this was a movie. Owl related it to present deforestation of wilderness where the indigenous people’s “homes (are) being taken or burned down...they might be savage but...that’s natural and if that’s the way you want 225 to live, that’s the way they should live” (unit 8b). In addition, she stated that “civilization is (not) all bad but I think that there should be more areas left...natural, not everything civilized.-.I’m not knocking down...cities...It’s just that I don’t think it should all be like that” (unit 8b). Seeing the natural landscape and the peacefulness of the scene made her feel that “nature is really pretty” (unit 8c). It amazed her that “nature can...grow naturally by itself without people tampering and making it all pretty and better” (unit 8c), however such ‘tampering’ may be involved in wilderness management Osprey did think that some music from the Bahamas which consisted of eerie noises had an influence on her idea of wilderness—“they’re supposed to be...in the wildemess...But it’s supposed to make you sleep better. I think that’s what it is” (unit 8)—although she finally settled on a movie Indiana Jones and the Raiders o f the Lost Ark. This movie concerned an archeologist’s search for the Lost Ark of the Covenant and in section of the movie “was out in the desert...they were excavating it...they were Just treasure hunters, basically. To me wildemess is very much like that mainly because there was...no one there. It was just desert” (unit 8a). In the beginning of the movie when the archeologist. Dr. Jones, was searching for another artifact, a “big stone (came) rolling down (a long chute and)...he had to run and get out of the way” (unit 8b), a sequence which scared Osprey. Her best memory was that he obtained some jewels in this sequence. Eagle had difficulty selecting one media event which indirectly influenced his idea of wildemess. He did find wildemess photography, still photographs and movies, aesthetically pleasing. The best example he could remember was the commercial for a movie The Adventures of Yellow Dog. In addition, he did enjoy “wildemess photographs...including things like underwater or just areas that you don’t see in your everyday life” (unit 8). Interesting that he considered underwater areas wildemess. (Raven also in this group believed the oceans to constitute wildemess.) One of the characteristics that stood out in his mind was “a feeling of awe at the power of nature or whatever you want to call it” (unit 8). Table 16 Media which made the Undergraduate Non-Visitors (Birds) Most Concerned about Society’s View of Wildemess. and Media which had an Indirect Impact on the Participant’s Meaning of Wilderness. Events which had the Most Important Impact on the Meaning of Wilderness are also shown
Birds Most Concerned Indirect Impact Most Impact
Hawk Movie— ‘National Wildlife’ Magazine Nature programs on TV, Gorillas in the Mist trip to zoo, reading magazines
Owl Movie— Medicine Man Movies—series of Tarzan National Geographic Tarzan movies programs, other nature programming
Osprey ‘Infom ercials,’ PSA Movie— Indiana Jones and the Raiders ofMovie— Crocodile Dundee announcements on rain forest the Lost Ark (focused on in interview), deforestation Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raven News report—man killed by a W eather reports N ear death experience in m oose the ocean
Eagle President Bush addressing a Still photographs of wildemess, movies set Three day solo hiking group of loggers in a in wildemess, commercial for movie— The experience in Zaleski State northwestern state Adventures of Yellow Dog Park, Ohio
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The Situation and Its Relationship to Life For Hawk, reading the wolf articles gave her “more information on areas and different places or organizations that are trying to help, and how you can become involved” (unit 8d). Such information also assisted her in her choice of majors. Of course, wolves were not the only animals which Hawk suggested required some assistance, various animals have to be managed, otherwise “they’re not going to survive” (unit 8e). Humans have degraded and reduced the habitats of these animals so much that they require management. “They were here first. We basically just pushed them out, and keep pushing them in smaller and smaller places and in the end when they become extinct...then humans finally realize that they should have done something about it earlier” (unit 8e). Hawk also realized had through her natural experiences that “they don’t need us. They do much better without us” (unit 8e). (Coyote, another participant, made a similar point.) Hawk stated that programs on the Discovery channel or nature magazines project an image of the wildemess setting “as it would be naturally and how the different species survive...But...on other shows such as...the news...they show more of the dangers of it...someone is attacked by a mountain lion...how terrible all of those animals are” (unit 9). This was a result of humans’ superiority complex over other animals: “to try to make humans look superior once again as they always are shown to be and to try to make it seem like other creatures are not as important as us, that we’re the only ones that really matter and that they mean nothing to us” (unit 9). Raven enjoyed the ocean and even though he was influenced somewhat by weather-related incidents he had decided that he would live at least three hours from the ocean. This was the only way in which such weather-related events had influenced his life, a point for which Raven was thankful. “But I’ve never experienced any of the stuff that I’ve seen on TV and...I’ve been pretty thankful” (unit 8f). He suggested something interesting here—“people that move to Califomia...and people that live on an island have to realize what they’re getting into. There’s not really much that you can do other than damage-control once (a hurricane, earthquake) is over” (unit 8e). (Wolf also suggested this, although people continually building on barrier islands and flood plains should realize that they need to move elsewhere. Often, people do not want to be conquered by these events as they believe human power and ingenuity to be superior to nature.) 228
Raven thought that the media made wildemess (weather-related events) appear “dangerous and pretty frightening” (unit 9). With events such as tornadoes the news covered “what happens when it happens, so...that’s basically all they’ll do...show you pulling people out of the wreckage and that kind of thing (unit 9). Reports concentrated on the human interest aspects (i.e. who and how they survived), therefore wildemess was not “the main subject of any story...they’re almost covering the effects of wildemess and not wildemess itself’ (unit 9). Owl believed that the Tarzan movies did have “to do a lot with my opinion of what it (wildemess) was really like and what it looked like” (unit 8d) even though she did not know whether the image projected of wildemess was real or false. Owl did suggest that different types of wildemess existed, but automatically “when the word wildemess comes up, I think ‘jungle.’ I don’t know what it is, because when I was reading this, I thought, ‘What exactly is wildemess? Is it a field or is it a jungle?’ And the only thing that pops in my head is a jungle” (unit 8e). Owl stated that in the movies “they make (wildemess) look very beautiful but it always makes the people coming in look like the bad guys, even if they aren’t. They always perform some kind of damage” (unit 9), even if they do not abuse the area. Overall, she thought that it was neglected in the media and any time Owl witnessed wildemess it was portrayed in a negative way. She experienced the Tarzan movies in her teenage years, which promoted Owl’s interest in nature programs such as National Geographic documentaries. In addition, after watching the Tarzan movies Owl and her friends “would reenact some of what went on in the movies in our play, maybe around the house, kidding around, yelling like Tarzan but that was when I was younger” (unit 8f). (This was similar to Trout’s childhood experience with westems.) Both Eagle and Osprey did not make any connection between their selected media experiences and life. However, Eagle thought that generally in movies, such as The Adventures of Yellow Dog, wildemess was utilized only as a backdrop setting or if it was an integral part of the movie, then it was portrayed as an obstacle. “It seems like it’s often a challenge to the characters involved...like that’s the boy and his dog that are trying to make it through the wildemess back to home...I guess that only covers...fiction type things” (unit 9). Or it may be projected as a “very idyllic, romantic kind of setting” (unit 9). He believed that the former portrayal was more 229 accurate and realistic because being stranded in wildemess could be challenging and a hardship to survive,even if one possessed the necessary skills. Osprey believed that in the news wildemess was generally portrayed in a positive manner, although some stories it may be projected indifferently. She also thought that in non-nature magazines wildemess portrayal was positive. Osprey mentioned that in the movies she discussed wildemess was the setting and again it seemed to be portrayed in an indifferent manner.
Purposelv Seek Out Wildemess Media Events. Generally, the Undergraduate Non-Visitors did not purposely seek out media events based on wildemess, although if they were ‘cmising the TV channels’ and discovered a program which interested them, they would watch that. Often, time was a constraint on the viewing pattems of the group. Hawk stated that if she knew of a special program airing at a particular time, she would definitely watch it. But “most of the time it’s just when I’m sitting there flipping through the chaimels there’s nothing on and that’s what I’ll end up watching’’ (unit 7g). Raven noted that he makes a special effort to watch a program if animals or an area of interest (i.e. North Carolina) were involved. However, “if they’re talking about preserving a forest in Canada or...something that’s just dealing with an area of the world...I usually don’t. I won’t look for it, or if I come across it. I’ll skip it. For the most part, I don’t look for anything’’ (unit 7g). It was difficult for him to articulate his feelings on why animals were so important to him; in his younger years dinosaurs were his interest, then he progressed to living species. Raven commented that “my main interest has been animals, just because it’s more interesting. It’s not because they’re cuddly or anything...It’s more a basic interest. It’s almost undefinable” (unit 7g). Eagle did look at photographs and watched movies about wildemess, but did not purposely search for them. However, he did hike and while “I don’t feel it’s wildemess...it’s kind of my way of getting closer to it...kind of detaching myself” (unit 7g). If Owl was flipping through the channels and saw an animal program she would watch it. If she noticed an article in the newspaper concerning wildemess, she would read it, although this would depend on the type of wildemess covered in the story. “It’s strange...if it was something about a prairie or a mountain I wouldn’t think twice (about 230 not reading it). But if it was something about a jungle. I find that another word that comes to my mind is ‘mysterious.’ Because you really don’t...know what it’s all about...! would definitely read it” (unit 7g). Her interest motivated her in this way and while reading the article she would imagine herself in that setting. The final participant. Osprey, did not have a major interest in wildemess so would not seek out media events devoted to this topic. Besides which, as a smdent she did not have time to watch TV and when she did ‘channel surf “I don’t come across (wilderness) that much and probably wouldn’t watch it anyway. And movies are out when you’re living at school” (unit 7g).
Wildemess as a Changing Definition For Hawk, her meaning of wildemess had not altered dramatically over time. “It’s always been the same...! think I’ve I thought the same since I was very young...! think it may have changed slightly, because I’m more aware of different areas of wildemess now. Instead of just one area. I’ve become more educated on several different areas. So I may not visualize it exactly the same, the same thing. There’s more than one option. It would sort of be the rain forest or the desert or just the surroundings, just a natural area” (unit 1). Raven’s overall definition had not changed over time although he thought that he would feel more comfortable in the setting now than when he was younger because he understood the setting more. “I understand it a little bit better...! wouldn’t be afraid to be left alone in the wildemess. I think I’ve got enough intelligence to get myself out of that situation, where before, maybe I would have been afraid...my attitudes or ideas really haven’t changed that much, just my idea that maybe I can...control my destiny a little...better if...out in a situation like that” (unit 1). Eagle did believe that his definition of wildemess had altered over time, just as he had. He seemed to waiver between categorizing his experiences as either wildemess or natural, although during the interview he finally decided that they should fall into the latter group. “I’ve become more aware of the idea of wildemess, beyond just...recycling my beer cans or whatever...over a broader period of time...(seeing wildemess) as something other than for going camping...! see it as a more spiritual kind of experience now” (unit 1). In fact, in the future. Eagle would prefer to live in an area that is not wildemess (he could not live in legally designated wildemess anyway) but an 231 area that bordered some wildemess areas, or possessed those characteristics. Here, he would “have to rely more on myself and...whoever else is with me...I think that’s a challenge in many ways and maybe one that I fail to meet but...I would want to try it” (unit 1). Owl did think that her definition had altered slightly over time learning that “there was more to wildemess than just a jungle in Africa...That there’s other forms of wildemess and different places and beautiful places that maybe were even nicer and better. But...that’s what I like about it. It’s just mysterious and there’s just so much to it that you don’t know” (unit 1). Still, the first image that “pops in my mind when I think wildemess right away it’s jungles” (unit 8e). Osprey’s idea of wildemess was altered over time. Originally, she did not know much about this type of setting, but watching the infomercials on deforestation made her cognizant of threats to the areas: “we’re tearing it down and whatever else...it makes you realize it and you want to help out but yet it’s not really a big issue in your mind. I didn’t really think about it before” (unit 1). Before this point, her perception of the wildemess “would have been just like the movies and everything like that. But now, I think...it’s not like in the movies, obviously” (unit 1). Witnessing such events as deforestation in the PSAs “makes you want to help...not help but be aware of it now and I’m thinking like wow, maybe I shouldn’t be doing this and maybe I should be doing this...or...that... I recycle now and I never did before. Things like that” (unit 1). Again, recycling was a demonstration of the value placed on wildemess.
Wildemess as a Spiritual/Religious and Valued Experience Three of the Undergraduate Non-Visitors believed that their image of wildemess did not impact their spiritual beliefs or vice versa. Hawk thought that visiting a wildemess would not be a spiritual event but would instead be relaxing and peaceful and “would just deal with...my feelings and not exactly my beliefs...it would...be just something to do out of happiness, not out of what I thought was right or what I should be doing. It would just be...for enjoyment” (unit 12). Owl, who had some experiences in natural settings, also connected wildemess to a relaxing, peaceful feeling rather than any spiritual belief. “It would make me appreciate more, just seeing nature the way it all was, the way everything was natural...because I was...raised in a pretty busy populated area all my life, and for some 232 reason, even though I was raised like that, I would always find that I am more at peace when I just go camping, canoeing...It makes me feel peaceful...All of the tension, everything, is just gone, as soon as you leave that car” (unit 12). Osprey did not “think that my religious...or spiritual beliefs influenced my view of wilderness” (unit 12) and also mentioned that she did not consider herself very religious. Raven and Eagle, however, did relate personal image of wildemess and spiritual beliefs. Raven began by characterizing himself as a nonreligious person but stated “it would probably be more that my ideas of wildemess have influenced the religious beliefs more than the other way around...(wildemess is)...kind of untouched and on a lot of levels, you say that you’re sharing your God with everyone else, but...on a lot of other levels, it’s very personal and it’s very one-on-one, so there’s not a lot of people around. It’s just you and he or she or it” (unit 12). He made the important point that the ritual of church was based on the premise of going to worship in a building with people who had similar ideas of worship and funding this activity. But, when religious guidance was required, “you’re almost never in church. You’re almost always by yourself...dealing with your own problems...that’s why I say that it...is one-on-one or...you’re by yourself and everything that happens pretty much happens inside of you. It’s not...meshed in with everybody else around you” (unit 12). Eagle believed that his image of wildemess affected his spiritual beliefs and vice versa. “I grew up in a rural area...I’ve always enjoyed visiting natural type settings...) think...that...my religious beliefs...didn’t become concrete or I didn’t quite come to a full grasp of what I was thinking about until recently. So I think that probably wildemess affected my spiritual beliefs more than the other way around, but I think that it happened both ways” (unit 12). As a result of his natural experiences he became aware of a spiritual connection to the land and to the person. His body and wildemess were similar in that each was composed of smaller systems and therefore connected through this similarity. “The way our own bodies are a microcosm, you value them. It’s a collection, it’s a system, that is a collection of smaller systems and each of those is a collection of smaller systems...in a wildemess setting, you can see that first hand and experience it and know it that way” (unit 1). Just as in many indigenous religions, the interconnectedness of all life was a highly charged spiritual force. 233
Four of the Undergraduate Non-Visitors thought that wildemess was valuable to them and society in general. Hawk mentioned that it should be preserved because of medical benefits to humans and “the world was like that before it became as populated as it is now” (unit 14). If these areas were destroyed future cures for diseases would never be discovered. Hawk also believed these settings were required for the survival of certain organisms and thus had intrinsic value. Raven also thought the value of wildemess lay in the cure “for whatever the politically correct disease that day is...(and that it) could lie somewhere in there” (unit 14). But more importantly, he stated that
“I just feel like that’s important in itself, just the idea that wildemess will always be there as an opportunity...! feel like if that’s gone, then all your opportunities are gone. There’s nothing more to learn from...you can talk about technological advances...and how important it is that we have computers and everything else, but when it comes right down to it, wildemess and untouched land is probably going to be one of the most important things that we have in forty years when we’ve all got our modems in our ears...we’11 still have to go back to wilderness, for something. So it really is important that it’s there” (unit 14).
He developed this idea from reading and mminating on the points from magazines such as ‘National Geographic’ and similar publications. Raven believed that wildemess had an intrinsic value because “it’s been around before all of us...that’s its value...it’ll always serve as...a historical tool, whether it’s through a cure of a disease...or...through being able to see all the different kinds of animals that have lived on earth and that kind of thing...we still have to protect it but just because we’re protecting it doesn’t mean it’s weak...it’s a very strong element on earth” (unit 15). However, he retumed in this statement to the point that its potential was as a resource, “it’s just as much a resource as anything else. It can be used for other things...its value is...almost the same as the value of a blank piece of paper. It’s all in what you make of it. You can make an airplane or a picture” (unit 15), which seems to imply Raven thought the extrinsic value of this ‘resource’ to be greater than the intrinsic value. Eagle thought that wildemess did not merely exist as a resource for humans to utilize, but “1 think it exists just to exist” (unit 15). While he mentioned the potential resources of wildemess as a strong value, he concentrated on the symbolism of 234 wildemess as an environment which was opposite to the city. He saw a dichotomy existing between wildemess and the city “which is kind of...a manmade wildemess type environment...! think as a symbol it serves to give the mind something to think about in what else...exists...besides the city” (unit 14). He saw both environments as compatible in that “there are a lot of hardships and obstacles and things in either setting...! think it’s a matter of how we adapt to one or the other. ! see it as very similar...one of them is very much more chaotic and it’s kind of unpredictable, but then again, living in the city can be also, even though you can predict some things, you know, smog and traffic!” (unit 14). Owl valued wildemess because she appreciated its form, how the scenery was created without any human management: “It just naturally occurs...that’s very amazing...the way things form, it has such beauty...and just such original form and shape” (unit 14). This was also connected to the intrinsic value of wildemess, which was a part of its mystery of creation—“it’s so beautiful...we really don’t know where it all came from” (unit 15). Osprey was the only participant who could not see any direct value of wildemess to her, although she did think that other people could value it. She thought that the concem expressed by these people would be a function of their employment and the individual’s wildemess perception. !n addition, she also mentioned that the setting had an intrinsic value because “it’s beautiful and peaceful” (unit 15) and its intemal processes produced oxygen and helped animals survive.
The Situation and Its Relationship to Life Hawk and Owl believed that wildemess trips would be relaxing more than spirimal. Osprey thought that while a relationship between her image of wildemess and spiritual beliefs might eventually evolve, at the present time, it did not relate to her life in any way. Raven believed that there was a balance in life that if good things happened to a person, a series of bad things would follow. Such incidents would happen just to the individual, and not to people surrounding that person. These events were not controlled by a vengeful God, even if one existed. While Raven had never considered his “spiritual beliefs tying into wildemess, or how my ideas of both would relate to each other...it really does tie in with the idea that it (wildemess)...is untouched and...none of 235 us really have a handle on what God is” (unit 12). Personal contact with God on that ‘one-to-one’ basis available in wildemess areas was an individual experience. The connection for Eagle between his life and his spiritual beliefs was that he tried “to pursue a more balanced way of living, of thinking about the consequences of actions and...the inner relationship of...things in everyday life” (unit 12). He outlined the point that in order for humans to create destruction occurs, all creatures follow this system, so all organisms impact the environment. However, Eagle was attempting to reduce his impact through his personal lifestyle. He had been a member of the Student Environmental Action Council (SEAC), but departed from the group because “I started to feel...it’s not my business to push something down someone else’s throat, and...a lot of the time that’s not the way that it happens. You’re not going to change somebody’s mind a lot of the time, unless they were already considering it...Instead of telling somebody what to do, just try to do it yourself’ (unit 12). His ideas on how to impact other people were interesting and informative: “Awareness, education...visiting natural settings...letting them...experience some of the things I experienced...also, including some of the quote-unquote bad things...the clear cutting...to see firsthand how we affect our environment” (unit 12). The value which Undergraduate Non-Visitors placed on wildemess was indicative of their concem for that environment. Table 17 summarizes the ways in which such values were demonstrated, however some other points are highlighted here. Hawk commented that she would demonstrate intrinsic value through possible future research in these areas. She would have to adapt to that environment, just as Jane Goodall did. “And after I left. I’d want to leave no trace that I was ever there in the first place” (unit 12). Research required to determine the necessary survival conditions for wildlife in these areas would be used to educate other people on the reasons for establishing wildemess areas. One reason was “those creatures should be left alone, should be on their own out there without interference from others” (unit 15). While Hawk did realize that her research could be considered interference it would “contribute to them leading a better life and, although we may be interfering...! think that would be interfering constructively instead of destructively, by helping them” (unit 15a). Raven believed that the value he placed on wildemess would be important in the future. If he were “making the choice as far as the development of land or whether or not we’d take advantage of some opportunity that lay out in the wildemess...! would 236 always remember the stuff that I read and...that I’d seen on TV about how important it is, and so my beliefs really wouldn’t change...so I think down the line it’s going to affect me more than now” (unit 14). However, right at this moment, he did not see that he was in a position to affect any change “or influence anything...(however)...I just don’t believe in...buming bridges” (unit 14). Raven who was interested in the career of advertising could not see any connection between wildemess and this aspect of his life (as opposed to Birch’s later discussion of this branch of advertising. She saw a major connection between wildemess settings and advertising and that use of these environments would promote education about their preservation. (On the other hand, doubts were cast on this viewpoint by this author.) Raven stated that he demonstrated the intrinsic value of wildemess through personal action. Yet, while he believed in personal action, it seemed that all were not equal.
“It mns along the same lines as recycling aluminum cans. There are those people that do it and then there are people like me that don’t, and the reason I don’t is because I don’t feel that on an individual level, that I’d be making...much of a difference. And therein kind of lies the problem because if there’s hundreds of people out there thinking the same thing, then we all could be making a difference if we just individually all put our aluminum cans in one separate bag or whatever. But I kind of feel that way” (unit 15a).
In relation to his wildemess-city dichotomy. Eagle thought about both the advantages and disadvantages of city living. Advantages included easy access to places and the energy inherent in the setting. However, this intensity was also a problem becoming too hectic at times. To relieve this pressure. Eagle would “garden within the city...gardening is...like bringing the wildemess to us” (unit 14). He demonstrated the value placed on wildemess as a member of SEAC and recycling. Eagle had a difficult time relating the intrinsic value of wildemess to his life, other than believing that this environment did possess such a value. He also thought that demonstrating the intrinsic value was not possible because “the only value I could really demonstrate would be the value to myself or to another person or maybe another animal” (unit 15a). Owl connected nature and wildemess so closely that she believed that “I’m getting something from it every day. And everything...Everything is made from something that’s just original, just something that’s natural. So...every day I’m affected 237 by it” (unit 14). Yet, there was a mysterious aspect to wildemess which Owl saw as part of its intrinsic worth, basically because “it’s never been mingled with. It just does that on its own” (unit 15). Humans had not created it, wildemess had created us. She maintained plants in her home as a demonstration of her value of wildemess (and perhaps as maintaining a connection with nature). Even though Owl was affected by wildemess everyday, she never became involved in any environmental organizations. “I’ve thought about it, actually. I never actually got involved, though...I know if I did. I’d just be really into it and I don’t know if I want to get all worked up about it when there’s so many people already worked up about it and there’s not much being done” (unit 14a). However, personal action was still a large part of her life and a commitment to the intrinsic value of wildemess. Unlike Raven, she saw personal action as making a large difference, “recycling, using less vehicles” (unit 15a) and connected this reduction of resources and pollution with the cycling systems within the environment. In addition, it also just made her feel good. Osprey mentioned that her ideas of the value of wildemess could change. “Someone has to be caring about it, otherwise you wouldn’t see it on the TV or movies...I don’t think it does connect...to me right now” (unit 14). However, as she thought about this question, she stated that “I guess I do see it as valuable...it depends on the way you’re talking about it. Well, it is valuable...l just don’t think about it that way...like about the rain forest. It has the trees that give us oxygen and then you can breathe...I don’t really see it as valuable. It is, but it isn’t, both...it depends on how you look at it” (unit 14). What seemed to be confusing for Osprey was that she could not visualize a direct value or connection between wildemess and her life, even though she considered it as possessing intrinsic worth, as well as somewhat extrinsically valuable. In addition, she thought that the value was dependent on the type of wildemess. “I look at it (wildemess) as it doesn’t have value to me, but I see it as being valuable because it gives oxygen... I can’t think of anything that is in the desert that I need...I’m sure there is, but I don’t know about it” (unit 14). Because Owl did not intersect with wildemess physically on a daily basis, she could not make that connection. Yet, she did demonstrate the intrinsic value of wildemess by recycling because “it eliminates waste and therefore landfills” (unit 15a). Table 17 Methods Used bv Undergraduate Non-Visitors (Birds) to Demonstrate the Different Values Placed on Wilderness
Birds Personal Value Intrinsic Value
Hawk Financial contributions to environmental Doing research in the future in an organizations (National Wildlife Federation): environmentally conscious way wildlife rehabilitation volunteer; sharing beliefs in conversations
Owl Caring for house plants, empathizing with plants Recycle; personal effort to change lifestyle
Osprey Does not place a personal value on wilderness Recycle
Raven Sharing beliefs with other people in conversations Taking some action on a personal level
Eagle Recycle; ex-member of Student Environmental Can not demonstrate intrinsic value only Action Coalition (SEAC) personal/extrinsic value
wK) 00 239
Wilderness in Society Four of the Undergraduate Non-Visitors believed that society, overall, had become more protective of wilderness in general and that society’s view of wilderness had changed positively. Raven was the only participant who thought that society had become more exploitative of wilderness. Hawk did not visualize any connection between spiritual beliefs and society’s view of wilderness: “I don’t think it would deal with their beliefs or what they feel...what they would feel was right or wrong or what they should do. I think it’s more just enjoyment and what would make them happy” (unit 12b). However, she did relate the increased exposure of wilderness on TV to the fact that in her opinion, “society in general has become more aware” (unit 17). Hawk also related this to TV programs showing scientists conducting research in these locations. In addition, “now there’s a special channel just to see the environment” (unit 17). However, she thought that some sectors of society still visualized wilderness as dangerous, but most people had come to realize that “that’s how the world was...before machines and electricity and everything” (unit 17). The information and coverage through the medium of television had, in Hawk’s eyes, improved society’s view of wilderness. She believed that “more people are becoming involved...in...different organizations. National Wildlife Federation through contributions or Greenpeace...most of the change would just be through contributions...because...they can’t get out there and do it on their own...but...most of it would be giving money to help others do that part for them” (unit 17). Eagle believed that Judeo-Christian beliefs had impacted society’s view of wilderness: “as a culture we, as Judeo-Christians, tend to see it as a mass of resources to use...humans were put on earth to dominate the beasts and the plants and all that” (unit 12c). He related this belief to the Bible, but more interestingly to language and the words that were used to refer to nature: “some of the language we use, also...the natural resources...yes, they are but also it’s kind of a limited way of looking at things” (unit 12c). Eagle wondered if modifying the way people referred to nature could alter opinions but “changing the language doesn’t necessarily change the opinion” (unit 12c). While overall. Eagle thought that the image of wilderness was more positive in society, he also believed that people were becoming more aware of wilderness issues and that “we can’t really mess it up too badly, otherwise we’re not going to be able to 240 live here” (unit 12c). He thought this awareness was apparent through actions such as recycling, however while this concern was increasing, “a certain backlash is growing, too” (unit 17). Eagle believed this backlash was a result of certain environmental messages and images projected by organizations, such as Earth First! which itself had a very negative public image. He related a story about an organization (possibly named Land Use Management) which basically wanted its members to be able to “ride their ATV’s and four wheel drive vehicles in areas, which is...OK as long as...they’re not going to destroy the area they’re riding in...but it seems like there was a big...clash between them and Earth First!” (unit 17). Eagle thought that both organizations wanted the same outcome in one way, but the results were the opposite of each other. “One side wanted to use it no matter what happened to the land...they didn’t want to destroy the land because they wanted to be able to ride on it. But...they saw it as theirs...something they should use. Whereas, it seemed like Earth First! wanted it...to be closed off...to remain as pristine as possible” (unit 17). The opinion of the former organization would connect with Eagle’s thoughts on the Judeo-Christian view that humans should dominate and utilize the land as a resource. However, this would also be connected, in both cases, to language and how the groups would refer to that environment. Owl thought that a connection between society’s view of wilderness and spiritual beliefs did not exist because of her personal religious beliefs and the “way society is destroying wilderness and all the animals in there” (unit 12b). However, she did believe that “just recently in time everyone...started caring about what they’ve been doing to it and...I don’t remember everyone recycling like this...five years ago” (unit 17). In addition. Owl believed “if society actually got a taste of (wilderness) maybe they would think twice about what they were doing” (unit 12b). Contact with wilderness could increase awareness and concern about saving it. Osprey believed that in relation to the dominant society in the U.S., spiritual beliefs did not affect the view of wilderness. She did not “know of a religion that cares for wilderness...! think everybody’s focused on everything else but...the wilderness. They’re focused on their jobs and their careers and their children and their families...People don’t see a connection between their jobs and their families and the wilderness” (unit 12b), unless the job was somehow related to the environment. But, Osprey did think that perhaps indigenous peoples did have some religious connection 241 with wilderness: “the Indians-.They believe...! don’t know what they believe but I mean they sacrifice things...there’s different religions that do different things. There’s probably some people that think...a tree is sacred’’ (unit 12b). However, she wimessed a change in society’s view of wilderness because “you see it on the TV all the time now. I don’t remember ever...seeing it, and now it’s a big issue” (unit 17). An organization which visited her high school highlighted this change for her. “Green Sunday. We had that at our high school...There was an organization where they went around...‘recycle this, recycle that,’ and talked about the rain forest...the ozone layer...things of that nature” (unit 17). Raven was the only participant who did not believe that society’s view of wilderness had changed or become positive. This was clearly related to his belief concerning the relationship between religions and wilderness. Raven believed that “in a way, if you look at the crusades of a lot of different religious organizations, they’ve all pretty much decided that they’re good and everything that’s wild...is the devil. I think the religious beliefs have affected wilderness a lot more...if you look at...the Native Americans, that were in this country, people decided for them that they were ungodly...a wild people and...they needed to be changed to Christianity” (unit 12c). He thought that the lifestyle they exhibited was a perfect example of people living in harmony with wilderness. “Every decision that they make and everything that happens to them is related somehow to nature and to wilderness, and people came in and decided for them that, to make them better, they would have to change them over to Christianity and they were going to have to give up a lot of things” (unit 12c). Raven mentioned that the dominant world culture, or aggressor, would believe that “we’re right and you’re wrong...and they’re usually acting on some word of God kind of idea, that they got it directly from God and God told them this or that” (unit 12c). It was not difficult to see then that Raven would connect this with a negative image of wilderness held by society. He thought that society had become less caring for wilderness, that “we’ve got more of a capitalistic view of wildemess...there’s more to be gained...by destroying it all and doing what you can to get what you can than there is to save it and think about it” (unit 17). Because people can dominate wilderness, then it can be used for human purposes. The fact that people have to be regulated in disposing of litter and garbage was enough of an indication for Raven that people were less protective of wilderness. Even all the wilderness/environmental organizations had not 242
improved the situation. The philosophy toward this environment was primarily based on the disgust which society had for an aspect of life that was unorganized—"Society's almost disgusted with wilderness. They want everything to be order and roads and buildings and organized...and wilderness is the one thing that’s not” (unit 17). It seemed for Raven that the ‘conquer wilderness’ philosophy was still alive whether in the guise of religion or industrialization. He summarized it accurately with the statement “we’ve all come a long way from ‘Walden’” (unit 17) referring to Thoreau’s book. Of course, Walden was not exactly wilderness either, but Raven was speaking symbolically. Other factors also influenced the meaning of wilderness for society although the Undergraduate Non-Visitors still considered beliefs to be the major influence. Hawk and Osprey both mentioned the media and exposure to wilderness in this way as an impacting force, even in relation to beliefs. Hawk thought that the educational potential offered through these programs was important. She also believed that exposure to wilderness in some type of media “has influenced society’s view because I don’t believe that that many people have actually visited what I’d consider to be wilderness, just whether they haven’t wanted to or haven’t had the opportunity to. Their only exposure would be through the media” (unit 13). Osprey could concur with the influence of media on people “the media is a big thing. I mean everybody watches TV...and goes to the movies, and they read the newspaper...magazines” (unit 13). In addition she thought that people talking about wilderness or activists could influence people. Interestingly, the impact of parents/friends was mentioned here as an influence: “I was just saying...my mother influences me. She could be an activist but...my best friends could influence me on their beliefs because of what they’re telling me...there will always be people influencing me” (unit 13). Osprey expressed ideas about the media which were intriguing and how people believe visual and audible messages through the media but particularly TV.
“Everyone sees it. I think a lot of people trust these people. They look up to them...I think we believe they know what is true and what is false, whether it is or not...I trust if the weather guy comes on TV...I have no idea, so he probably knows better than I do. They’re supposed to research it. I trust somebody more on TV than what I read in the newspaper about wilderness” (unit 13). 243
However, Osprey stated that she “would trust, a friend or family member more than I would believe anyone else” (unit 13). Raven, Eagle, and Owl commented on beliefs being other influential factors, although these were connected more to personal experiences than media. Raven mentioned beliefs concerning the land attained by people from their personal experiences. While he was not in contact with nature regularly, he believed that his personal beliefs would prevent him from consciously damaging wildlife and the environment. In relation to society, the significance of the land defined a person’s intent for it, financial or otherwise. “One plot of land can mean something to someone...a really simple example...an Indian burial ground will mean something to the Indians while that same plot of land will mean something to somebody else because they know that there’s oil to be drilled underneath it...money and your own ties to the land” (unit 13). In one way Raven referred to Darter’s close connection with the land. Darter’s family had lived there for generations, his grandparents had taught him hunting and fishing skills. However, Raven also discussed the romantic idea of wilderness: “people have kind of a romantic idea about the wilderness being...just this wonderful place where man can be man and animal can be animal” (unit 13). Eagle continued with the romantic idea of wilderness and how proximity to a setting may define the ideas of a person for that place. “I’ve lived in a couple of different settings and...how close you are physically...geographically to a wilderness or to a natural area...would change your view of it...living in the city we have...that romantic view of the wilderness as...this awe inspiring place...I think people that tend to work on farms, and loggers, see it as more of a resource potential, although there are exceptions...I’m not saying they’re not aware of it as more than that but...it seems...how close you are to it seems to define it” (unit 13). Eagle had lived in a rural area, although his parents did not earn an income from agriculture. In addition, he mentioned that he went camping with his siblings, father, friends or the Boy Scouts. However, these events were never equated to wilderness experiences, they were trips to natural areas. Owl mentioned the circle of life and the connectedness of elements in the environment. She also wanted a future role for wilderness for the animals and for us. Basically, she believed that “if it’s natural, it is there for a reason...if you’re going to tear down, especially in mass quantities, it’s going to affect the environment in some 244 way or another, whether you live on our side of the world or not...if a species is destroyed...if something is taking that away, that cycle is being broken” (unit 13). Owl thought that people had destroyed excessive amounts of wilderness already and as a result hunting was necessary to maintain animal populations. She seemed to point the finger at people, but did not realize that she fell into this category. Owl may have used this as a reference to business, but this was an example of shifting the blame to someone else. “People...I’m sure they don’t all do it for the bad but when you mess with something that’s natural...taking little pieces away...creating endangered species. They’re endangered now because...of the climate...but a lot of them are in danger because of humans or...something that was interfered with” (unit 13).
Wilderness as a Legal and Personal Definition None of the Undergraduate Non-Visitors knew that a legal definition of wilderness existed. Studying the legal definition at the end of the interview, all the Undergraduate Non-Visitors believed that it and their meaning of wilderness largely corresponded. Hawk believed the fact that humans could only visit these areas and that signs of previous human activity had to be unnoticed were the main points of the legal definition which conformed to her personal idea of wilderness. However, “I’d never thought of the specific size that it had to be. I always thought more of...when you look around in any direction, you can’t hear anything involving humans or see anything” (unit 19). Raven believed that the two definition corresponded, especially as “ecological, geological or other features of value” (unit 19) were mentioned in the legal definition. Eagle thought that both definitions corresponded to the idea of wilderness, but the premise of management and protection was problematic for him. “The idea of where it’s protected and managed...I understand why it is, just so people don’t move in there, but that seems to... subterfuge the idea of being a wildemess...who are we to protect or manage—especially manage— a wildemess...Once we begin to manage it, it becomes less and less wilderness” (unit 19). Owl stated that the legal definition conformed exactly to her idea of wilderness: “something that is not inhabited by man. That’s my idea of what wilderness is. Something that’s just not mingled with by altering it. You just leave it as it is and you just let it go in its cycle” (unit 19). 245
Osprey thought that wilderness was not a setting for humans, she agreed with this section of the definition. However, she was unsure of the size issue, whether wilderness areas had to be that size. “There’s like 5,000 acres or more...Fm not exactly sure on that, because that could differ” (unit 19). When the Undergraduate Non-Visitors read the activities which the diflferent administrative agencies allow in wilderness, they were all somewhat hesitant about the correspondence of the two definitions. Hawk thought that the trails throughout the wilderness would have to be very rudimentary so that the person can believe that she is out in wilderness. “It’s just more like a dirt path or an area that you can tell that the vegetation has been moved slightly...! think of wilderness as having less trails...more natural and not something made of wood or involving construction by people” (unit 19a). In addition, the disturbance caused by seeing or hearing people involved in hunting or fishing would impact the wilderness experience, “that would somewhat make me feel that I was less in the wilderness” (unit 19a). However, killing the wildlife made Hawk nervous. To her wilderness without wildlife would just be land.
“I think without the wildlife, it couldn’t be considered wilderness. There has to be something else living there. If there’s nothing living, then it’s just another place for humans to go, and once again, you’re the dominant creature with nothing else that actually lives there” (unit 19a).
Raven believed that as a result of these activities, his meaning of wilderness and the legal definition did not correspond. As the agencies allowed these activities, guidelines had to be established. In addition to the people entering the area to hunt, fish or perform research, humans had to monitor the situation to assure compliance with the guidelines, “so there would have to be people constantly going across it to manage the land” (unit 19a). While the legal definition mentioned that there would be no permanent evidence of human activity and that people could visit the area. Raven’s definition was based on non-access to humans. “It was almost off limits, so no one could go across it, not for sport fishing or whatever. Even for recreation...because that almost makes it a park...that almost makes it like Yellowstone or any of the other parks, so it seems like it would have to be almost fenced off...which makes it almost useless land but still, that’s obviously it. It’s not used (for the activities discussed)” (unit 19a). (This was similar to Oak’s and Aspen’s idea on wilderness accessibility.) Basically, Raven’s point was “that if they’re going to call it wilderness by either that definition or my definition, then 246 they couldn’t really have people on it or...on it enough that they would need regulations” (unit 19a) to manage the area. Eagle also took issue with some of the phraseology and terms used. He wondered “who’s to deem it (an activity) necessary?” (unit 19a). Political lobbyists could have certain activities deemed necessary in a wilderness area whereas “you and I couldn’t” (unit 19a). It was clear that hunting and fishing created problems for the Undergraduate Non-Visitors (just as with some people in the other groups). Owl, in addition to taking issue with hunting and fishing, had problems with the accessibility of such areas connected to the activities. She was not in favor of sport hunting or fishing although she did see it as a necessity to past survival. Still wilderness can be maintained “by just keeping it from people coming and doing damage to it, but hunting and fishing...maybe that’s something natural but these people come in and they hunt and fish and they leave behind their things” (unit 19a). Permitting these activities in wilderness required access therefore Owl considered that legal wilderness areas did not constitute a complete wild place. Osprey did not have a problem with appropriate research activities allowed in the wilderness. But again, as with the other participants, the Undergraduate Non-Visitors took offense at the hunting, fishing and grazing. In fact, she also thought that the area should not even be used for recreation. In other words, access should be denied totally except for research purposes.
Words Used to Describe Wilderness and Influences on Undergraduate Non-Visitors’ Definitions As with the other groups, the definitions of the wilderness, depended on the situation and the personal or vicarious experience with the setting. The Undergraduate Non-Visitors believed that wilderness was positive, although Eagle thought that it was both positive and negative. Hawk considered wilderness to be “somewhere where it’s not obvious that people are there or have been there, where it looks as it is naturally with no manmade structures or anything that looks like people are living there or have visited there” (unit 1). Other words and conditions used to categorize wilderness were natural, wild, untamed, beautiful, free, unchanged, just very natural, no fences, no boundaries (unit 1). Her final definition was more descriptive: “it would just be a wild, free area with no 247 evidence of human population or humans being there. Everything natural. You could hear the sounds...however you couldn’t hear the sounds of the voices of other humans. You could only hear the animals or the wind through the trees or the rain. Completely...untamed and just natural” (unit 1). Hawk believed wilderness to be positive “because...everything is done for a purpose there, basically. And it’s just survival” (unit 16). Humans had created a world where drugs were a problem and people only cared for themselves. Wilderness, on the other hand, was more peaceful and any animal conflicts were to improve species. She proposed that if humans “lived in more of a wilderness condition...if we surrounded ourselves with more wilderness, that we’d have less of these problems but then I think ‘No,’ because then...we would destroy that area, too, and it would end up just like cities now or it would end up being populated,” (unit 16) creating even smaller areas of wilderness. This idea is remarkably close to the history of civilization and wilderness. Raven suggested that wilderness “would have to be somewhere that was...untouched...just miles and miles from civilization...Far away” (unit 1). Other words and characteristics he used to describe wilderness were “unforgiving, almost all- powerful, exciting, dangerous, unpredictability, and out of man’s control” (unit 1). Raven believed that these words were common to all types of situations in different wilderness settings. At the end of the interview, his final definition of wilderness was far more detailed that his original one. Wilderness was a place
“that’s...a very basic, untouched place but at the same time, anything can happen. So it’s not like any time you go there, you’re going to have a terrific experience. There’s always that chance that something bad can happen...it’s still not going to change the fact that it was a very real experience and it was a very meaningful experience. You can go out there, get in touch with yourself, get in touch with nature in general, and it’s just a very uncontrolled place...there’s no way that they can replace it because it’s so original. It was here before any of us, and it’s so complex...I’m sure they’re still finding new plants that they’ve never seen before in some parts of the world. So I think that there’s that idea that it’s all very new, even though it’s been around forever” (unit 1).
He discussed an interesting point about the distinction between wilderness and national parks, believing that many people considered national parks to be wilderness. “I don’t think that that’s really wilderness because there’s probably roads through it and...it’s being monitored...! consider wilderness to be more of an untouched place...! 248 mean “wild” is in the word wilderness” (unit 1). Even though he admitted to getting his wilderness ‘fix’ by visiting Columbus Zoo which was a “little chunk of manmade wildemess...But I would plan to visit the wilderness if I could, and if I could not. I’d settle for a zoo or a park (where).-.you can get outdoors without smelling car exhaust and someone smoking next to you” (unit 5a). Raven believed that wilderness was positive, even though the experiences he related during the interview seemed to portray negativism about the setting. It was, as he said a matter of balance and maintaining an open mind. “Balancing out the bad times that I’ve had or that I’ve seen as far as wilderness being portrayed—the moose killing or being out in the ocean—there’s always been something...that far outweighs that. The experience of being on the beach or...the idea that if we decided that all moose should die, just by what this one did, then they would be gone and that would be it” (unit 16). Interestingly, as stated previously Raven was a journalism student and he was not impressed with the reporters and media in general. He would try to maintain an open mind, even though the images projected by the media could have created a negative impression for him toward wilderness. “I don’t let all the stuff that I see or...that happens to me influence my idea that wilderness still is a good place and...by what’s happened to me just in these two stories, you could assume that I have this negative attitude...but I still try and keep an open mind (unit 16). For Eagle wilderness was difficult to define, yet he believed a balance existed between the positive and negative aspects of this environment, however, to him, it was mostly positive. “That idea of balance...it’s positive in the sense that the whole world is not yet a city. There are wilderness and natural environments still existing” (unit 16). He made an interesting observation that “the planet being one complete wilderness could have its own problems in itself’ (unit 16). What reasons did Eagle have for suggesting this? In one way, it was similar to Coyote’s point about enjoying wilderness but requiring civilization to function and work in. “We have reached a certain level of technology and I think it would be...foolish for people to think that we could ignore it...I see being able to communicate and...medicine and things like that, as being beneficial, not only to ourselves but to just life in general. I live in a city environment, so I use roads and sidewalks..civilization and technology is not intrinsically a bad thing” (unit 16). He saw both sides of the balance, wilderness was relaxing, yet civilization was a necessity. 249
However, he thought of wilderness “as an area that is remote from civilization and as untouched as possible by humans. And also, just kind of the idea of the word itself as pertaining to being wild...It’s untamed-.disappearing” (unit 1). (This was similar to Raven’s point about ‘wild’ in the word wilderness.) His final definition of wilderness was succinct: “I don’t really visualize any specific characteristics, like forests or mountains, but I think all that kind of fits my definition. Just an area that is very chaotic, very unstructured” (unit 1). However, Eagle’s points on clear cutting of forests, access, ‘true’ versus romantic image of wilderness were far more interesting. His experience with the clear cuts crystallized his wilderness definition. “It wasn’t a wilderness. That’s what made me come to my definition of wilderness, seeing the destruction of the clear cutting. Once again, you have that problem, if it’s wilderness, can we have access to it?...And then, having access, does that destroy the wilderness?” (unit 1). The problem of access (which other participants also mentioned) raised another issue: “does it (wilderness) end up being a pastoral, kind of romantic wilderness setting, vs. a true wilderness?...! think with proper education, it can remain a true wildemess...if people are respecting the area...but I’m...skeptical at the moment” (unit 1). Eagle mentioned the romantic image of wilderness previously in relation to the portrayal of this setting by the media. But what did he define as a ‘true’ wilderness? “I have images in my mind of places like perhaps in Canada or Alaska or even in the Rockies area that are just...difficult to be explored” (unit 1). This difficulty to explore reconnected with the accessibility issue: “That’s...what I mean by easy access, and therefore...if there aren’t things that people see as resources to exploit, then it’s going to remain more of a wildemess...they don’t want to live there. I can’t think of any specific geographic regions, other than maybe parts of Antarctica” (unit 1). Words and conditions used to describe these unexplored wilderness included: “kind of a feeling of balance...or a chaotic, never changing, dynamic balance...a system where everything is inter-related...As far as size goes, it would probably have to be a little bit large, just to necessitate it being a...remote...wilderness, (although) characteristics can vary” (unit 1). Eagle also made an interesting observation about humans’ role in this system: “although we’re part of the system, we don’t fit in so well sometimes, as a race, as a species” (unit 1). This was heading toward the dualism between humans and the rest of nature. Another aspect was the balance between positive and negative characteristics which was based on relaxation and challenge: “I 250 find it to be very relaxing...as well as challenging. And I...like both aspects, even though they’re simultaneous... it’s relaxing to be challenged in that way. The negative aspects...well, say when I was out hiking by myself, if I had broken my leg or something. I’m kind of S.O.L. for a couple of days...So I think that’s kind of in the challenge” (unit 16). (Remember that Eagle did not consider any of his trips to be full wilderness exposure, he had only natural experiences and seemed to project from these into wilderness experiences.) Owl described wilderness as “fields of...dry grass, wooded areas, wild animals, warm... tropical weather” (unit 1). As most of her experiences concerning wilderness were related to jungle the words and conditions she used to characterize the setting included: “warm, green...peaceful, natural, tropical, humid, tropical birds” (unit 1). She related an experience about a trip to the Caribbean, where the area was humid, warm, and green. Saying the term wilderness would trigger in Owl a Caribbean smell sensation: “I would just keep picturing the smell...and every time you ask me that, it’s bringing back that smell to me...the smell of spring, the smell of trees, flowers. Basically, that’s my idea of what it was about. Birds singing. That’s what I picture” (unit I). The area in the Caribbean was just as Owl had imagined with the same smells and sounds—“It was just more natural. It looked, in fact, and smelled the way I always imagined it to be” (unit 1). Her final definition of wilderness was somewhat more detailed that the original one: “it’s...everything that is...naturally aged just by the way it was originally formed—whether it be trees, flowers, animals, birds—without any form of interference by humans...the idea of living freely without worrying about people inhabiting that area. That, to me, is wilderness. Just nature” (unit 1). Wilderness was also very positive for her, because of its beauty and existence. For the meaning of wilderness. Osprey initially thought of the “jungle where there’s no one else, and there’s lots of animals, or it could be the desert. Just where there’s no other humans around or no people have been there” (unit 1). The swamps of Queensland, Australia, used in the movie Crocodile Dundee were an amazing sight as a wilderness. “It was just this huge...swamp...lots of little noises that you hear. You never really saw any thing...you saw a monkey...there’s lots of birds, that you just heard” (unit 1). Other words used to describe wilderness were “peaceful, real bird sounds, no one else around” (unit 1). Her final definition was not that different from her original, except Osprey did not specify a particular environment. “It’s big, it’s 251 open, it’s pretty...there’s lots of animals running around and there’s no humans or no population of people...it’s just all natural” (unit 1). Although some negative characteristics were attributed to wilderness (dangerous, scary) Osprey believed the setting and experience to be mainly positive.
Proposed Wilderness Experiences. Some of the Undergraduate Non-Visitors had natural experiences although none of them believed that they ever had visited wilderness, according to their respective definitions. Table 18 summarizes the wilderness the Undergraduate Non-Visitors would like to visit, plus other areas which were considered wilderness. Hawk never had the opportunity to visit this setting because she had lived all her life in central Ohio and in that area wilderness did not exist. Her parents were not interested in visiting such areas either, “they would pick a place where there would be people and there would be things to do, not just to look around and enjoy your surroundings. They’d look for more...excitement” (unit 5). Hawk savored the idea of visiting wilderness and mentioned the rain forest in Brazil as the setting she would enjoy the most. Hawk hoped that through research with the university she might have the opportunity to experience this setting, however after graduation once she had earned some funds, she would definitely take a wilderness trip. From the experience. Hawk suggested that “hopefully, I would get a better understanding of what it actually is like there, because I’ve only seen it in pictures and on TV and I’ve read articles. I’ve never been able to experience it on my own and to see what I really think of it when I’m actually there” (unit 5a). Raven’s thoughts on reasons for not visiting wilderness varied from time and funds to the point that he did not think that much wilderness existed in the U.S. The two places he had visited were not consider as wilderness as the setting did not possess the necessary characteristics. “One was on a national seashore in North Carolina...they limit the amount of development so...it’s not wilderness but at least it’s not Myrtle Beach where...there’s just stuff everywhere. The other was West Virginia, and even then...it was on the outside of a town and there was probably a house, one every mile, but it still wasn’t...wildemess” (unit 5). He was extremely disappointed when he visited the mountains of Tennessee because “there’s still rest stops and highways and tourist attractions and Bollywood and everything else...the only reason I haven’t visited 252 it is because there really isn’t (any)...you almost have to go to another country to find wilderness, just because this country is so built up and populated” (unit 5). He remarked that a wilderness experience for him would constitute a trip to some location in South America. Given the opportunity to travel. Raven would select day trips more than an extended camping trip in an area. However, his aversion to camping would not prevent him firom taking an extended trip. The Arctic, outback of Australia, Galapagos Islands, areas of Africa and South America were areas which interested Raven, any area that was “very anti-Ohio. I mean, Ohio’s-.animals are all gray and brown, and I’d like to go somewhere where the animals are very different...really colorful...somewhere where everything’s not so bland” (unit 5a). If Raven was restricted to the U.S. where he believed that, technically, wilderness did not exist, he would travel “up north...in the forests, in what you would consider bear, wolf and bison country” (unit 5a). He also considered the wild ocean as a possibility for a wilderness trip, even though it would be difficult to pinpoint the exact location. “It would have to be far enough from land that it was in international waters. All of that, pretty much, is wilderness” (unit 5a). Raven would be motivated to visit the wilderness because it would be a “cleansing experience” (unit 11), just as Salmon had stated earlier. In fact, according to Raven, “the biggest motivation would just be to get away from everybody else...to be by yourself for a while” (unit 11). This trip would not have to be a solo experience to have a positive impact on the person. A small group of people would still suffice because there would be enough space in the wilderness for people to spread out. Being away from a lot of people would be a good remedy for a person: “if you think about all the times during the day when you’ve got people in your personal space...(also) you’d be away from all the smoke...and the smog...it would be a good cleansing experience, pretty much on all levels...just to get all the bad thoughts out of your brain and all the toxins out of you” (unit 11). Interestingly, Eagle who had visited natural settings, thought that a natural area was easily accessible and that “having it easy to visit renders it not a wilderness” (unit 5). He had visited desert areas in Arizona, Colorado and forested regions in Kentucky, although the latter was “even less wildemess...even though there are a lot of trees and things about, you’re never really that far from a city” (unit 5). Eagle had difficulty deciding on the areas to visit to experience wilderness, but thought that some remote 253 mountain region would be good. “I like those because, depending on what...altitude... you are in climbing the mountain...you change environment drastically. I think that’s really interesting” (unit 5a). However, he did not consider this Arizona trip which seemed like a wilderness experience as one, why? “Because not very far from where we were, there was a road...we could see the road sometimes, not all the time” (unit 5a). (This was similar to Grizzly’s point about knowing of the existence of development outside the wilderness area and the impact that knowledge has on the experience.) In addition, “there were some trails...the same as when I went to Zaleski (State Park)...I understand that’s to keep you from hurting yourself as well as from hurting the animals and plants, but it just seemed kind of non-wildemess. It wasn’t like Disney World, but it was...like that idea...that they’re leading you through like a theme park” (unit 5a). Wilderness as theme parks has been used by some authors making the point that managing wilderness is an oxymoron. In addition, his motivation for visiting such an area would be for solitude. “I enjoy a lot of the intensity of urban life but I also enjoy solitude, and it would be nice to remove myself from that (intensity) for at least a limited time” (unit 11). This removal from the hectic pace of everyday life was a constant motivation for many participants. Owl was never in wilderness because any area she ever visited did not have any wilderness remaining as part of its landscape. “I’ve been in...Florida and in the Caribbean but I’ve never been to places where it’s just all natural. Civilized places: that’s basically where I’ve been” (unit 5). She planned to visit wilderness at a future date. A trip to Australia, “that’s actually the first place that really kind of came to my mind, but it’s not jungle. It’s just a place I want to visit, just because what I hear about it and just family members who have been there...it just grabs my attention...because it would be so unusual” (unit 5a). Her motivations for visiting these areas included adventure, interest in the wildlife, and “it would just be a great experience” (unit 11). Osprey did not visit wilderness because of funds and her parents had never visited any such area. In relation to visiting wilderness, as she had stated throughout the whole interview, “I’d like to see it but I wouldn’t want to live through it. I don’t think that’s something I’d like to do” (unit 5). Wimessing a visual representation of wilderness through some medium was enough for her and Osprey doubted if she would be motivated to experience this environment. Table 18 Areas Considered for Possible Visits and to be Specific Wilderness Areas by the Undergraduate Non-Visitors (Birds)
Birds Possible Wilderness Visits Specific Wilderness Areas
Hawk Amazon, Brazil; Kenya, plains of Africa; Any unpopulated area mountainous regions of U.S.
Owl South American or African safari; Australia Vietnam; Africa; South America; specific islands in the Caribbean; possibly areas of Arizona
Osprey None Rain forests; different deserts; Antarctica
Raven Galapagos Islands; Australia; Africa; Alaska; Canada; Arctic; Antarctica South America
Eagle Arizona South America; Canada; western United States; parts of Asia 255
Journal Reflections on Individual’s Meaning of Wilderness This group of undergraduate participants had not visited what they considered wilderness or legally designated areas. However, some common patterns or themes did emerge from the interviews with this group on the meaning of wilderness. Hawk—considered wilderness to be “a wild, free area with no evidence of human population or humans being there. Everything natural. You could hear the sounds...however you couldn’t hear the sounds of the voices of other humans. You could only hear the animals or the wind through the trees or the rain. Completely... untamed and just natural” (unit 1). Hawk was a zoology major and had an intense interest in wild animals. This was clearly visible throughout her interview as she constantly referred to the wilderness as areas animals inhabit. During her childhood she began watching nature shows on TV and visited a zoologist in the zoo, which impacted her idea of wilderness and her chosen major. However, her family seemed to have little influence on her overall impression of wild animals and wilderness. Clearly wildlife was important to Hawk. Through various experiences with media, and visiting zoos, the problem of extinction was highlighted for her. This brought to mind the slogan ‘Extinction is Forever’ and the Dan Fogelberg song ‘A Cry in the Forest,’ where he described the process of extinction. He equated it to being ‘eternity bound’—‘‘once they (species) have passed into the timeless, they can never more be found, is there anybody listening, tell me can you hear the sound, of the gentles ones eternity-bound.” Many of his songs concern environment issues and one of his albums, called The Wild Places, projected some great images concerning wilderness and life. In the song already mentioned, he wonders if ‘we too will become eternity bound,’ a point which many of the participants also made. ‘‘Conserving diversity, one of the values which Hawk and Raven and other participants mentioned, for extrinsic value is indeed important, but the greater value is its own worth. One scientist equated ecosystems to the rivets in a plane, if enough are removed then the plane will crash, which is one definite concern” (Journal, 10/24/95). Hawk mentioned that these wild places should be preserved because “the world was like that before it became as populated as it is now” (unit 14) and the medical benefits which humans had accrued from certain areas. If these areas were destroyed, then future cures for diseases would never be discovered. Some scientists also suggest 256 these medical benefits as a motivation to gain public support for the preservation of wilderness. This I am beginning to see as the ‘Medicine Man’ Motivation or theoiy.’ In many ways. Hawk could not see the ‘wilderness for the animals,’ as she and many other people who visit wilderness desire to see abundant wildlife on a trip. This, in fact, is one of the main motivations behind wilderness trips. “I do like seeing wildlife and am thrilled and excited when it happens, but if it doesn’t happen it doesn’t necessarily destroy the wilderness experience, it may not be as fulfilling but it is still a great experience. I think that Hawk would feel that the trip would be a disaster, because all you would see was the ‘land’ without any life” (Journal, 1/17/95). Hawk believed wilderness to be positive, life was more peaceful there and based on conflicts which only improved species. Humans, on the other hand, had created a world where drugs were a problem and people only cared for themselves. Are not people doing the same thing in civilization then as the species in wilderness? Is this really survival of the fittest? It was interesting to hear wilderness portrayed as peaceful, yet having conflicts as an integral part of the system. Hawk proposed that if humans “lived in more of a wilderness condition...if we surrounded ourselves with more wilderness, that we’d have less of these problems but then I think ‘No,’ because then I think we would destroy that area...and it would end up just like cities now” (unit 16), creating even smaller areas of wilderness. This was again similar to The Wildlands Project, proposed to allow more land to return to a wilderness condition. In addition, the idea echoed some of those expounded by Paul Shepard ( 1992) in his article “A Post- Historic Primitivism” where he urged a re-examination of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle in this modem era. Of course, may eco-psychologists would also urge a reconnection to wilderness as they believe that many of the current social problems have stemmed from the separation of human and wilderness. Hawk did relate the increased exposure of wilderness on TV to the fact that “society in general has become more aware” (unit 17) of it. She believed that more people were becoming involved in environmental organizations, although most would make financial contributions. Hawk thought that people would contribute money to the organization rather than be able to donate time. This point was similar to that of Hine and Gifford in their 1991 research. “The fear appeal on behalf of the environment significantly increased environmental concern in the form of verbal commitment and financial donations” (Hine and Gifford, 1991,40). 257
Raven—suggested wilderness “would have to be somewhere that was...just kind of untouched...just miles and miles from civilization, that kind of thing. Far away” (unit 1). It was an exciting, unpredictable, and dangerous place, where one could get in contact with his or her own thoughts. An interesting aspect of the interview was that even though Raven had a near- death experience in the ocean, an environment he considered wilderness, he did not consider this a wilderness experience. It was not remote enough to be regarded as such a setting. Wild ocean would be somewhere in international waters where “no one lays claim to any one part... Everything pretty much is wild and everything can go everywhere, which is neat. No one really says that whales have a certain space, even though they...follow routes, but it would be hard to say” (unit 5a). I would not completely agree with Raven’s reasoning here. “International waters are owned by a collection of nations, and he made a point about nobody laying claim to whales in such waters. Nations lay claim to these mammals and fish and various problems have occurred from countries harvesting this wilderness” (Journal, 11/1/95). Over exploitation of this resource pushed many species to the brink of extinction, some did become ’eternity-bound,’ others have recovered. This fluid wilderness. Just as the terrestrial wilderness, is managed by people. The media experience which impacted Raven was interesting, a moose-human interaction as shown on a TV news report. This incident had a major impact, not only on his idea of wilderness, but it confirmed his disgust for the media, a profession of which he would soon be a part. Even with these two events, the ocean and the moose- human incident, he did still have a very positive opinion of wilderness because of its very existent and its psychological benefits. This in a way seemed similar to many of the points mentioned by the participants who had visited wilderness. However, Raven did point out that when he thought about these experiences bad memories came to mind initially, this was quite different from the visitor groups, who generally had difficulty recalling bad events in a trip. He was the only person thus far who admitted that he did not recycle because he could not see the difference that he could make, although he did state that if everyone took his attitude, then very little material would be recycled. He did value wilderness; although he, like the others, did go toward the more preservationist aspects of it. Conserving diversity was one of the extrinsic values of these wild places. 258
Raven believed that in the future the information he possessed about wilderness and the value he placed on it would be important. However, right at this moment, he did not see that he was in a position to affect any change but “I just don’t believe in...buming bridges” (unit 14). This would connect with his locus of control; in the future he would have some input into a decision-making process but at this moment in time he was powerless. This feeling could have translated into his recycling ethos. Yet, wilderness was irreplaceable because it possessed originality and Raven summarized his idea of wilderness beautifully stating that “there’s that idea that it’s all very new, even though its been around forever” (unit 1). It has been around forever, at least 6-7 billion years, “however as a species we have yet to realize the limited aspect of wilderness, which seemed so boundless during the exploration of this country” (Journal, 11/1/95). Eagle—thought of wilderness “as an area that is remote from civilization and as untouched as possible by humans...just...the idea of the word itself as pertaining to being wild...It’s untamed...disappearing...an area that is very chaotic, very unstructured” (unit 1). Eagle, an art major who had never visited wilderness, had natural experiences which impacted greatly on his idea of wilderness. He never had the opportunity to go to wilderness because he thought of it as being remote with no major impacts by humans. Big trails were an indication of intrusion. “I would agree with that, trails definitely can be a major sign of the numbers of people entering an area especially if they become seriously eroded” (Journal, 1/18/95). Eagle was the second person that actually did a solo trip, the other was Fox who did have a solo wilderness experience. Eagle’s natural experience in the national forest fostered a ‘self-awareness’ about lifestyles and personal impact on the environment, while the untouched setting allowed him to relax and experience some solitude. It also allowed him to become acutely aware of his surrounding, the forest, and what was occurring to this environment. The experience was profound for Eagle and could almost constitute a wilderness experience. (It would seem to match Willow’s definition of a wilderness experience as well as some of the other participants.) “I have been in designated wilderness areas where I would have loved to have not seen anyone over a day, not alone a three day period. Also, I have never had a solo wilderness experience. I have always been accompanied by at least one other person. Most of the people I know and have talked to about wilderness have rarely, if ever, had a solo experience. I 259 would think that most people would consider Eagle’s trip, probably as close as you can get to a wilderness experience, even in fairly inaccessible wilderness” (Journal, 1/18/95). Eagle believed very much in the extreme rugged landscape as representing wilderness. Following his thoughts on the existence of trails and Willow’s ideas about safety with chemicals, I wondered if indeed there was any area in the world that had not been influenced to some degree by human activity. Major trails running through wilderness areas may be unsightly, but these wild places may “possess more insipid and hideous dangers—chemicals from human industries. While these are not as visible as trails, they are far more dangerous to living systems and far longer lasting than any trails, indeed they do leave ‘trails’ in the bio-magnification process in the food chain. I doubt if any where on this blue planet has not been influenced somewhat by us and our endeavor to ‘civilize’ the environment” (Journal, 1/18/95). Overall, Eagle thought that the image of wilderness was more positive in society, and also believed that people were becoming more aware of wilderness issues. This awareness was apparent through actions such as recycling, but he believed some of this may have been to ease a person’s conscience. This was probably correct. People do not have to be concerned with reducing and reusing materials. Recycling takes considerably less effort than any of the other two actions. However, while this awareness was increasing. Eagle also witnessed a growing backlash resulting from certain environmental messages and images projected by organizations, such as Earth First! which itself had a very negative public image. He discussed an incident concerning an organization which basically wanted wild and natural areas to be open to ATV use. A compromise could have been established for this issue, according to Eagle. However, Earth Firstl’s slogan is ‘No Compromise.’ They were founded on the premise that environmental groups compromised excessively and unnecessarily in the past. “Douglas Amy in his book “The Politics of Environmental Mediation” (1987) suggested that conciliation techniques can seduce environmentalists, that they often alter their positions, are poor negotiators, and are concerned for future generations” (Journal, 10/27/95), points which other groups use to their advantage in environmental negotiations. Eagle made an interesting observation that technology and civilization have outgrown wilderness and that there was no way back. In one way, it was similar to 260
Coyote’s point about enjoying wilderness but requiring civilization to function and work in. “Civilization and technology is not intrinsically a bad thing” (unit 16). He saw both sides of the balance, wilderness was relaxing, yet civilization was a necessity. “But are they balanced? Many people, members of Earth First! and other organizations, would say that the symmetry is unequal. Only four per cent of the contiguous U.S. is designated wilderness” (Journal, 10/27/95). Changing this balance would depend on the success of The Wildlands Project and also Shepard’s point about a modified cyngetic society. Owl—described wilderness as “fields of...dry grass, wooded areas, wild animals, tropical weather, green...peaceful, natural, humid, tropical birds” (unit 1). Her major wilderness area was jungle, an idea that was generated from TarTjon movies. Owl was probably similar to other people in the general public in that she did want to visit wilderness but it was not a top priority. As she considered jungle to be her primary type of wilderness, it could be more difficult for her to attain this wish. Perhaps more people are similar to Aspen, in that they really do not want to visit wilderness, but are happy and value the fact that it still existed. Owl’s reaction to the Medicine Man movie was interesting. “I sensed that many people probably do see it the same way that she did...the Americans going in there, whereas I saw it as the intrusion of Western Civilization, not necessarily...Americans, but all of us—intruders to the indigens” (Journal, 1/20/95). Owl thought that wilderness was almost non-existent in the U.S. This was interesting, again a point that was mentioned mainly by the non-visitors. Does this return to the idea of the quest for the perfect wilderness as portrayed by the media? Owl readily admitted that media had a major impact on her idea of wilderness, particularly the Tarzan movies. On hearing the word wilderness, her immediate associated image was jungle. (Media influenced many of the other participants, westerns influenced both Shades and Trout.) In fact. Trout played in the area around her home after she saw movies, similar to Owl, who would mimic the Tarzan movies with her friends. Owl briefly mentioned Gorillas in the Mist, just as Hawk did. For Owl, the Tarzan movies expressed similar themes to Gorillas in the Mist, people intruding into this setting. Generally, people invaded “the wilderness to ruin it or to take something away from it. It was always the hero came to the rescue and it was a person who appreciated wilderness” (unit 8a). 261
Natural experiences also had some impact on Owl’s meaning of wilderness. In addition to her Caribbean trip where she experienced some natural settings, she had canoed and camped. However, the proximity of the locations to civilized areas prevented her from defining them as wilderness. Such areas corresponded to the mold of a more ‘cultivated’ or ‘softened’ wilderness. However, Owl stated that “civilization is (not) all bad but I think that there should be more areas left to the way they are natural, not everything civilized...I’m not knocking down...cities or anything. It’s just that I don’t think it should all be like that” (unit 8b). This was similar to Coyote and Eagle’s idea about civilization and wilderness. It also amazed Owl that “nature can just grow...by itself without people tampering and making it all pretty and better” (unit 8c). Many people would consider wildemess management as tampering. When interviewing Owl, “I was quite surprised by the overwhelming agreement...between participants who had never visited wildemess areas and the preservationist stance which they held for such locations, in that they believed that such areas should be set aside without human use. However, many of them could not see any connection between their decisions (and lifestyles) and wildemess areas” (Journal, 1/20/95). Owl believed that wildemess gave her a peaceful feeling, it didn’t necessarily influence her spiritual beliefs, although she did state that if more people traveled there, society as a whole might appreciate it more. This returns to the access issue and people’s over-use or crowding of the setting and whether this detracts from it being considered wildemess. Owl, along with most participants, proclaimed that she was not a very religious person and that she did not think religion had any impact on her idea of wildemess. Osprev—described wildemess as the “jungle where there’s no one else, and there’s lots of animals, or it could be the deserL..where there’s no other humans around or no people have been there” (unit 1). It was extremely intriguing interviewing Osprey, as a freshman she had some interesting ideas on wilderness. She used the word ‘nothing’ in describing wildemess, not that she did not place a value on it, but signifying the lack of human development in the area. Other participants used this or similar terms in their description. What seemed to be confusing for Osprey was that she could not visualize a direct connection between wilderness characteristics which 262 disqualified areas from falling within that category. Her trips to natural settings did not seem to influence her wildemess idea in a major way, except in reinforcing her perception. The point that really hit a hot spot was Osprey’s reference to the destruction of the rain forest and the infomercial. The commercial’s theme focused on the destruction of trees depleting the oxygen supply and humans would die from suffocation. She did not think this could happen. “Even though Osprey had a certain amount of environmental awareness it didn’t gel, all the dots weren’t connected to make the web. Mainly I guess because she didn’t see that (awareness) as helping her bridge a gap, as that gap hadn’t arisen in her life. Her personal value of wildemess could have been influenced by this, which leads to the question: do people really need to have a wildemess or natural experience to make wildemess valuable to them?” (Joumal, 1/18/95). Perhaps not, but it certainly does influence the value placed on it and possibly increase the conviction for its preservation.
Trees—Graduate Non-Visitors Participants in this group were graduate students who had never visited wildemess; as opposed to the Undergraduate Non-Visitors (Birds) media was the major influence on the definition of this setting for this group. As with all other groups, pattems emerged for the meaning of wildemess. Table 19 lists the characteristics of the Graduate Non-Visitors and reasons why they had not experienced wildemess.
Wildemess as Experience The Graduate Non-Visitors did not experience physical wildemess for a number of reasons, ranging from lack of opportunity and time to fear of the setting.
Experience with Most Impact on Wildemess Definition. Various types of media were the main experiences which impacted most of the Graduate Non-Visitors’ (Birch, Aspen, Shades, Oak) definition of wildemess. For one, people played a more cmcial role, although this again was in conjunction with media (Willow). Table 19 Characteristics of the Participants in the Graduate Non-Visitor (Trees’) Group and Reasons for Not Visiting Wilderness
Trees Sex Age Resided Post Spiritual Beliefs Reasons for not Visiting (Years) Secondary Wilderness Education
Birch F 30 City Suburb 9 years Christian No opportunity; thinks it is scary
Oak F 29 City Suburb 10 years Jewish Allergies
Willow M 29 Rural 10 years Christian Fear, Danger; No opportunity
Aspen M 30 City Suburb/ 10 years Anti-Organized No opportunity; Town religion prefers city
Shades F 35 Town/Rural 11 years Nonpracticing Lack of time Catholic
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Birch mentioned two shows from television, although one {The Little House on the Prairie) clearly did not fit her idea of wilderness because even though open spaces existed, lots of people and significant development were visible. In fact. Grizzly Adams was the first thing that came to mind when she thought about wilderness (unit 1). The worst aspect of this series was one particular program where a snake killed someone. Birch did have a major problem with snakes, even though she had handled garter snakes previously. Her anxiety was based on larger snakes and in particular rattle snakes which were used for effect in this program. On the other hand, Birch enjoyed bears, something which the series probably influenced, as she watched the main character, Adams, communicate with the bear, Ben. Birch progressed from the situation at a younger age of wondering how Adams could do this, to the current stage of realizing that this was a TV program. Birch’s father was a hunter who had killed a bear once and this upset Birch when she saw how Adams had saved the bear. “Here was my dad who shot a bear and there was a bear hanging on my wall, and yet Adams climbed down the side of the mountain to save one. It was like a contradiction” (unit 6c). For Aspen, his influences originated mainly through books, although he did watch scientific programs on television. While he could not think of any particular event that had a major impact, he believed that visual media had a stronger influence because he could envision “some media teams going into tropical...forests...the vastness of it...the overall greatness of it” (unit 6). Sometimes, wilderness could be used as the setting in which the program occurred: “even something about the Vietnam war when people or when media teams or when soldiers are in the tropical rain forest... seeing how thick the underbrush (and)...trees are, how it’s not been contaminated or changed by mankind, where it’s nature on its own without being cut back or... controlled” (unit 6a). Aspen thought about the dichotomy which nature portrayed in such programs—“how nature can be so forceful...very destructive...ominous and dangerous (and)...the same time very serene and sublime”(unit 6c). This gave him a feeling of awe at the power of wilderness but also created in him a desire not to visit these places, but to be contented witnessing them through another medium. His worst memory of these programs connected to the “dangers from animals...insects...snakes, from simply having to lug certain supplies” (unit 6b) around in the wilderness. These programs 265 piqued an interest in Aspen to watch them again, but other than that, he did not perceive any connection between them and his life. Shades also considered print media to have been her most influential experiences; she would read the travel sections of newspapers before visiting a specific area, but in particular she had read a book on national parks in the U.S.. However, while she did enjoy the book, it did not describe in detail the wilderness areas in which she was most interested, such as “geysers or the Grand Canyon” (unit 6b). It focused on wooded areas, similar to Maine, which she had just experienced. Some images did trigger memories—“Seeing the stalagmites makes me think of different things like maybe some movies I saw that had those in them. And I remember learning about them when I was in school, like junior high or grade school. The Grand Canyon makes me think of a friend of mine who went there, who went down the river” (unit 6c). Shades enjoyed reading the books and looking at the photography, but her main interest was focused on her desire to travel west and experience some wilderness. This was one of the reasons why she moved to Ohio, to be “a little closer to the West so I could do some traveling there eventually” (unit 6f). Oak enjoyed watching “nature discovery (and) nature videos” (unit 6), as they allowed her to visit places which she “normally couldn’t see without having to leave the comfort of my home” (unit 6a). Her worst memory was seeing the “all the blood and all the animal savagery” (unit 6b). Willow believed that media was important but a particular person, another graduate student, had become a major influence on his idea of wilderness. Willow’s friend “was in Antarctica (with a research team)...taking...ice cores...he’s the type of person that kayaks a lot, that goes mountain climbing...listening to him tell stories about the things that he’s done and these places, that has really affected my definition of what I call wilderness” (unit 6a). Willow saw such an experience as exciting and enlightening, not only in the sense of wilderness but life in general. He considered the danger in such a trip, especially the cold in Antarctica. While he could protect himself from this natural element he could not control it. Danger and fear were largely negative aspects of wilderness. In relation to the media influence, it was generally wildlife documentaries which Willow watched. The key issues which he saw in these were survival and the adaptation of animals to living in wild environments. Such programs were often 266 upsetting watching predators consume their prey, although Willow did recognize the necessity of the interaction in natural settings. But, he did enjoy the beauty of the land and wildlife becoming overwhelmed by some of the interaction: ‘There is something really magnificent about watching an animal or a herd of animals run, or...interact with one another, or graze in a field, or hunt. And that’s something that I find very beautiful” (unit 6c). He was also excited that ‘‘such a place exists and that it is theoretically possible for me to be there. Well, moreso than theoretically. It is possible ...it’s something that I have the ability to experience firsthand if I so desire” (unit 6c).
The Situation and Its Relationship to Life Birch believed that overall the Grizzly Adams series helped her. “It probably helped me more than it hurt me, because it...made me realize that there was a coimection between things that we do and the animals and things” (unit 6d). Just as she would not be happy if her home was destroyed, Birch did not want habitats to be destroyed either. She saw the snake episode again a few years ago and witnessed the action which prompted the killing of the person and so it put the whole snake incident into perspective.
“But I don’t think it’s really changed my perception of what wilderness is and where I see it fitting into my life. I don’t think I’m ever going to go (live there)...I have friends who went up to Alaska and spent three years up there...tiiere was no one around. They had to have food drop^d into them...No way! I just wouldn’t do that. That’s not me. So I think that has helped me realize that seeing their pictures and seeing the media stuff, that isn’t for me, and I know that. So I think in that way, it has affected me” (unit 6f).
From her personal experience Birch realized that she did not want to live in the middle of cities and from watching these programs, she believed that she would not live in the middle of wilderness. “I think it’s something that I’ve always known...I don’t consciously realize it...That’s how I’ve always thought...it hasn’t changed” (unit 6e). Birch equated Columbus or any major city to the more stereotypical image of a wilderness in that
“there’s people but it’s not anybody you know, so it’s kind of starting from scratch which, I would assume, is what it is like to go out in the middle of the wilderness, starting from scratch...you have to find a place 267
to live—which I had to do—and find what are you going to do with all your time and...they’re kind of parallel but I don’t think they’re anything alike...the atmosphere is completely different. So it’s going from one extreme to the other...This (Columbus) is...like a concrete jungle, everywhere you look, you’re...looking at buildings...if you were in the Grizzly Adams type wilderness, you’d be looking up and seeing...trees and nothing else. So they’re parallel and yet they’re opposites...extremes, I guess, would be a good term” (unit 6d).
Willow also wanted to live in a place between the natural wilderness and the ‘concrete’ wilderness. The friend’s experiences plus watching the nature programs combined to depress Willow slightly because he realized that he may never encounter such environments. On the other hand, it really
“helped me to understand something about myself...that I would like to experience things that I have not been able to do yet. That helped me learn about myself...It broadened my way of thinking about myself...the limitations that I feel I have to put on myself’ (unit 6d).
Communicating with his friend and reflecting on the experience. Willow’s self perception changed. “It made me realize that I may not be the kind of person who would really enjoy being in what I call wilderness. It’s hard to say for certain but that made me realize that, if that is the case, that I would have to accept myself as being that kind of person, accepting my limitations...(but) it (also) made me realize that there are probably some things about myself that I still don’t know. And that’s interesting to think about” (unit 6e). However, he would be open to experiencing wilderness to determine if he could cope with or enjoy it. Willow perceived the landscape in the media to be beautiful but it also seemed dangerous and out of his control. The programs did help him define wilderness and brought meaning to the
“old cliche of ‘life is not fair.’ Things eat and things get eaten. That’s just the way it is...in that sense, the way of thinking that it’s helped me to develop is that nothing is for free, that there is always a price to be paid, even for the simple thing of existing. There are certain tUngs that we are responsible for doing and if we don’t do those things, we face the consequences...it helped me not to get so upset or fiustrated when things happen in my own life that don’t seem really fair...I see the only thing to do is deal with the situation at hand as best as one can” (unit 6f). 268
Oak thought that the media helped her gain an appreciation for the preservation of wilderness. But, she thought that most Americans believed that the country was so large natural space would always be present. She did not concur with this view. Also, Oak mentioned the maintenance of a balance between preservation and development, important to both the biota of habitats and humans. “We need to try and keep some part of wilderness, wild (unit 6d) (and)...protect some of these areas, not just as not built upon, but where people just aren’t there” (unit 6e). Aspen could not perceive any connection between his life and the TV programs. Shades moved to Ohio so she could be closer to the west, an area where she eventually wanted to visit.
Wilderness in the Media Media played a major role in defining the meaning of wilderness for the Graduate Non-Visitors. The Graduate Non-Visitors believed that wilderness was portrayed largely in a positive manner by the media. Birch thought that using wilderness in commercials would have a positive impact because people would become more aware of the need to preserve the area where the commercials were filmed. On a different note, she compared wilderness to learning and to life. People learn from their wilderness experiences. In addition, “it’s like you have to find a path, and you have to find your own path...Getting through the wilderness is...kind of like life. You have to chart your own course. Sometimes you make it, and sometimes you have to start over. I just picture it as something you have to go through, and eventually you’ll make it all the way through it” (unit 9). Aspen believed that writers often described wilderness as if they had been there when in fact they had not, giving a false impression of the area. Visual media seemed to give a positive, though limited, portrayal, but in comparison to the print media “you are seeing a part of reality...although still that perspective is a little bit skewed” (unit 9). Aspen pointed out that when ones watches a television program
“you’re still only seeing a perspective from that television camera or the producer, and so your impressions are going to be formed by a certain perspective of the television camera. If you were there...you would be able to see more, plus you only have a visual experience and, to a degree, an audio experience, but you have no sense of touch, no sense of smell, no sense of depth. So it’s limited” (unit 9). 269
He thought that the positive portrayal of wilderness resulted from the “innate spiritual aspect of nature...in part influenced by religion...saying this is God’s creation” (unit 9). Shades cited different ways that wilderness was portrayed in movies, but generally believed that it was positive. In movies such as The River, it was displayed as “turbulent” (unit 9), in others it was portrayed as something which people should not tamper with, and finally in another category, people were depicted living in harmony with “nature in the wilderness, by interacting with animals, and the animals trust them” (unit 9). However, in news programs, the negative aspects of wilderness were highlighted because “they pick up on negatives a lot more than positives” (unit 9), such as forest fires and pollution. Shades also viewed these aspects associated with wilderness as negatives. Willow expressed the view that wilderness was portrayed as being more important than it had been in the past. He thought that the media had influenced this view of wilderness’ growing importance which in turn impacted the amount of coverage afforded to it by print media and news programs. Willow watched situation comedies and even here the influence of wilderness was visible. Some recent shows, such as The Nanny, contained subject matter connected to the “preservation of wilderness, wildlife...when it comes to protesting against wearing furs or going in and cutting down millions of trees or bulldozing areas” (unit 9). According to Willow, this would lead to more and “different network programming that tries to more or less mimic real life situations and also has to present more programs dealing with this theme” (unit 9). Oak cited the traditional view of wilderness, that it was a place to settle and exploit, however she thought that a new attitude was apparent even though the media was “sending mixed messages” (unit 9). Felling the rain forest in Brazil was portrayed as a negative impact whereas expansion onto undeveloped areas in the U.S. was visualized as a necessity. In addition, entertainment media depicted wilderness as “some place to go to start over...to center yourself...in a soap opera...when life gets too bad they’re going to go off camping and life will be solved. I think it probably can help. I think that some people can probably benefit firom lack of distraction” (unit 9). However, as wilderness was presented in this favorable and positive manner, “people may think that there is a lot of it around and not under threat” (unit 9). Table 20 summarizes the most influential media on each of the Graduate Non- Visitors. Table 20 Media which made the Graduate Non-Visitors (Trees) Most Concerned about Society’s View of Wilderness, and Media which had an Indirect Impact on the Participant’s Meaning of Wilderness. Events which had the Most Important Impact on the Meaning of Wilderness are also shown
Trees Most Concerned Indirect Impact Most impact
Birch Forest Fires reported in ‘National Grizzly Adams TV series Grizzly Adams TV series Geographic’ or ‘Newsweek’
Oak Her students discussing Discovery Channel programming; Nature videos; Discovery Channel environmental issues Animated Movie— The Lion King programming
W illow Oil spill along Alaskan coastline ‘National Geographic’ magazine; Friend sharing his wilderness reported in ‘National Geographic’ book about Chernobyl nuclear experiences; nature programming on TV magazine accident
Aspen Nature Magazines; Nature Programs Nature Magazines; Nature Programs Reading some scientific/nature on TV on TV magazines; nature programs on TV; (some impact from camping)
Shades Forest fires reported on TV— nature PBS Nature programs; Movies— The Travel section of newspaper; book programs/news; River, Dances With Wolves (Spiritual describing the national parks; An Indigo Girls’ song influence), conversations with friends who had Crocodile Dundee (Proposed Visit) visited wilderness; (some impact from playing in woods)
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Type and Quality of Wilderness Experience in Non-Wilderness Setting. All the Graduate Non-Visitors belieyed that to experience wilderness the person had to be in that setting. Most belieyed that media could assist in gaining an appreciation for wilderness, but it could not replace the actual experience of that location. Visualizing the wilderness through images was possible, but Birch stated “I don’t know what it would feel like to actually be there...! am a yery sensing person...! like to look around and be able to smell after it rains and what the texture of the flowers feel like...! would actually haye to physically be there, in order to know...what it was like, what ! liked about it, what ! didn’t like” (unit 18a). Because TV had facilitated her idea of wilderness, Birch belieyed that yirtual reality (VR) could help her experience wilderness eyen more but would not hinder or replace it (unit 10). Aspen mentioned preyiously the one-dimensional wilderness perspective received from visual media. He believed that “we need a three-dimensional experience ...which affects all of our senses” (unit 18a) if it was to be considered a wilderness encounter. In addition, he thought that the magnitude of the spiritual aspect of wilderness could only be experienced personally in that setting. Aspen stated that “you definitely would feel the enormity of nature” (unit 18a). Other emotions imparted by such experiences include solitude and peace, and while Aspen never visited wilderness, he sensed these feelings in ‘cultivated nature.’ Such an aspect could be missing firom a wilderness experience replaced by VR. This and other technologies could hinder the experience by removing the intrinsic value, the enjoyment of selecting and visiting a wilderness. “One says, ‘! no longer have to go to Smoky Mountain National Park...to Yellowstone. ! can get in my virtual reality and enjoy it.’ I may have a multi-dimensional...multi-sensory experience, but...it doesn’t completely replace it, in my opinion, as someone who has experienced virtual reality” (unit 10). Another danger resulting from VR which Aspen mentioned was the reduction in wilderness because technology “tends to desensitize man...there could potentially be the lack of desire to go somewhere” (unit 10). Willow believed that, as with anything in life, if it was not experienced first hand then it was known only theoretically. “! have this idea and this definition of what ! think it (wilderness) is, but ! must say that !’ve never experienced it..!’ve never been to what ! think is wilderness. And until !’m actually there, ! can’t say that I’ve experienced 272 it...so that’s why I would have to say it’s not possible to experience it without being physically there” (unit 18a). VR then could not replace the ‘real thing’ because it would not be possible to “get a sense of the respect that actual wilderness requires, the danger that is there. If you get eaten on a computer screen, you just re-boot!” (unit 10). However, he did think that it could help a person attain her idea of wilderness. Oak believed that an atmosphere was present in wilderness that could not be reproduced by even the best movie theaters with “surround-sound and all that kind of stuff’ (unit 18a). To experience wilderness, it was necessary to visit this setting. “I think that there’s probably a whole lot of sounds that would surround you, that you wouldn’t get watching (media)...there’s probably a feeling of isolation that you couldn’t get any other way” (unit 18a). Oak had previous natural experiences but did not “really know what a wilderness experience is” (unit 18a) and so only speculated on it. VR could enhance the experience, even generate an appreciation for the setting, but, at the present moment is not advanced enough to replace the wilderness. Interactive video. Oak believed, was in a similar situation. If Oak wanted an experience, she could go into a natural area, but wilderness areas should be non-accessible. “They need to be there, but I don’t think we need to see them because I don’t think we need to be in them...it would be nice to be able to see them. I’d like to see what they look like. But...that’s destroying the wilderness. Wilderness needs to be preserved...even though I can’t visit it! (unit 10). Shades thought that you could encounter wilderness through movies and pictures, but it definitely was not as rich an experience. A person had to physically interact with the setting. “You see it on the screen and it’s like a little escape for a period of time. If you’re there, you can make your own memories from it” (unit 18a). VR imaged wilderness in the mind which was inappropriate because actual experiences can not be replaced. But, this technology “really might help...the thought just occurred in my head...it might be closest to the experience if a person can’t actually go there” (unit 10). Shades mentioned that VR experiences could result in people valuing wilderness more, thus preserving more of this landscape. However, she also noted the danger that the technology could replace the need for wildemess areas. 273
Wildemess Concerns as Portrayed in the Media. The portrayal of forest fires in wildemess concerned two of the Graduate Non- Visitors. Birch was exposed to photographs of the fires in magazines, specifically ‘National Geographic,’ while Shades saw a news report on TV. In addition. Shades thought that some music raised concems for her about the wildemess. Willow talked about an oil spill in Alaska, probably referring to the Exxon Valdez oil tanker disaster. Aspen discussed the way media focused on one aspect of wildemess to gain an audience. Oak, as a science teacher, believed that her students gave her the best insight into the way society view’s wildemess. Generally Birch read about wildemess issues in magazines such as ‘National Geographic,’ ‘Newsweek,’ or newspapers. Articles generally reported on rain forest destmction but some times about other issues such as forest fires. She selected a specific story, not based on the intensity of the fire but because of the response from a relative to the incident and her reaction to his statement. “There was a forest that was buming out on the west coast and one (relative) saying, ‘Oh, who cares?’...it was kind of interesting. ‘Well, I wonder what happens to all the animals...there,’ and ‘All these trees are gone’...Somebody has to care’’ (unit 7b). Even though Birch does not have a good memory about the incident, it did create in her an awareness of forest fires. Shades also mentioned the portrayal of forest fires on TV, although she did refer to music from the ‘Indigo Girls.’ The worst memory about the fire was the displacement of animals from their habitat or seeing them injured. Shades was concerned for the animals but also a little angry as many forest fires start through carelessness. She made a connection from a bad experience to a good memory with Smokey the Bear, “when I was a little kid...(Smokey the Bear) used to come to our school...to teach us about forest fires and how you have to be careful if you go out into the woods” (unit 7b). Her best memory concerned the fire fighters taking control of the fire but also the rejuvenation of the habitat following this event. A song by the ‘Indigo Girls’ was a second media event mentioned by Shades. The lyrics concerned stewardship of the earth and using your hands as well as your head positively. She used her head in school, but needed to find a balance in her life. Shades hoped to live in the woods or in a rural setting when she graduated, a similar environment to her childhood. Living in a city would be her last option. Rural settings were more relaxing and quiet according to Shades. 274
Photographs of an Alaskan oil spill in an issue of ‘National Geographic’ was the media event which Willow discussed. “The actual photographs were dealing with all the people who were trying...to put out the fires and keep these things under control...it was just really ugly. Just a total mess...I couldn’t understand how something like that could happen with all the computers on ships and equipment for fire fighting” (unit 7a). Willow’s worst memory was the ugliness of the scene, “the sense of loss that came with that, and also the people who were there to try and keep fires under control...Another bad memory would be on the fact that all this still had to be cleaned up” (unit 7b). Willow was happy to know that people traveled there to help clean up the oil. “Just that good feeling of seeing people who care working to save it” (unit 7c). Aspen discussed popular nature programs, stating that he believed they concentrated on one aspect of wildemess—wildlife and in particular attempting to find specific animals which interest the audience. He also indicated that the programs focused on a certain condition—the “fierceness” (unit 7a) of these animals—creating a “potential fear or a potential problem with that depiction” (unit 7a). Aspen could not select a good or bad memory because the programs tended to blend together, but did not appreciate “the fact that the media always has this certain angle and they don’t deviate much from that” (unit 7b). Images of wildemess as projected in these programs did not disgust Aspen, however cities and the “attempts of society to go into wildemess and control it” (unit 7b) did offend him. “Shows about the tropical rain forest in Brazil and how the indigenous peoples are used for their natural resources, how the govemment will go in and try to change things for their purposes, that disgusts me” (unit 7b). For Oak, teaching gave her an idea of how most people view wildemess in society. She suggested that most of her students were “environmentally trained” (unit 7a) and spent time discussing nature and ecology. However she made the point that they had all the cliches—“cutting down rain forests is a bad thing. Recycling is a good thing” (unit 7a), but Oak was unsure how much they actually believed as opposed to repeating. She believed that the students were exposed to this in the science curriculum, starting with the elementary school. Oak did not think this was necessarily a bad thing; when the students get older they should be able to reason the necessity of such actions so learning about “things which are probably good things to do even though you don’t quite know why, is probably not bad” (unit 7b). Oak was also pleased that some 275 students understood stewardship of the planet, while others did not “have a real understanding (of) how to do it...they do want to make sure that the planet is still around” (unit 7c) in the future. Some of the students were worried about their community expanding and that the local environment could be damaged by an influx of people. “So we shouldn’t let anybody move in, which is kind of simplistic but their point was that we need to control the human population and the invasion of somebody else’s space” (unit 7c). The students discussed increasing taxes and preventing the sale of land as two methods of controlling the increasing population, but generally believed that they had no control over the situation because it was occurring in the adult world.
The Situation and Its Relationship to Life Birch suggested that learning about forest fires helped her become more aware of current events, and she watched the news more intently as a result. Her experience and the responses were shocking initially, but did not hinder her idea of wildemess. It also connected to her experiences with Smoky the Bear and the ‘Prevent Forest Fires’ campaign. She stated that she did not remember as many forest fires when she was younger, although this could have been a function of her awareness level. But Birch thought that the campaign had a big impact on her and her friends about the dangers of fire. In the future, if she has children she wants them to be knowledgeable about fire dangers and its impact on wildemess and this linked back to her relative’s ‘who cares’ comment. She wants her children to care. It also did confirm for Birch that she did not want to become a fire marshall as she thought of herself as a “klutz...I don’t know if it’s related to the wildemess. I hadn’t thought about it in that sense...it might be. It might be one of those things that, seeing the forest fires...goes back to the whole being in the middle of nowhere type thing...I hadn’t connected the two before this instant” (unit 7d). Shades discovered that the fires were located in Yosemite National Park and that it had been closed during the incident. Because some of the fires were blamed on visitors to the park, she thought that less people should be allowed to enter the area normally. This would have less impact on the environment, although it could prevent her from visiting the area and that bothered her. The ‘Indigo Girls’ song strengthened Shades’ idea of constructing things, prompting her to join ‘Habitat for Humanity’ with her fine-tuned skills. The song also 276 influenced her belief that wildemess, but specifically forests, should be protected, particularly from the “pulp and paper people (who) are always cutting (forests) down” (unit 7e) Willow did not cause the oil spill in Alaska and yet these images caused him to feel indirectly responsible. He drove a car and while this particular oil may not end up in his tank, he was still part of the process. Even though he felt guilty, this incident did not prevent him from driving home that day. However, Willow believed that he was “working myself into a hole where I know that things are being damaged and things like this happen but more or less being unable to do much about it. Or maybe just unwilling” (unit 7d). It did heighten an already existing environmental awareness: when younger, he
“didn’t think a whole lot about the environment. It was there, and as a child I took it for granted it was always going to be there...when this happened, along with several other recent events...the Chernobyl incident ...it made me realize that there is a call to be environmentally conscious. And that is one of the first steps to solving a problem, when you actually realize there is a problem...that...helped me so that maybe I can be a little more responsible for what happens” (unit 7d).
Willow’s conclusion was that “he must be more environmentally conscious. The idea that it’s helped me to develop was that we are stewards” (unit 7e). This related to his whole spiritual belief outlined earlier that God created the universe and that humans have a responsibility to care for this planet. As a result of this, he began to recycle more. In addition. Willow was studying chemistry and would soon be seeking employment. Potential employers were chemical companies. He pointed out that “chemistry is...all around us. There’s no way to escape it. Chemicals are not inherently bad” (unit 7f). However, Willow did realize that “if I go into industry, (I) have maybe a little more responsibility as far as seeing to it that I’m a very good steward of the environment related to the work that I do” (unit If) and trying to prevent a similar disaster from occurring. Aspen was far more interested in wildemess media programs which had a political angle than purely scientific content He watched a program recently concerning western exploitation of the tropical rain forest and this angered him. The treatment of the indigenous peoples and the other species by foreigners was a matter of grave concern. He also wanted to see these wildemess areas remain untouched. 277
“I’m more concerned about...Indian tribes who have been there for two thousand years and who are on the verge of extinction because of their lives being completely destroyed in the matter of two or three years. Not just that, but the multitude of plants, insects and animals which are forced out of their niche and which will potentially face extinction. I’m not a naturalist...I don’t go camping and don’t go out to nature very much ...nonetheless I still have a desire to see wildemess areas—or at least ...how I define wildemess—those areas to stay intact, free from man’s control, because...it’s important” (unit 7d).
As a result of this, he believed that access into wildemess should be controlled whatever the activity. It confirmed his idea that humans need to develop other methods of energy, wood and cattle production that were less hazardous to wildemess and indigenous peoples. Such programs heightened his awareness of society’s impacts on forested areas. The dwindling amount of wildemess and associated vegetation in the U.S. and hence oxygen production was of concem. Oak realized from the community development issue that the students entering her class in the fall were more knowledgeable about environmental issues than she had expected and than she was at their age. Consequently, her teaching methodology was affected.
Wildemess Portraved Indirectlv in the Media. Media presentations which influenced the Graduate Non-Visitors indirectly varied from nature programs to animated movies. Birch referred to the TV series Grizzly Adams again. Aspen alluded to the policy oriented nature programs. He did believe there was a fascination with wildemess, either in fiction, entertainment or news reports. Aspen thought that this could also lead to the subject being trivialized as in the Jungle Book. “They do nothing but give us a really false impression of what wildemess is...they show it as an area where one can go in and not encounter a lot of problems, or...as beautiful and as serene as it can be and at the same time as dangerous and as troublesome as it can be” (unit 8a). Shades cited nature programs shown on PBS which documented the daily lives of animals, particularly large wild predators. She enjoyed witnessing the interaction between animal families. Even though the predator-prey relationship was part of a natural cycle, she found its portrayal violent. In addition, if people became involved in 278
this environment, hunting seemed to be the usual outcome and this was disagreeable, particularly when associated with specific animal organs. Although her family were himters. Shades did not believe in this practice. Willow indicated that the oil spill incident reported in ‘National Geographic’ which he had talked about previously was probably the most important media event. However, he also mentioned a book he read concerning the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant incident in Russia and “now that I look back on it, I realize how serious and what a tragedy that actually was for people as well as land (unit 8). The book described in detail the Chernobyl event, reporting on other nuclear power plants worldwide and the lack of safety at them. The near- and long-term implications of the disaster at Chernobyl frightened Willow. However, he was delighted that the book was written and that “there are still people that were appalled at the things that were done that jeopardize not only the environment but the health of other people’’ (unit 8c). Oak believed that she had covered this question as well, but then mentioned the animated movie 77ie Lion King. However, she did not consider this “real wildemess (because) it’s fake (and its) a cartoon’s view of something that’s pretty wild and untouched” (unit 8). This animated feature related the story of animals, in this case lions, which “were in a battle over territory, and when they...(did not take) care of their territory, they destroyed it until the good lion at the end came back and saved it” (unit 8a). Oak’s best memory of the movie, besides the music, was that by returning and conquering evil the ‘good lion’ stopped the decay and brought life back to the dying wildemess. But, there were some “cry parts in the movie. The death of the (original) leader, when the new leader comes back and finds the place utterly destroyed” (unit 8c).
The Situation and Its Relationship to Life Shades thought that pet cats had similar mannerisms to the lions and tigers, except they were not as violent She did not think that cats killing mice and using them as toys was as bad as lions killing deer and consuming the animal. Domestication of cats has conditioned them not to eat their kill, something that is totally against this species’ nature. If wildemess is domesticated by humans, then is that against human nature? Perhaps. Shades also did not favor hunting by humans, and believed that some restrictions should be placed on it. 279
The nuclear incident at Chernobyl brought to Willow’s mind the issue of safety, in particular when working with chemicals in a laboratory. Non-compliance to safety regulations could “jeopardize the safety, not only of ourselves but others...It gives me more of a guilty conscience when I think about doing small things, because small things usually turn into large things” (unit 8a). Willow’s attitude toward governmental organizations became negative as a result of reading that safety was compromised for financial gain in the industry. Because the area around the nuclear plant became contaminated “people must move into other areas, and this takes away from the wildemess that we have. And so, indirectly, I think that the destraction of what I define as wildemess is a consequence of something like this” (unit 8f). Oak believed that humans were destroying the wildemess and environment in general, although there had been some improvements “but then I look at this new Congress (104th) and wonder what will happen to the environment” (unit 8a). She was not so sure that someone would come and save “us from destroying our environment” (unit 8a). Wildemess, on the other hand, if given the opportunity could regenerate:
“the forest fires are probably another example of that...Prince William Sound is probably the closest example that we’ve got, in that the oil spill (from the Exxon Valdez) did a huge amount of damage but things were pretty much cleaned back to normal. The animals are back, the fish are back, the plant life is coming back. So I think if we leave stuff alone long enough...it depends on how much damage we do. If we start putting concrete over things, I think that will be harder. But for the most part ...nature is pretty resilient” (unit 8a).
But this resilience should not prevent people from preserving that “pretty, special place” (unit 8e) known as wildemess.
Purposelv Seek Out Wildemess Media Events. Shades was the only participant who purposely sought out wildemess media, probably because of her interest in traveling to a specific location. The four other Graduate Non-Visitors would generally watch a nature program if they came across it as they were cruising channels. 280
Wildemess as a Changing Definition Birch’s definition did change as she was growing, but it has not altered during the past few years. Witnessing the differences between landscapes depicted in Grizzly Adams and The Little House on the Prairie helped Birch define her idea of wildemess. The latter show had too many people and development in the landscape for her to consider it wildemess, it represented the opposite of her two extremes. Aspen’s idea of wildemess was attained in high school and he does not think that it had altered since because he had not pursued the interest. Aspen described wilderness as “serene...susceptible to man’s whims...powerful and sublime, but at the same time, potentially dangerous” (unit 1). Even though his impression of wildemess was “only through the eyes of the media...had the media shown other things or had the aggregate of all my media experiences been something other than what it is, perhaps my impression of wildemess would be changed. But at the same time, I have a notion of what wildemess is, regardless of how it’s depicted in the media” (unit I). Shades’ original definition of wildemess was not as detailed as this because when she was a child she was not as aware of places such as the Grand Canyon. At that stage, “the woods out by the lake probably were my wildemess (laughs). But then I expanded it to the real wildemess because...the woods aren’t big enough, where I grew up” (unit I). She also watched westems and seeing the people ride through the wildemess on horses promoted this type of trip in her mind, but it also refined her idea of wildemess. The desert areas without people were considered wildemess. “The most important part about it (wildemess), I think, is that there’s no people (smiles). The physical characteristics can vary. But woods are important to me in the wildemess definition. But being out near a mountain where there’s barren land is also wildemess. You wouldn’t find as many animals there, out in the barren land, though” (unit 5b). Oak’s definition had changed somewhat over time. She believed that her training as a scientist, a teacher and her view of the balance within nature had been the biggest influence on her view of wildemess (unit 13). Oak now considered different types of areas to be wildemess, but to fit in her definition they all had to posses many of the above features. Therefore, she thought that some of her teaching experiences were related more to nature (defined as “human beings are present, but it’s not developed land” (unit 1)) than wildemess. 281
Willow believed that his definition of wildemess was still changing and probably would continue to do so until he visited this setting. Following this visit, the definition would continue to evolve.
Wildemess as a Spiritual/Religious and Valued Experience During the interview, Birch identified spiritual beliefs as affecting decision making, but not perception of things. Willow believed in the creation of the planet by the Judeo-Christian God, Shades had a Native American perspective, while Oak tended toward a spiritual belief rather than an institutionalized religion. Aspen declared himself to be spiritual but not religious. All the Graduate Non-Visitors did value wildemess. Birch did not relate her religious belief system to wildemess because they were two separate aspects of life, “wildemess is a separate place, all by itself...! don’t think it (religion/spiritual beliefs) affects me as far as how I perceive what a wildemess is and what a city is...a city is a city, to me, just like a wildemess is a wildemess. I have my own ideas and they don’t match everybody else’s, but that’s Just what I believe’’ (unit 12). Aspen thought that wildemess was a manifestation of a creator, where “one can see the power of creation...when Man is not around, how nature will survive on its own. It will produce life and destroy life. It’s cyclical’’ (unit 12a). However, when people enter the area, the dynamics change. “Then you can see how nature will not always be able to adapt quickly. It will adapt in a long period of time, but in the short mn...nature can be damaged, as evidenced by species which go extinct because of Man’s involvement’’ (unit 12a). But if wildemess was entered with a “spiritual quality...nature can just show the inunensity of creation” (unit 12a). Shades, who believed that she had Native American ancestry, related her beliefs to the way in which Native Americans lived in harmony with and respected the wildemess. This was illustrated in the movie Dances With Wolves. In the presentation. Shades witnessed how westem civilization destroyed the environment and a way of life of an indigenous people. It also allowed a “slight bond” (unit 12) to her ancestry and created an interest in tracing this connection. Willow and Oak had a similar belief in that people were stewards of the earth, or at least should care for her while living on the planet. Willow’s spiritual belief “is that God created the universe and everything therein, and therefore that leaves me as more or 282 less a house guest who would have to be under the rules and regulations of the one who created it...but also the idea of being a steward” (unit 12). In addition. Willow believed being able to directly experience nature, relating that indirectly through media events which exhibit the beauty, magnificence, and harmony within wildemess closed the sphere of influence by affecting his spiritual beliefs. He found “this consistent with what my spiritual beliefs dictate for me, the standard that I rely upon” (unit 12). Oak believed that while her spiritual beliefs had not “influenced what I think of as wildemess...they’ve probably influenced how I think that the wildemess can be treated. I grew up believing that people have a job to help protect...and save the earth... part of that is, that while people need a certain amount of space, there’s a certain amount that the animals...and plants also need” (unit 12). She even thought that over exploitation of natural resources, such as entering a pristine area to harvest trees, was morally wrong. People have not been good stewards or “responsible tenants” (unit 12) and providing for future generations was part of “our moral responsibility” (unit 12). Because of her career and interest in environmental issues, she attempted to remain informed of new developments in pristine areas, particularly oil drilling. However, developments were not always negative as in the production of synthetic taxol to prevent destmction of natural plants. In relation to the value placed on wildemess, the Graduate Non-Visitors believed that it was valuable to them as well as other people and creatures. Birch knew, through education, that life depended on plants, including the large tracts of vegetation within wildemess and valued wild lands for this reason. In addition, knowing that wildemess areas existed gave her “hope that there’s something besides concrete buildings” (unit 14). Birch also considered wildemess to possess intrinsic value—“if it wasn’t for wildemess, there wouldn’t be anything...you wouldn’t have the grass and...trees and...most of the soil probably wouldn’t be here because there wouldn’t be trees to hold it in, so it would erode, and Just physical things like that. But in itself, it houses so many animals and things...that we’ve never seen before, and it’s refreshing to see something new” (unit 15). Birch demonstrated both values by contributing to environmental organizations, recycling, not littering places, and encouraging other people to become aware of the need for the preservation of wildemess. Table 21 Mcthods_Used by Graduate Non-Visitors (Trees) to Demonstrate the Different Values Placed on Wildemess
Trees Personal Value Intrinsic Value
Birch Contributions to environmental organizations: Contributions to environmental organizations; recycling; not recycling; not littering places; encouraging other littering places; encouraging other people to become aware people to become aware of the need for the of the need for the preservation of wilderness. preservation of wilderness.
Oak Talk about number of medicines discovered in Expressed as a belief wildemess; possible voting action
Willow Recycling; using environmentally-friendly products Preservation belief
Aspen Member of Greenpeace Recycling
Shades Would tread lightly when visiting wildemess; has Conversations with other people contributed to organizations
K U) 284
Aspen stated that wilderness was very “valuable to me and others, although I don’t take part in it directly. There’s an intrinsic value in the wildemess—because there is a definite need to have areas which have not been cultivated by man, so that the different species and...animals can live’’ (unit 14). He linked both values—extrinsic and intrinsic—very closely together. He saw the intrinsic value as “the species of plants and animals...in the intrinsic worth of wildemess areas...(which)...have a worth outside of the worth that society...places upon them” (unit 15). Even though his relationship with wildemess was indirect and limited, he mentioned that part of its value was that he found great comfort in knowing of its existence. Aspen was a member of Greenpeace “although I don’t agree 100% with what Greenpeace does, I think it does more good than harm” (unit 14a). Shades also cited the biological requirement of oxygen as a value of maintaining wild places. This would seem to suggest that for Birch and Shades wildemess conjured an image of a land with large forests. She was also amazed by the appearance of some landscapes, such as huge deep canyons and valued the scenery. Shades believed that wildemess was intrinsically valuable to the species inhabiting the area. One of the ways to demonstrate her value of wildemess was to purchase some land although this type of landscape Shades would consider to be woods and not a wild place. According to Willow, “it is becoming more valuable to me because I’m realizing, first of all, what I think it is and the fact that...! find it to be so beautiful, and...have a desire to try and protect it” (unit 14). Willow mentioned the production of oxygen to sustain life as one of the intrinsic values of wildemess and also “simply firom the biological standpoint, I see wildemess as having a value all of its own, an intrinsic value, not necessarily related to whether or not we can experience it” (unit 15). He also believed that it was valuable to society just from coming in contact with some people and also wimessing the rise in recycled products and recycling. Oak stated that wildemess had provided us with numerous drugs and medications. Yet many species have become extinct as a result of human actions and their contribution to the health of people will never be known. She also wondered if humans could become extinct through the loss of wildemess, just as other species had. Oak believed that species and life itself had an intrinsic value. Oak did not demonstrate her value of wildemess in any substantive way, other than through her beliefs. 285
The Situation and Its Relationship to Life Many of the Graduate Non-Visitors believed that just knowing of the existence of wildemess improved their lives. In some cases, Birch believed that experiencing small pieces of nature was refreshing, but wildemess was the main prize. Knowing of its existence and how it appeared, made her feel good and that “this is something I’m looking forward to. I don’t know when, but I’m going to get there’’ (unit 15). Birch knew that she would visit Montana and Australia and await the surprises which wildemess held for her—“it’s refreshing to see something new...a little mushroom that’s kind of a strange shape...that’s really interesting because we’ve never seen it before even though... if you looked at it from the view of, ‘Is it pretty or is it ugly?’ it would be ugly. But it’s neat, because it’s new” (unit 15). She believed that each time a wildemess experience occurred, it renewed itself, the person saw something different each time and leamed a new aspect about herself—“that’s kind of the wildemess (experience)...every time you go, it would be something different, and that’s how I try to look at myself as, “What do I notice that I’m doing that I didn’t do before?” More importantly though she thought of wildemess as a “kind oL.growing, changing type place” (unit 15) and hoped that she, too, could be like the wildemess in this respect—“That’s how I hope I am. I’m always adding new things, and taking away the bad things” (unit 15). Aspen was comforted by the fact that wildemess existed regardless of society, but saddened by the fact that humans could disrupt the balance within and destroy these areas. Sometimes he talked about this issue, but most of his friends were not interested, and his own interest would then wain in the subject. If he talked with his brother, who was a scientist. Aspen would often tire of the issue because of his own limited knowledge of and interest in the issue. Willow also mentioned a deep connection with the knowledge of the existence of wildemess: “maybe more on the philosophical realm, just knowing that there are areas like that...I think even if we never go there, I think it still enriches our lives and...maybe I can say that because I don’t think I’ve ever really been to wildemess, yet I still find it valuable and I still find it very desirable to have...and to preserve” (unit 15). Oak thought that her view of development and the value she placed on wildemess might influence her teaching. In addition, “I think it probably affects some 286 of my views in terms of who I would look at politically how they feel about environmental issues. It would probably influence my behavior in terms of who I would vote for” (unit 14).
Wildemess in Societv The Graduate Non-Visitors believed that society’s view of wildemess had changed in a positive manner to varying degrees. Some of this was related, in Birch’s mind, to the religion or spirituality of the person. However, while a person may have strong spiritual feelings about this environment, Birch thought that wildemess had not, in general, impacted society’s view of this setting. In fact, she had a poor image of American culture;
“I think it’s just our culture...is so me-oriented that it’s hard to think of, in the big picture, what I do affects this person...and this person, but it also affects die trees, the rivers...it affects everybody and I don’t think that is something that is very cognizant in society. For the most part the American society is not religious or spiritual” (unit 12b).
However, Birch believed that attitudes were changing toward the environment and stated that people were “doing...things to save the environment and wildemess is a part of that” (unit 17). Talking about the relationship of society and wildemess. Aspen maintained that the average citizen would espouse pantheistic ideas, “saying that in nature, God is everywhere” (unit 12b). However, he altered this believing that “in nature or in the wildemess, the Creator is everywhere ...not necessarily this Christian concept of God. But I would think that in wildemess...there’s a religious concept, that God created all of these aspects” (unit 12b). Aspen also concluded that indigenous peoples’ spiritual beliefs were impacted by the wildemess in which they lived. He stated that “their nature is, in part, derived from wildemess, and posits back onto wildemess” (unit 12b). On the other hand, the religious beliefs of ‘enlightened people—modem society’ impact “what we consider wildemess, or at least play a role in how we define wildemess” (unit 12b). Aspen was angered by policy oriented media programs which showed the destruction of wildemess and concluded that such development was based on “society’s materialistic ideas, going in to cultivate the wildemess for their own personal benefits” (unit 7d). 287
However, Aspen did think that a heightened awareness of environmental matters, including wildemess, had evolved recently in part firom celebrities focusing on certain issues. The highlighting of certain practices, plus some economic factors, eased the pressure on wildemess. In addition, the unique biological, physical, and spiritual character of wildemess resulted in the realization that once the setting has been tampered with, cultivated or destroyed, its replacement was impossible. “I think that a lot of people are saying. This is ‘Where we only have X amount of acres of wildemess in country X, we can’t destroy (it) all. We need it’ (unit 17). (However, this is also an example of westem domination, concentrating on foreign rather than domestic wildemess.) Shades thought that wildemess had not impacted society’s religious beliefs because institutional religions were not concemed about wildemess, it was never mentioned by them. On the other side, pagan religions worshipped the earth, and she was unsure if “that’s because of their religion or because they learn things about the wildemess’’ (unit 12b). For the answer to this quandary, perhaps Aspen’s idea of indigenous peoples spiritual pact with wildemess should be considered. However, Shades believed that society valued wildemess more now than in the past. An indication of this was the various environmental groups and general public attempting to protect wildemess through occasions such as ‘Earth Day Every Day’ and other projects.
In relation to wildemess’ impact on society’s spiritual beliefs. Willow surmised that religious or spiritual beliefs had not influenced society’s view of wildemess. Yet he perceived a positive shift in society’s attitude toward preserving such areas. This, Willow concluded, was not fi-om guilt associated with exhibiting a lack of respect for these areas created by a divine being, but rather firom visualizing the results of neglect. While Willow thought society’s view of wildemess was changing, he claimed that there was still considerable room for improvement. More anti-littering campaigns should be established. The desire for more protection seemed to be growing in large part as a response to wildemess preservation organizations and some federal institutions. But these were all relatively new. Increasing sales of outdoor equipment was another indication of the need to create more natural recreation areas and a large threat to the wildemess, i.e. snow-mobiles, etc.. 288
Oak suggested that the doctrine of one religion, Christianity, stated that “humans are superior to animals and can use them for their purposes and so they can exploit them because it’s not really exploitation. They have the opportunity to do that, so they have that right...! think that that’s where religion has really influenced how a lot of people feel about how to treat the wilderness areas” (unit 12c). She believed that this belief created the viewpoint that wilderness was secondary to human requirements, so people dominated this setting. Humans “feel they have that right to move in and take what they need and don’t worry about the rest of it” (unit 12b). This was in stark contrast to Oak’s beliefs who asserted that people had an ethical and moral responsibility to be stewards toward the earth. As a result she often disagreed with land use decisions made by communities. However, she suggested that society’s perception that “we can use what we want and life will pretty much take care of itself’ (unit 12b) was altering to a more conservation/preservation attitude. Media was partially responsible for this by showing wilderness in a more positive light and the rapid disappearance of these areas.
Other factors also influenced society’s image of wilderness. Media, again, was a prominent force. Birch thought that media—the TV programs she mentioned earlier plus magazines such as ‘National Geographic’—had a major impact on society. It created an awareness among people of other life forms and portrayed it as an area for recreation.
Birch saw a distinct relationship between the landscape, media and their influence on people. She discussed how wilderness perception had altered over time, from the industrial boom of the 1950s to the TV generation of the sixties influenced by the medium to continue the consumerism ideology, and “people of my generation are starting to take over things and it’s more of the Grizzly Adams stuff. So it’s kind of a continuum. It was kind of wildemess...then it went down to more concrete stuff and...it’s back up to wilderness type stuff’ (unit 13). The noticeable increase in commercials with wilderness settings was explained in this manner and Birch thought this level of exposure would have a positive impact on the view of wilderness within society. Media, particularly movies, according to Shades, influenced people’s view of wilderness. A movie such as Dances With Wolves and a TV show. Gentle Ben, were 289 cited as being examples of media which influenced people. In relation to the latter presentation. Shades hoped that it made people aware that “bears are beings...and they’re not vicious and there’s no reason to go out and just kill them’’ (unit 13). Both Aspen and Oak believed that economic factors influenced society’s view of wilderness. Aspen suggested that the prime directives for leveling wilderness were “economic reasons and Man’s development” (unit 13). While he speculated that society gains somewhat from the devastation, “indirectly we lose much, much more from the destruction of these wilderness areas” (unit 13). A town in Brazil may be able to afford certain luxuries because the wilderness had been harnessed. As a result of the development. Aspen’s personal standard of living may have improved, but his gain was negligible, microscopic, in comparison to his loss. That particular wilderness can never be replaced, the species either adapt to new niches or became extinct. Oak, in addition to Aspen, discussed the development imperative, espoused by Grizzly. She thought that the economic issues in life often shielded society from examining the harmony within nature. She focused on this as a result of her scientific training, but she maintained that the average person did not have this perspective. Instead of exploring this equilibrium, the balance between economic development and wilderness was the issue. Oak also made a significant point that if a century ago people wanted to maintain the wild places then she would not be living in Columbus. That particular area was a major wetland, influencing the drainage of a large amount of the state. Much of this development, in her view, was unnecessary. While Oak thought that many animals had adapted to life in this type of environment, undeveloped areas should be cordoned off as wilderness.
“Politically and economically, people are not going to want to take the responsibility...people are not going to stop expanding unless they have to because there’s money involved...people naturally like space...unless places are specifically set aside, eventually they’re going to get trampled” (unit 13).
According to Willow, the plight of humans in a polluted envirorunent, sterilized of other life forms, and the fact that earth is the only home humans have, brought society to a realization that the planet required stewardship. 290
Wilderness as a Lepal and Personal Definition Although none of the Graduate Non-Visitors had ever seen or read the legal definition of wilderness, a few of them suspected that a definition existed in some form. Generally, they all believed that the legal definition corresponded to their personal one, although some reservations were voiced. Oak was concerned about some of the activities allowed in wilderness. Birch never quantified the size of wilderness in her own definition. Aspen raised some intriguing issues, for example: defining wilderness raised it to an artificial level “there are some artificial constructs here...‘5,000 acres’...that’s simply an artificial arbitrary number placed upon it. Wilderness doesn’t have to be 5,000 acres, although I can’t mentally envision how big of an area 5,000 acres is right offhand” (unit 19). The legal definition described the area as generally appearing “‘to be affected primarily by the force of nature.’ What does ‘generally’ mean?...if there’s a volcano, can Man go in and start plowing things down and replanting trees? I don’t know. Perhaps that’s also wildemess...So...to a degree it is but...there’s a little bit of artificial aspects about this definition” (unit 19). Willow thought that the ideals expressed in the first sentence of the legal definition—an ‘untrammeled’ area where man is a visitor and does not remain —matched with his idea of wilderness. Shades expressed a similar view. Three of the Graduate Non-Visitors did not know legal wilderness areas existed. Shades and Oak were unsure whether any of the national parks they knew were designated wilderness areas. However, when the group read the activities which were allowed in these areas, they all expressed reservations about the legal definition corresponding to their idea of wilderness. Birch stated that the activities changed everything for her. She believed that it was not possible to have “a Grizzly Adams type wilderness with all these activities going on in there. I don’t see anything wrong with the recreation, at least hiking and camping...may be even some hunting, but grazing...no, no...that should not be! If it all is like this, then there is no true wilderness left, and I wonder what the difference is between a national park and a wilderness then?” (unit 19a). Knowing Shades’ previous opposition to hunting, it was easy to speculate that she would find this objectionable. In her mind, hunting, fishing, and trapping should not be allowed. Grazing was acceptable because the ranchers were there before the area was designated as wilderness, yet research should only be permitted if it did not damage the area. 291
Allowing sport hunting and fishing in legal wilderness surprised Willow. He did not have a problem with hunting, per se, as his own definition of wilderness entailed survival in that particular environment. One of the ways of doing that was hunting. It was the word ‘sport’ which he objected to, although he could not see any inconsistency with either ‘sport’ hunting or fishing based on the legal definition. Oak was completely against all of the activities allowed in legal wilderness. “It seems that wilderness is no better than a national park. Perhaps a national park has more people, and so on, but I don’t think it is any worse than a wilderness area now. How can it be wilderness if all of these activities are allowed in there? It just doesn’t seem right to me” (unit 19a). Aspen again detailed his objections to the activities allowed in legal wilderness. Basically, he would permit subsistence hunting, fishing and trapping for indigenous peoples. However, allowing grazing “shows how the definition of wilderness is very artificial and is a construct placed upon it...in that sense, our definition of wilderness is, to an extent, contrived to satisfy our own needs of wilderness, but doesn’t necessarily define what wilderness actually is...I assume there’s a need to define what wilderness is!” (unit 19a). Any activity such as grazing constituted an “invasion of the wilderness for Man’s gain. You have an economic reason for going there...the hunting and fishing I think would be the same...that’s a good example that even the definition of wilderness here is an economic definition of wilderness. We have to satisfy so many special interest groups, so we prostitute our definition to a certain group” (unit 19a). According to Aspen, legal wilderness should be an area where people can enter for some forms of recreation and perform research under strict guidelines. Certain areas need to exist which do not have “invaders from the outside...I would consider all of this...hunting, fishing, grazing, etc...an invasion from the outside into the wilderness” (unit 19a). Recreation, particularly camping, should only be for short periods and then there has to be valid reasons for entering the area. “I want to go camping so I’m going to go into the wilderness’” (unit 19a) would not be valid. Camping in wilderness “to satisfy one’s own desires with limited respect of the area you’re in” was the attitude which Aspen perceived of many people entering such areas. This connected to his view of the spiritual aspects of wilderness. As a result. Aspen believed that his definition was, to a degree, closer “to actual (wilderness than the legal definition)...how it manifests itself in reality...But not having experienced first hand, it’s hard for me to say 292 yes or no. But I would think...that I have a good layman’s idea of what wilderness is” (unit 19a), which would allow less activities than in legal wilderness.
Words Used to Describe Wilderness and Influences on Graduate Non-Visitors Definitions As with the other groups, the words and characteristics used to describe wilderness depended on the situation or experience with the setting. When Birch thought of wilderness, the image that immediately entered her mind was that portrayed in Grizzly Adams. The image depicted wilderness as mountains with trees and animals, lots of open spaces, but without development or people. The setting was also amazing, she had “never seen anything so green and yet have so many internal conflicts within itself...all the animals trying to kill each other...but then everything is so beautiful. It’s just amazing, to me, the contrast” (unit 1). What was intriguing was that Birch began to compare the wilderness setting with a city location. “The contrast is really interesting because even though they’re opposites, they’re the same” (unit 1). When she watched the forest fires, she used words such as “colorful, brilliant colors, reds...oranges, overwhelming” (unit 1). She also considered Australian desert to be wilderness because it is inaccessible and inhospitable. Birch relied on her image of wilderness to get her through bad days, she consequently thought it was positive. “When you’re having a bad day...I picture this green...place where there’s lots of birds and animals. There’s bears and cats, and no snakes, though. There’s never any snakes. I don’t like snakes!” (unit 16). Even though a dynamic tension between creatures existed in wilderness, sometimes projected negatively in media as a fearful, dangerous, and ferocious struggle, Birch still held a very positive image of wilderness. Aspen considered wilderness to include tropical rain forests, deserts, and oceans. Although he believed that “the typical person would say wilderness has to be greatly forested and very dense...! would also say a Saudi Arabian desert or the Sahara could be a wilderness area because man has not come in to control everything” (unit I). For Aspen, wilderness was an area “where Man has not been or...where Man has not necessarily changed the area” (unit I). Because the setting was uncontaminated by man, wilderness, for Aspen, was positive. Yet, if indigenous peoples lived in such areas, were they wilderness? Aspen’s conclusion, based on his belief concerning the 293 interaction between indigenous peoples and wilderness, was that such areas were indeed wilderness. “Because these people are completely outside of society and have no idea of the so-called real world of our modem society...the mere fact that they’re living within this wilderness and treating it as an equal...! wouldn’t consider that to be against my definition” (unit 1). Once people have entered wilderness with an idea of altering it, then Aspen would not visualize this as wilderness any more. Theoretically, he maintained that “wilderness could be adjacent to a socialized area, however I think that it would quickly become contaminated by people going in...But on a practical level, I don’t think that would happen” (unit I). Aspen had lived in Berlin, Germany, for a number of years and he often visited and camped in parks, however, these would not conform to his idea of wilderness—“I would call those a park area which has been controlled” (unit 1). However, while he had “never been in a wilderness, I have some experiences in cultivated nature which have given me feelings of solitude and peace” (unit 18a). Aspen postulated that three types of areas existed along a continuum. “I would think of it more of a three staged process where you have a society, then you have this nature area which has been partly controlled and changed for Man’s purpose, and then the wilderness. Originally you would have society, then wilderness, but you always have this bumper zone of the controlled part of wilderness, before you get to wilderness” (unit 1). Here Aspen was discussing the NES. However, according to Aspen, as civilization expands onto the bumper zone, “the wilderness shrinks and becomes further away from the original settlement” (unit 1). Shades defined wilderness as “a place where not many people go...where there’s a lot of wild animals like bear and deer and foxes...It could be a massive wooded area, like a large...deep forest. It could be...the mountains out in Colorado... It’s got to be far enough away from people...serene...large, rocky, deep area... barren...open places...desert” (unit 1). She was unsure if Yosemite was wilderness because of the large number of tourists who travel there. Shades had both negative and positive impressions of wilderness. Her negative feelings were based on the fact that she was unsure of what a wilderness experience entailed. Shades’ main concern was interaction with wild animals. The ideal experience “would just be (to) go out in the middle of nowhere, where nobody’s been before...on a horse, because it’s another animal and it’s not going to hurt anything...The good part is 294 just being out there in nowhere...It’s serene” (unit 16). Just the thought of such experiences and the positive aspects of wilderness were relaxing to Shades and she wanted time to encounter nature in order to balance the hectic pace of life. For Willow, wilderness was defined as “perhaps a region of the country that has not been previously explored, not necessarily the country but the world in general. A place that has not been affected by the presence of man...to sum that up, a place that is untamed...awesome...maybe unforgiving...a sense of ‘tough justice’...beautiful, graceful, breathtaking...powerful...dangerous...very valuable” (unit 1). He saw it as both positive and negative, something feared, yet respected. “The same animal that’s so graceful as it runs can eat you!” (unit 16). Because of these emotions. Willow was indebted to protect it. However, wilderness was under threat as Willow related in the oil spill and Chernobyl incidents and he described the setting as “destroyed and ugly... altered...(with) irreversible...permanent...damage” (unit 1). Willow thought that the greatest aspect of the wilderness experience was actually being in and surviving the setting. Therefore, the experience had to be attainable and entailed both mental and physical preparation. Returning from there, people should understand more about the wilderness “simply by having experienced it, and also experience more about yourself. So wilderness should be something where you learn about and experience wilderness, but also learn about and experience yourself and the way you react to wilderness” (unit 1). Oak did not consider national parks to be wilderness. The setting had to be a “purely untouched environment...where nature has the right to be nature without any sort of human interference, vast...undeveloped areas...very wild, powerful...majestic ...intense...Overgrown...people should not go in there” (unit 1). She also believed that wilderness was positive and this feeling had influenced her voting and teaching.
Proposed Wilderness Experiences The participants in this group had never visited what they considered wilderness. Reasons for this varied from lack of opportunity and time, fear, and allergies. For Birch, it was mainly lack of opportunity, although she did find aspects of it scary. Willow, also, expressed fear because wilderness was “a place that has not been explored before or a place where we don’t have our creature comforts” (unit 5). In addition, the great distance between Columbus and areas he considered wilderness 295 created visitation problems. Aspen did not have a particular desire to visit this environment and he was “more of a city man than a nature man” (unit 5). Shades did not have enough time to visit wilderness. For Oak, it was mainly medical reasons, she had severe allergies and so stayed away from large amounts of vegetation, but also was not fond of bugs!! Two of the Graduate Non-Visitors (Birch, Shades) were planning to visit wilderness in the near future. Willow would take up the opportunity if it presented itself, but Aspen and Oak did not intend to personally experience wilderness. For Oak, it was primarily medical reasons. Aspen, although he had experienced cultivated wilderness (state parks with trails and cabins) or nature, did not want to camp in wilderness. A wilderness trip would entail a prolonged time without modem conveniences, such as daily showers, and Aspen believed he could not handle this. Birch and Shades both had plans to visit wilderness. Montana was one place on Shades list. Crocodile Dundee had influenced Shades’ choice of Australia and New Zealand as possible location for her trips, in addition to wilderness in the U.S-
Table 22 represents a summary of the areas considered to be specific wilderness and areas for possible visits.
Journal Reflections on Each Participant’s Meaning of Wilderness This group of participants had not visited an area they considered wilderness, yet had attained an idea of the characteristics of the setting. Some had experiences in ‘cultivated wilderness, woods, or other natural areas’ but did not believe that these places constituted wilderness. Interestingly, some the these settings were considered wilderness by Undergraduate and Graduate Visitors. Birch—her idea of wilderness had clearly been impacted by the Grizzly Adams show: “mountains and the trees and no roads...no people. Just animals. Nothing. Tliere’s nothing there besides trees and forests and animals. That’s...the way I picture it” (unit 1). It was interesting to notice, not just in Birch’s case but in others, that when the participants described wilderness the word ‘nothing’ was sometimes used, nearly always in close association with some form of ‘no development’ or ‘no people.’ Wilderness was not considered a wasteland or valueless because people or development were non-existent, quite the contrary as evidenced in the transcripts. Table 22 Areas Considered for Possible Visits and to be Specific Wilderness Areas by the Graduate Non-Visitors (Trees)
Trees Possible Wilderness Visits Specific Wilderness Areas
Birch Montana Montana; Ausü'alia
Oak No visits planned because of allergies Pacific Northwest of U.S.; areas of Africa
Willow Alaska; Antarctica; Grand Canyon; Alaska; Antarctica; Grand Canyon; rain forests; deserts rain forests; deserts
Aspen Not planning any trips Areas of Southeast Asia, South America, China, Russia, and Scandinavia
Shades New Zealand; Australia; western U.S. Wyoming; Colorado; Nevada; deserts 297
Overall, Birch was very excited speaking about wilderness, she evidently thought a lot about it and valued it quite a bit. Her fear of snakes was totally understandable, many people, including this researcher, are uncomfortable around these creatures. TV impacted me, as it seemed to do with Birch and many of the participants, influencing me to seek out the ‘real’ wilderness experience, not the projected image. “I will freely admit that certain images of the wilderness in many movies and TV shows did also frighten me, but as I have experienced wilderness, these have lessened a great deal” (Journal, 10/12/95). The only real fears remaining are either an encounter with a large predator, such as mountain lion, or Kodiak Bear, or being badly injured in the setting. “But these still do not prevent me from wanting to or going there, the experience is worth these fears and besides there are worst ways of passing onto the next realm!!” (Journal, 10/12/95). Birch’s image of wilderness had clearly been impacted by media, it was extremely similar to those who had visited the setting, and corresponded, to some degree, with my idea of wilderness. Other media which Birch talked about hit a ‘hot spot’ for me. During the fall of 1994, a vehicle manufacturer released a new set of commercials displaying jeeps in various wilderness settings. The images were also utilized in magazines, receiving a large amount of exposure. In January, 1995, during the interview with Birch, she stated that her cousin was involved in the advertising industry and had assisted in the creation of a series of vehicle commercials featuring wilderness as a back drop. “I am not sure if they were the exact same ones or not, but this was a ‘hot spot’ for me. She explained the increase in the use of wilderness settings was a result of advertising personnel growing up in the generation of TV shows, such as Grizzly Adams, which used this setting as a backdrop” (Journal, 10/12/95). Birch suggested that this level of exposure would have a positive impact on the view of wilderness within society.
“I was not so sure. The reason why I was angered when I first saw such commercials was that I believed it would promote recreational use of the wilderness, which may be acceptable, but what type of recreation? I believed that it would encourage the use of these types of vehicles in wilderness areas. I know that this is currently not possible, hopefully it will never be, but the projected image of vehicles in this setting has a strong influence, I believe, in a negative way” (Journal, 10/12/95). 298
Many attempts have been made to allow All Terrain Vehicles (ATV’s) into wilderness; this image could promote the struggle even more. A more recent commercial was even worse!! A family was traveling along a road; the interior of the jeep-type vehicle was shown, the announcer talked about the electronic technology available in the vehicle—radios, phones, and a TV in the back of the front seat headrest, as in some commercial aircraft. The children in the back were watching a program on the TV. The camera panned out of the vehicle into the surrounding desert landscape. The function of the TV was to prevent the children from becoming bored. “Have we come to this point, that the projected image is king? This really angered me again but I also thought it was sad. Had we really come to this? I watched a lot of TV when I was young and a teenager, but I don’t think I was ever this dependent” (Journal, 10/12/95). It had a positive influence on me, perhaps it will have a beneficial impact on other people as well, but images such as this on TV raise concerns. Birch was planning to visit wilderness at some point in the near future and was clearly excited about the prospect of doing this. She wanted to experience the wilderness in Montana and Australia. Interestingly, she had been to the mountains in Tennessee (probably somewhere in the Smoky Mountains), but did not consider this wilderness, yet many people who had been to similar areas had considered this wilderness. (Raven had also visited the Tennessee mountains and believed that excessive development prevented this area from being considered wilderness.) This was intriguing, why had some people considered this a wilderness trip and others not? Were some participants more strict on the conditions they expected to find in wilderness than others? If so, how did this definition evolve? “I think it could have to do with the age of the first visit to such an area. Birch, and Raven, another person who had a similar opinion, had...visited these areas recently or after their childhood/teenage years. Perhaps play and imagination when young are associated more with the idea of wilderness than I had thought. However, this is not saying that people cannot have an experience at an older age which will profoundly impact them and their idea of wilderness. One of the people I interviewed in my testing of the Sense-Making instrument had such an experience in his early twenties, as did Grizzly, and W olf’ (Journal, 1/24/95). Perhaps Birch was searching for the ‘perfect’ wilderness setting as portrayed in TV shows and movies. “Also, I wonder how much of the ‘macho-image’ of wilderness 299 programming, as Coyote described it, came into play with the ‘non-visitor’ groups. Did they also perceive it as a macho-type experience, especially the people who did not want to visit? I think this may have been the case” (Journal, 10/6/95). Aspen—defined wilderness was an area “where Man has not been or...where Man has not necessarily changed the area” (unit 1). While wilderness could be adjacent to civilized areas, he believed it would become contaminated quickly by people going into the area. Therefore he was not keen on allowing human access to such areas. Aspen visited natural areas in Berlin to get out of the hustle and bustle of the city. Even though many other people were there, the experience was still therapeutic. He recouped mentality enough in such areas to return to his daily life; others may require an extended trip for this. Even though Aspen had visited parks in Germany where he could separate himself from the conditions of everyday life, these areas did not conform to his idea of wilderness—“I would call those a park area which has been controlled” (unit 1), these were “cultivated wilderness” (unit 5a). (This was similar to Bobcat’s ‘softened wilderness.’) He also postulated that three types of areas existed along an environmental continuum—society, nature, and wilderness, similar to the NES discussed by other participants. In wilderness research a similar continuum exists, the Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS), which is based on recreation opportunities and the environment required for each type. (Aspen would not agree with this as some types of recreation would require access to wilderness.) He also mentioned the bumper zone, which is generally termed a buffer zone placed around wilderness areas where some limited development is allowed near the boundary of civilization. Development diminishes as it approaches the wilderness boundary until it becomes non-existent. It is interesting to note that Aspen readily admitted he did not have any desire to visit wilderness (just as Osprey did). A city person, the few natural experiences he had were sufficient for him. He certainly did see the value of wilderness, but just like Osprey, he preferred seeing wilderness rather than experiencing it Aspen seemed to be so different from his brother, an entomologist, and admitted that he often became bored with his brother’s entomology conversations, although he did enjoy being out in natural environments with him. Many of his problems with a wilderness experience were associated with the lack of ‘civilized’ amenities, such as showering on a daily basis. He could not cope without these amenities for an extended period of time. Aspen admitted 300 that wilderness did not really connect to his life in any way, as did many of the other participants who had not visited this setting. However, his natural experiences in Berlin, or at least in the parks outside Berlin, were probably comparable as a wilderness experience, in that they performed many of the functions of wilderness: the cleansing effect, the relaxation that such experiences reward people with, do seem to be important whatever the setting. Perhaps like Birch, he had been conditioned to expect the perfect wilderness from the images portrayed on TV and these areas did not meet that criteria. Probably the most exciting fact about this interview was the point Aspen discussed concerning the wilderness construct, that attempting to define it showed how it was artificial. When a boundary was established around this setting, it became unnatural and separated from humans. This was similar to W olfs point. Aspen was correct when he noted that “our definition of wilderness is, to an extent, contrived to satisfy our own needs of wilderness, but doesn’t necessarily define what wilderness actually is” (unit 19a). So should wilderness be allowed to define itself as Daniel stated in his ‘Towards Wild Heartlands’ article (1994, 106). But how does wilderness define itself? According to Daniel, it does so with its full complement of biota, something with which many of the participants agreed. Both Aspen and Oak believed that economic factors influenced society’s view of wilderness. Aspen suggested that the prime directives for “leveling wilderness were economic reasons and Man’s development” (unit 13). Economic reasons and progress of the human species are intertwined and often seen as one entity. For example, examine the debate surrounding the 104th Congress’ attempts to deregulate environmental laws and dismantle Utah’s wilderness areas. Can the common ground of ‘balance’ be found as Salmon discussed for regulations? Maybe, but from past histories it seems probable that economics will prevail once again. Oak—Wilderness, according to her, had to be a “purely untouched environment ...where nature has the right to be nature without any sort of human interference, large, vast...undeveloped areas, very wild, powerful, majestic, intense, overgrown...people should not go in there” (unit 1). Oak considered different types of areas to be wilderness, but all had to posses many of the above features. Oak was a high school science teacher, and a graduate student in the Chemistry Department, who gave me the impression that she had severe allergies. This was the 301 main reason why she had never visited the wilderness. Originally, I thought this was not a severe handicap, at least not severe enough to stop one doing something if the desire was strong enough. But then I realized I do not have allergies of any kind and Oak’s allergies could cause severe problems for her. Wilderness experiences are all challenging to a degree, when I am in particular canoeing situations, I feel a certain discomfort level because of a past water phobia. But following the experience I feel exhilarated by it. “I know people who are physically and mentally challenged who have had wilderness experiences. Many people may use a cloaking device, like severe allergies, to disguise or hide the real reason for not experiencing wilderness. Many people may be fearful of it, many people may just not desire to experience, all of which are fine” (Journal, 1/12/95). Perhaps, if Oak had a great enough desire to experience wilderness, she would overcome the allergies in some way or reduce the discomfort level by taking some medicines. When asked what media event made her most anxious about how people view wilderness, she responded that it was not a media event, but her students. Oak believed that her students were being “environmentally-trained” in a politically correct manner by the education process. However, media would also have some influence on this. Moral and environmental messages are transferred in many Saturday morning cartoons, as well as the movies which have been cited by the participants throughout the interviews. While not mentioned by any of the participants, ‘‘‘‘Bambi, the Disney animated feature concerning White-Tailed Deer probably had a major impact on the image of hunting in this country. (What a great sense-making study!) Her students probably spend more time in front of the TV than reading their books, so it is highly probable that media would influence them somewhat” (Journal, 10/20/95). Her students had the slogans “Recycle to Save the World” or “Stop the Deforestation of the Amazon.” She feared that her students were not making the real connections and were only saying these things because they were ‘cool.’ Many of these environmental slogans have become so rampant that people often lose the message. For example, recycling has been very successful but while it may be a worthwhile endeavor, there are two other Rs before it—Reduce and Reuse. People seem to have lost sight of these two aspects of the process. A similar situation arises with deforestation where people are very concerned about the Amazon rain forest but yet “what about the logging on National Forest lands. 302 deforestation in our own backyard” (Journal, 1/12/95). Such issues require an examination of lifestyles, something which can be denied by focusing on environmental problems aboard. This may also be connected to a person’s locus of control. However, if this present lifestyle does not change, it may be necessary to tap the few minerals or natural resources present on the four percent of undeveloped land, called wilderness. This returned to the balance of economic and environmental issues. Oak believed that over-crowding and over-development of national parks rendered them non-wilderness. (This was similar for Pike when he visited Sequoia National Park). This led Oak to the belief that wilderness areas should not be accessible to people, again in an indirect way talking about the NES. Graduate Non-Visitors believed that areas where people could have a wilderness experience should exist, but there should be other wilderness areas that are not accessible to people. An interesting split occurred among the Graduate Non-Visitors who intended to experience and not visit wilderness. Oak and Aspen could not or did not want to visit ‘real’ wilderness and believed that these areas should not be accessible to people. While the other three Graduate Non-Visitors, Willow, Shades and Birch, did have a desire to experience wilderness at some point in the future, they thought that the setting should be accessible. The issue of over-crowding and development in a local community was also discussed by Oak’s students. They wanted to stop development of the area, or at least prevent it from becoming over-crowded by instituting some financial and zoning options. Animal species are managed in wilderness areas to prevent over-population, yet “we have failed to manage our own population which has put major pressure on all other species” (Journal, 10/20/95).
Shades—thought wilderness was “a place where not many people go...where there’s a lot of wild animals like bear...deer and foxes...It could be a massive wooded area, a large...deep forest. It could be...the mountains out in Colorado...It’s got to be far enough away from people, cities...serene...large, rocky, deep area...barren...open places...desert” (unit 1). Indeed, from the definitions of the Graduate Non-Visitors, such as Shades, it was interesting to speculate that perhaps wilderness may not exist anymore on this planet. While many people would consider places such as national parks to possess some form of wilderness, “it is becoming evident that wilderness with no human 303 presence is unavailable” (Journal, 1/19/95). It seemed to be a pattern among people who have not experienced wilderness that this setting should be an area separated from humans and preserved from human use.
“Following different types of wilderness experiences at various levels of difficulty, I am beginning to feel this way—there should be wilderness areas which we are never allowed into for any purpose (or at least for long periods of time). All wilderness areas should not be our playground, and while this may carry through the separation of human and nature which I don’t see at all, I think we, as a species, cannot be trusted with such areas. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be in this quandary, if we respected nature and wilderness” (Journal, 1/19/95).
The growing number of people in wilderness areas has been responsible for this feeling in my case, and once more returns to the question of access. Shades was also unsure if Yosemite National Park could be considered wilderness because of the large number of tourists who travel there. The type of wilderness experience Shades desired was a horse-pack trip in some western states, such as Wyoming, Nevada, or Colorado. This idea was attributed to her watching westerns as a child. Westerns also influenced me, “I have always wanted to see Monument Valley, an area used in...John Ford westerns and many of the other barren terrains used in these movies. I have experienced some (the Badlands and Black Hills of South Dakota, used in Dances With Wolves) and they are indeed, wilderness, but also very special places, spiritually” (Journal, 10/8/95). Shades wanted to use the horse because she thought that it would not damage the area. I, too, had wanted a horse-trip but when I discovered in a wilderness class that each hoof of a horse impacted the soil up to 8 times more than a human foot, I reconsidered. It would still be exciting to have such a trip, but I have to come to terms with this high level of impact.
“I don’t think many people realize how much impact horses actually do to the trails and soil in wilderness areas. I wimessW this in the Black Hills, as my group was hiking to Hamey Peak, sections of the trail were steep and wet from...rain...and yet people were riding horses down these sections. The horses clearly were nervous of the sUppery conditions and dug in their heels to prevent sliding, which absolutely tore up the trail... we had to hike off the trail, creating even more impact. It really angered me to have to do this, but there was no other option” (Journal, 10/8/95). 304
In addition, knowing Shades’ previous opposition to hunting, it was easy to speculate that she would find this objectionable in designated wilderness. In her mind, hunting, fishing, and trapping should not be allowed. Grazing was acceptable because the ranchers were there before the area was designated as wilderness, yet research should only be permitted if it did not damage the area. “Her knowledge on the impacts of activities was interesting, and...this is common in society. Grazing is probably more harmful to the environment...than the other activities. It damages the soil, causes the loss of native plant species, and displaces many animals species’’ (Journal, 10/8/95). Research is very tightly monitored, in fact probably restricted far more than any of the other activities. Again, this reflects very much Aspen’s idea on the definition of wilderness and how we prostitute our definitions to interest groups such as ranchers, miners, recreation groups, etc. Willow—His idea of wilderness was “perhaps a region of the country that has not been previously explored, not necessarily the country but the world in general. A place that has not been affected by the presence of man...a place that is untamed...awesome...maybe unforgiving...a sense of ‘tough justice’...beautiful, graceful, breathtaking...powerful...very dangerous...very valuable’’ (unit 1). Willow had some interesting perspectives on wilderness. His experiences with wilderness were both from stories related by a close friend, who had visited a ‘real’ wilderness area, Antarctica, and watching nature programs. Willow’s idea of wilderness was closely aligned to his spiritual beliefs and he thought the setting had great value because it was a gift from God. “Therefore, we should respect and care for, not alone wilderness but also, the earth and he introduced the whole idea of stewardship. This idea of stewardship has become more and more prominent in certain branches of Christianity, especially the Franciscan Order. This sect has its origin with St. Francis of Assisi, who did have more of a pro-wilderness belief than other parts of Christianity. In fact, in some communities, members of this Order promote environmental stewardship and activism’’ (Journal, 10/15/95). The role Willow’s career would play in maintaining the earth and his idea of safety within his job were both interesting. Because he was a chemist, he would deal with many different chemicals, some of which could be harmful to the health of the environment and consequently people. High safety conditions would be required and he should maintain high standards to prevent environmental damage. His image of a 305 deflated basket ball being used in a nuclear plant to plug a leak was highly emotive for both of us. While he was talking about this, it brought to mind a movie I saw. Prophecy, based on a paper producing company which had been polluting a local watershed. The result of this was the creation of a strange animal which was attacking and killing hikers and loggers.
“The subtle influence of media cannot be underestimated, which is connected to my fear of the wildemess-vehicle commercials described earlier. If vehicles are presented in ragged, wildemess-type terrain in commercials for the product, the consumer may ask: why can’t I do it? Is it not my right!” (Journal, 10/15/95).
Willow was correct in his rendering that some images of wilderness from the media, particularly nature documentaries, show the ‘raw justice’ of nature because that is the mechanism of nature. Kill or be killed. However, people often seem to transfer this into a wilderness experience. “I am not saying here that you will not get killed in the wilderness, however the chances of it are slim. However, personally I believe that there is probably more chance of being killed in the safety of civilization than in the wilderness. Of course, I don’t live in the wilderness and probably this is not a fair comparison, but most animals are so afraid of people that they will not attack. There are always exceptions, but not as much as people would seem to think from these documentaries” (Journal, 1/13/95). (This also related to Coyote’s impression of the media’s treatment of wilderness as a macho image and setting.) Such documentaries also have positive impacts. Willow’s meaning for wilderness was a function of their influence. Personally, they invited me to experience the natural world, the wild areas of North America. While I have not seen a large number, I have been extremely fortunate to visit areas which I only dreamed of witnessing when younger. It was also interesting that Willow watched these documentaries with his father, a point he emphasized. Research documented that wilderness experiences tended to be strongest with parents, family, friends or some role model. Perhaps for Willow, this pseudo-wilderness experience with his father was similar to the impact of the experience in a more natural setting.
The definition and meaning of wilderness result from experiences with that landscape directly or vicariously. While a large degree of commonality existed in the 306 patterns of the definition of wilderness and other aspects of this research, exceptions did exist to the themes for some participants. For example. Perch did not see any spiritual connection to wilderness while for Fox one of the main attributes of the experience was its spiritual nature. For Trout, the ‘gunshot’ incident when she was young created in her a fear, not necessarily of wilderness but of people in this environment which did impact her enjoyment of experiences. Eagle’s description of his three day solo hike as a natural experience because he wimessed a logged area would have sufficed for most of the visitors as a wilderness experience. Osprey could not see any personal value to wilderness, although she did concede that it had an intrinsic value which she demonstrated by recycling. In addition. Osprey was adamant that she did not want to experience wilderness, but did want to see it and enjoyed watching the interactions of wilderness occupants on television and in movies. Perch was the only visitor to have some semblance of a wilderness experience in an urban park setting, although some of the other participants did mention that past memories were awakened by certain media or other events. However, they would not characterize these as wilderness experiences. It is interesting to note that only Wolf and Raven described any encounters with direct aspects of the environment as creating a fear in them of wilderness. In W olfs case, it was an attack of a monkey, while for Raven it was a near-death experience in the ocean currents. Coyote was concerned about safety, particularly of her son on trips, although she did realize during the interview that she had experienced far more than he had at his age. This was partly resulting from being a single parent, but also her concerns about being stranded in what she termed the survivalist type of wilderness environment portrayed in the entertainment industry and documentaries. While most of the participants did believe that having wilderness experiences was more demanding. Fox and Salmon were planning more physically challenging experiences. Fox had learned the skill of rockclimbing to allow him access to more difficult areas, while Salmon was planning on scaling higher mountain peaks. In one way. Darter wanted to challenge his self-sufficiency skills by moving to Alaska.
Table 23a and Table 23b summarize the main characteristics of the Undergraduate and Graduate Visitors, and Undergraduate and Graduate Non-Visitors and features of their meaning of wilderness respectively. Table 23a Summary of ihc characieristics of the Undereraduale Visilors (UGV) and Graduate Visitors (GV)
N am e S e i A ge Experience WithMwi N um ber o f Value PlKed Demonstration of Agreement of Agreement with Areas considered to be Experiences o n V alue Personal and activities w ild ern ess Im pact (D/EX) W ild e rn e ss L egal D efinition
WiliJcrnevVNaiutal M edia Exptftiencex
P erch M 24 Modern movie E xtrinsic/ R .C .M . A Y es No. because of Areas of AK. ID «UGV» Sh'iiJ Fufflif) Intrinsic hunting and g raring ffobinion
Pike M 20 U'lM K ingdom . lOOs/.VIO Extrinsic/ A. CAREER Yes No. because of Yosemite National Park.CA. lU C V i N a tu re Intrinsic hunting, grazing Areas of AK. Brazil. Africa IXKumentaries
M 20 B oy Seoul >13/13 20 Extrinsic/ M . A Y es Yes. because the Areas in SW states; some m o n experiences in uootls Intrinsic different activities do coastal areas on the eastern and xxiIJcrncss not interfere with one seaboard, areas of Canada. a n o th er Siberia. South America. Europe. India. Australia
D a rte r M 26 Wilderness IOOOs/15-20 E xtrinsic/ AC Yes Yes. managed lo AK. Yukon. ID.W Y. UT (U G V j experiences in Ohio Intrinsic allow diflerent activities
r 21 Wilderness <100/60-70 Extrinsic/ AC Y es No. because of Yellowstone National Park, CA. (UGV) experiences m Utah Intrinsic hunting, grazing UT canyons, areas of CA. CO. ju n g le s o f A m azon, areas of Central/South America. Africa. Australia
G r iiily M 36 Driving across the \n E xtrinsic/ C .C o n v Y es No. because of Areas of AK. northern Canada. (OV) western states Intrinsic g ra z in g South American rain forest, parts of Siberia. Nordic States, central Africa
W o lf M 29 Witd Ktnfdom N one E xtrinsic/ Conv. R. EN F P Yes Yes. except for AK. FL Everglades, Rockies. IGV) show s but trips into Intrinsic trapping Grand Canyon, areas of Africa. w o odi/2 South America
Fox M 31 P arents, 3 0 /2 0 E xtrinsic/ C V. A Y es Yes, except for A K . Flat T ops. C O . (GV» educational TV, Intrinsic g razin g Canyonlands. UT. areas of friends, books Canada. Antarctica.
C ovote F 36 Witnessing her faihei N o n e /12 E xtrinsic/ M .C o n v . Y es No. because of some Boundary Waters Canoe Area. (GV» relax Intrinsic a ctivities MN. areas of CO. ME. southern OH. upstate NY. NV. hills of
B obcat F 27 C am ping in p in M T 12/2 Extrinsic/ M.A.R Yes No. because of some National parks in ARK. TX. (O V ) Intrinsic activities CA. areas of ME
Note. Abbreviations used in Tables 23a and 23b: D; Day Trip; EX: Extended Trip; A: Appreciation; C: Contributions; Conv: Conversations with friends, other people; V: Voting action, R: Recycling; M: Member of an organization; EN-F-P: use of Environmentally Friendly Products: CAREER: will help environment through future career; Vol: Volunteer; LS: Lifestyle changes; ex M: ex Member of an organization. S Table 23b Summary of the Characteristics of the Undergraduate Non-Visiiors (UGNV) and Graduate Non Visilors (GNV)
N jn w Sex Age Expcitenct W«h MoM Reasons for V alu e IXinonstration o! A g reem en t Agreement with Areas considered to be Im pact Not Visiting P laced on V alue o f Personal activities w ilderness W ild e rn e ss W ild ern ess an d L egal D efinition
W ilderness M edia /N atu ral Experiences
F 20 Tnp to too Nature programs on TV. N o Extrinsic/ C.Conv. Vol. Yes No. because of hunting Any place unpopulated area (UCNV) reading magailnes opportunity; Intrinsic CAREER and some recreation parents not interested in trip s
O w l F 22 NiUinruil CfoKiiiphif Traveled to E xtrinsic/ A. R. LS Yes No. because of hunting. Vietnam. Africa. South (U G N V j pioprnins. mlicr n.iiurc civili/cd areas In innsic America, spcufic isi.inds in tin,* ptiiÿi.uitiniMp m ainly CaiihlK.Mii. possibly areas ol \ 7 .
0^p iv > F 10 O i« inltlr Dumlre N o R. Y es No. bes'juve ol hunting, Rain loic'is, diflerent deserts. IUGNV» Intliinui » n d the opportunity, Inirinsic grazing, recreation, hut A n ta rc tic a Ruidrrxiif ihe Ij >u Ark parents not research is permitted interested in trips
K aven M 23 Near death Time, funds E xtrinsic/ Conv.LS Yes No. because of AK. Canada. Arctic. Antarctica (UGNV) experience in Intrinsic activities th e o cean
E ag le M 25 solo hiking Inaccessible; E xtrinsic/ R.ex-M Yes Yes. except for the South America. Canada, lU C N V ) experience in n o o pportunity Intrinsic possibilities of over* western U S . parts of Asia Zaleski State exploitation P atk . O H
B irch F 30 6 V i/;/v A J u mt TV series No E xtrinsic/ C.Conv. R. A Yes No. because of hunting MT. Australia IGNV) opportunity, Intrinsic and grazing thinks It's s c a ry
O ak F 29 Nature videos. A llerg ies E xtrinsic/ C onv. V Yes No. all activities should Pacific Northwest of U S . (GNV) Discovery Channel Intrinsic b e b an n ed areas of Africa programming
W illow M 29 Fnend sharing his Fear. Danger. E xtrinsic/ R.ENP.P.A Yes Yes. although sport AK: Antarctica. Grand Canyon; (GNV) wilderness experiences, No opportunity Intrinsic aspect of hunting is rain forests, deserts nature pro|rariiiiiing on q uestio n ed
A spen M 30 Some impact Reading some nature N o o p p o itu n ity E xtrinsic/ M.R Yes No. because of the Areas of Southeast Asia. South (GNV) from camping magazines, nature Intrinsic activities A m e ric a . programming on TV
S hades F 35 Some impact Travel section of Lack of time E xtrinsic/ A . C .C o n v Y es No. because of some W Y.CO. NV. deserts (GNV) from playing newspapers, books. Intrinsic activities, research is in w oods p erm itted
Note. Abbreviations used in Tables 23a and 23b: A: Appreciation; C: Contributions; Conv: Conversations with friends, other people; V: Voting action, R: Recycling; M: Member of an organization; EN-F-P: use of Environmentally-Friendly-Products; CAREER: will help environment through future career; Vol: Volunteer; LS: Lifestyle changes; ex-M: ex-Member of an organization. 309
Emergent Themes/Pattems firom the Data The following themes/pattems emerged from the interview data and personal reflections in the research journal. They are discussed in greater detail in Chapter 5. Generally, for both groups: • the meaning of wilderness for visitors and non-visitors was very similar, • wilderness existed as one environment on a continuum called the Natural Environment Spectrum; • wilderness existed on different levels, based on qualities such as wildness and solitude; • definition of wilderness changed over time • differences arose between personal and legal definitions of wilderness, as a result of the activities allowed in these legally designated areas; • a dichotomy existed between humans and nature, wilderness and civilization; • wilderness had a spiritual/religious significance; • setting was important to the wilderness experience; • society’s attitude toward wilderness had altered; and • wilderness was portrayed in media in a positive manner.
Visitors to wilderness: The following themes emerged from the data for the visitors: • best experience associated with characteristics of landscape; • worst experience associated with person/people on trip; • parents, siblings, friends, or role models, generally involved in the first wilderness experience; and • trips becoming more challenging in time and finance.
Non-visitors to wilderness: The following themes emerged from the data for the non visitors: • idea of wilderness largely impacted by media, but natural experiences were also important; • they did not visit wilderness because of lack of proximity, lack of interest, time and finances; and • they were pro-preservation, generally denying wilderness access to people. CHAPTER V
CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION
“When we touch that place, we trigger a host of Images, reflexes, cognitions which remind us o f our coevolutionary history with plants and animals in the wild. Culture overlays our perceptions, but it does not erase our ” origins (Burks, 1994, 12).
“Wilderness may temporarily dwindle, but wildness won’t go away” (Snyder, 1990, 15).
As seen in the previous chapter, the term wilderness did evoke different responses from the two groups—visitors and non-visitors to that setting. However, as indicated at the end of the chapter, patterns or themes emerged from the data for each group. Indeed, some themes were recurrent with both groups. Such patterns are examined in detail in this chapter, which is divided into three main sections. These include; • Sense-Making Methodology and the data; • conclusions based on (1) addressing the research questions using the emergent themes/pattems from the data; (2) correlation with previous research and philosophical debate; and (3) resolution of the research questions; • implications of the research; and • recommendations for future research.
310 311
Sense-Making Methodology and the Data The methodology used in this research was based on the Sense-Making triangle (see Chapter 3). Within this approach, certain assumptions were posited including the bridging of gaps by humans in a specific situation so that they can get past this gap and proceed with their life. In addition, the foundational interview technique for this methodology was based on the micro-moment time-line approach. For this research, the participants were asked to recall certain situations which had an impact on the phenomenon studied, in this case the meaning of wilderness. They were, then, asked to describe the situation in more detail in terms of the physical setting, motivation for the experiences, barriers, constraints, helps, emotions and feelings, and conclusions about the experience. This approach attempts to frame the concept of time-space within an individual’s reality. In addition, while Sense-Making concentrates on the individual, it assumes that she must be focused on as an individual in context, including social context. Sense-Making allowed the participants to detail the influences on their definition of wilderness. The methodology also permitted themes to emerge from the data concerning these influences. From the twenty interviews, data were classified as structural and emergent. The structural themes were examined in Chapter 4, the emergent data are explored in this chapter. The situations used in this research for the visitors included the first, most recent, worst, best experiences and the experience which had the most impact on the participant’s meaning of wilderness. In addition, situations involving media were discussed for both groups. Other aspects which may have influenced the participant’s and society’s view of wilderness were also considered. The relationships between these situations/aspects and the everyday life of the participants were discussed in the previous chapter. The use of Sense-Making in this research revealed some very interesting data from the participants. It was clear from their responses that some had read the questions and noted their reactions before the interview. In addition, during the interview certain points were clarified for the participants as they described their experiences in wilderness. For example. Pike and Hawk had never really considered the issue of a definitive size of a wilderness until they read the legal definition. They had assumed that it would be large, but did not have a clear idea of the size. Hawk and Pike became 312 more aware during the interview of the influence that natural and wilderness experiences, respectively, had on their career choice. In the preliminary phone questioning Owl visualized jungle as her idea of wilderness. Reading the questions before the interview she thought ‘what exactly is wilderness?’ and still her idea oriented toward jungle. Yet, during the interview she also realized that other types of environments could be subsumed under this definition. For some of the participants, the realization process in the interview was high. Birch, as she talked about forest fires and her lack of certain skills suddenly connected the two aspects and perceived their influence on her decision not to train as a fire marshall. This was an important point for her. She was deeply concerned about the damage forest fires caused in wilderness areas, but it was only at this point in the interview that she realized that connection which had such an influence on her life. An interesting aspect of Sense-Making in this study was that particularly for some of the non-visitors the degree of description of wilderness increased during the interviews. Some admitted to projecting emotions which were evoked on natural experiences onto their perception of a wilderness encounter. Willow described the type of experience he would expect in wilderness on a future trip. Raven, following his near death in the ocean (which he considered a natural encounter), realized that even though he was young he was not immune to death. He still had not come to complete closure on the immortality of youth, but realized the danger inherent in wilderness. However, he believed that with the correct precautions any planned excursions into this setting would be safe. Even though the non-visitors had primarily been influenced by media, few of them had considered the impact of virtual reality on the experience. Shades acknowledged that only at that point in the interview did she give any thought to this. She also detailed the benefits of this technology, as she perceived it. However, she thought that this virtual experience could never replace the actual wilderness encounter. All the participants, non-visitors and visitors, would agree with this statement Through the Sense-Making approach Willow came to realize that he may not be the type of person who would visit or be comfortable in wilderness. This resulted from the conversations with his friend, who had experienced wilderness, but also through self-discovery as he was interviewed. He, along with each other participant, was circling his own reality. 313
While each participant had encounters with wilderness in some medium the structured knowing of this environment did not materialize until reflected upon in a constructivist manner. For example, how experiencing wilderness, even indirectly, assisted them in their everyday life. All the participants appreciated it; Aspen and Oak, both non-visitors, did not want to experience wildemess but placed option and existence value! on it because they realized its worth to their mundane lives. Aspen, in particular, made a strong connection between wildemess and spirituality during the interview. Also, he realized as he described his camping experiences that they did influence his meaning for wildemess. Because of the nature of the methodology and the participants circling their reality at various time-space frames, it was clear that generally wildemess played an important role in their lives. Most of the visitors could not think of a bad wildemess memory, although Trout and Raven realized that they did use their spurious memories in conversations. Yet, they still valued it in a positive way. The visitors saw it connect directly as a type of ‘reality’ check where they could escape their mundane existence and retum to civilization cleansed. In this way, some of the participants came to realize the importance of wildemess to them in their lives—past, present and future. During the interviews many of the participants perceived connections which they had never seen before. The hesitancy of some participants in considering certain areas wildemess (Perch) or associating value with it (Osprey) showed the complexity of coming to understand the term. Indeed, this is seen continually as conflicts arise on land policy. However, the experiences which the participants had led them to define wildemess. Osprey for example, could not really determine how wildemess impacted her daily life (other than as an oxygen supply). The experience of the interview assisted the participants in clarifying their meanings for wildemess. Their definitions may have become more detailed at the end of the interview, but they essentially remained the same, although as Willow stated, his definition had changed over time and would continue to do so in the future.
1 Many people believe that having wildemess available to visit, whether they wiU visit it or not, is an option that should be open to them. For others, the simple fact that wildemess exists represents a value, even though these people will never have the option of visiting it. (For more details on values associated witii wildemess refer to Chapter n.) 314
In recent wildemess and environmental education research, biographies, diaries, and journals have become more important as a source of data (Chenoweth and Gobster, 1990; Goodey, 1982; Hanna, 1995; Kaplan and Kaplan, 1989; Talbot and Kaplan, 1986; Tarmer, 1980). They serve as a record of the influences on ideas and perceptions of these ideas and experiences on aspects of the person’s life. As Sebba (1991) concluded, the experience perceived by adults of landscapes in their childhood “is not identical to the actual experience of the child, but is not detached from it either” (419). Indeed, this experience is fastidious and concentrated and “the voyage into the landscapes of childhood is not a retum to objective features, but rather a journey as the adult self into the childhood self’ (ibid.). Sense-Making allows the researcher to be part of this joumey with the participant But, in addition data similar to joumal entries may be collected as the researcher is transported to specific situations in the individual’s life and such circumstances are probed in detail. This methodology could be utilized as an alterative or addition to joumals.
Conclusions and Discussion Addressing the Research Questions Using the Emergent Themes/Pattems The main themes which emerged from the data for each group were outlined at the end of the previous chapter. In this section each of the themes is examined in relation to the research questions and the term wildemess with possible connections to any relevant existing research. Because the participants connected wildemess to their ‘reality’ in various ways, there is some cross-fertilization between research questions and themes.
Generally, for both groups: a) the meaning of wildemess for visitors and non-visitors was very similar, b) wildemess existed as one environment on a continuum called the Natural Environment Spectrum; c) wildemess existed on different levels, based on qualities such as wildness and solitude; d) definition of wildemess changed over time e) differences arose between personal and legal definitions of wildemess, as a result of the activities allowed in these legally designated areas; 315
f) a dichotomy existed between humans and nature, wildemess and civilization; g) wildemess had a spirimal/religious significance; h) wildemess had a value; i) setting was important to the wildemess experience; j) society’s attitude toward wildemess had altered; and k) wildemess was portrayed in media in a positive maimer.
Visitors to wildemess: The following themes emerged from the data for the visitors: 1) best experience associated with characteristics of landscape; m) worst experience associated with person/people on trip; n) parents, siblings, friends, or role models, generally involved in the first wildemess experience; and o) trips becoming more challenging in time and finance.
Non-visitors to wildemess: The following themes emerged from the data for the non-visitors: p) idea of wildemess largely impacted by media, but natural experiences were also important; q) they did not visit wildemess because of lack of proximity, lack of interest, time and finances; and r) they were pro-preservation, generally denying wildemess access to people.
Themes addressed the research questions in the following way. 1. How does an individual make sense of the term wildemess—and how does it fit into her view of reality? What pattems exist in and between people’s interpretive landscape of wildemess? Themes (a), (b), (c), (e), (f), (g), (h), and (j) deal with this research question. The participants believed that wildemess was an important aspect of their lives. Place of residence did not seem to have an influence on their definition. Examining the following themes allows an exploration of the ways in which the participants made sense of the term wildemess. 316
Meaning of wildemess for visitors and non-visitors was very similar. Probably the most interesting result of the research was the commonality and pattems which emerged concerning the definition of wildemess for the visitors and non visitors. Correspondence between the two groups on the words and conditions used was high. Aspects of this are discussed under the following themes.
Wildemess as an environment on a continuum. Wildemess was visualized as one environment on a continuum of settings called the Natural Environment Spectmm (NES). Some of the participants referred to such a classification system when defining the three terms—wilderness, nature, environment—at the beginning of the interviews, while others discussed this at various points during the interview. From the data, the spectrum appears as follows: citv metro park garden (pastoral setting) natural areas national parks wildemess
Figure 6. Natural Environment Spectrum which emerged from the data of the participants. (Distances are not equal between environments.)
Such an idea is not new. Many writers and researchers discuss the metaphor or concept of city-garden-wildemess (Graber, 1976; Short, 1991; Tuan, 1974) which is similar to the Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) discussed by Hendee et al. (1990). This basically stated that a range of environments, from urban settings to primitive wildemess, should be available for associated recreation. For example, volleyball would be played in an urban setting while primitive hunting experiences would be available only in wildemess. Each of the environments in the NES would have a specific role in experiencing nature and certain qualities of wildemess. In fact, many of the non-visitors would divide wildemess into two types, that which would be accessible to people, while the other would be closed to humans. The first category would be similar to national parks but allow a more rugged experience, while the latter would be populated just by animals and plants. This separation in wildemess was accompanied by a division in non visitors: those who were not planning to visit this environment believed it should be not be accessible (Aspen and Oak), while those who desired to visit this setting (Shades, 317
Birch, Willow, Eagle) thought that it should be accessible. Interestingly, the visitors who had experienced wildemess (Salmon, Wolf, Grizzly, Coyote, Trout) mentioned that while the locations should be accessible over-use should be prevented. In addition. Bobcat introduced the term ‘softened’ wilderness while Aspen called this type of environment a ‘controlled’ area. The intense image of wildemess as portrayed by certain media was called the ‘macho-type’ extreme wildemess with its ‘quasi-survivalist representations’ by Coyote and ‘untamed’ by Willow. This has an impact on the NES, which will be considered following the introduction of the ROS. The ROS was formulated in response to wildemess management and recreation possibilities and was based, as stated previously, on the environments required for certain types of recreation. Six classes of environment are involved in the spectrum and arranged as follows: urban mral roaded natural semiprim, motorized semiprim, nonmotorized primitive
Figure 7. The Recreational Opportunity Spectmm (ROS) (Hendee et al.. 1990). Semiprim, indicates semiprimitve conditions in the environment. (Distances are not equal between environments.)
“Typically within wildemess areas, the Primitive and Semiprimitive Nonmotorized classes would apply” (ibid., 223). Interestingly, many of the participants who did not visit wildemess had experiences in natural areas which influenced their idea of wildemess, possibly due to the quality of wildness.
Wildemess existed on different levels, based on Wildness and Solitude. Wildness, is the aspect of wildemess which many writers suggest is the important quality to preserve. Birch (1995), Gmmbine (1994), Klaver (1995), and Snyder (1990) among others, suggest that people should preserve wildness which is process opposed to cultural product (wildemess). This process is ‘real’ while wildemess is an abstraction, wildness exists in each one of us, whereas the product exists outside of us. After all, Thoreau stated “In Wildness is the preservation of the World,” he did not state that wildemess was required. 318
Eagle mentioned this type of wildness or ‘chaotic growth’ specifically relating it to a vine growing on a light pole in the city. He also had an extended solo camping experience in a national forest, while Aspen, Birch and Owl had some short camping trips in parks. Yet none of these participants believed the trips constituted wildemess experiences because various aspects of civilization encroached on the event. Perhaps the quality of wildness had been compromised. Then, within the NES, it also seemed that different levels of wildness exist in the various environments, including wildemess. For instance. Perch believed he was in wildemess in the metro park because it separated him from the negative aspects of civilization. Trout who lived in Utah with desert areas in her backyard had to travel further into these areas to be in wildemess. Yet even though Eagle did not consider the solo camping trip a wildemess experience, he believed that the vine growing on the light pole represented some aspect of wildness, contrasting the growth of this plant in the urban setting to the encroachment of civilization through the clear-cuts in the national forest.
Recreation opportunities in legal wildemess have been further refined to the Wildemess Opportunity Spectmm (WOS) (Hendee et al.. 1990), which specifically deals with zoiting. However, it has not been studied to the same depth as the ROS and is still evolving. Zones include “pristine, primitive, and portal designations, indicating decreasing degrees of naturalness and solitude...no camping zones, trailless zones... special management zones (i.e.)...high-use sites, impacted locations, or perhaps sensitive wildlife areas’’ (ibid., 209). Some of these zones are similar to areas described by the participants. The continuum which emerged from the data in this research represents a further refinement of the above spectra, including the NES. The Wildness Environment Continuum (WEC) assumes that wildness is present in all natural environments, including those created by humans. This is based on the second emergent theme, that of varying degrees of wildness present in environments. The city surroundings would have the least amount of wildness displayed while the wild places would represent the essence of the term. This was reflected in Eagle’s vine growing on the pole in the city. Perch’s ability to relax in the metro park. Wolf and Raven’s weather-related incidents impacting human environments, and Fox’s spiritual connection to the western environments. Because the continuum presumes that humans are a part of nature and 319 not apart from it, the dichotomy of nature and humans, civilization and wildemess is dispelled. (The dichotomy between nature and humans, civilization and wildemess is discussed later in this section.) While WEC is almost identical to the previous continua, it describes one environment beyond that of managed wildemess. Wildemess areas are still present and may be necessary for many decades until humans alter their worldview to accommodate nature and the concept of wildness more into everyday life. From the emergent data, the continuum appears as in Figure 8. The areas which were dubbed ‘cultivated’ and ‘softened’ wildemess probably exist outside legal wildemess as most of the visitors believed that they experienced wildemess in certain sections of national parks, national forests and, what could be termed, ‘general’ natural areas. (Most participants were unsure if they ever visited legal wildemess, although national parks and forests do contain such wildemess areas, but some lengthy hiking is generally required to arrive at the entry point to such areas.) Also, some of these settings were named as specific wildemess by the participants. In the WEC, national parks would still allow various activities and cater for a different group of people than managed wildemess. However, areas within the national parks and forests should possibly be considered as ‘softened’ wildemess, while the natural areas would be classified as ‘cultivated’ wildemess. In addition, highly impacted sites within the legally designated (managed) wildemess would become ‘softened’ wildemess.
CE MPE______PE______NA______NP______MW WP
CE = City Environment NP = National Park MPE = Metro Park Environment MW = Managed Wildemess PE = Pastoral Environment WP = Wild Places NA = Natural Areas
Eigure 8. Wildness Environment Continuum (WEC), based on the requirements of a new ‘ecosystem management’ where humans are visualized as an integral part of the ecosystem, not only as managers, and where environments allow a reconnection to place and identity. 320
The similarity of the two continua (WEC and ROS) is clearly visible when they are combined, as in Figure 9. The designations of environments in this illustration are used when discussing a possible model derived from this research. An important requirement of wildemess which practically all the participants mentioned was that of solitude. All the visitors described it as a necessary component of the wildemess experience, while nine of the non-visitors believed it an important aspect of that environment. As an individual moves along the WEC or ROS from urban areas to the wilder environments the intensity of solitary feelings should increase. However, this is not to say that a person can not find solitude in a city environment and relax. Pike was able to do this with nature audio tapes, and Perch was able to find some solitude in an urban park setting. However, in relation to the wildemess experience more intense solitary feelings are located in wild feelings. While the solitude aspect of wildemess experiences is important, most people tend to travel in this environment in small groups, a point that is well documented in research (Hey wood, 1990). Factors that may influence this are that of fear and safety concems. These points were mentioned by the visitors and non-visitors to a certain degree. For some, fear was associated with people in that setting (Trout, Darter) while for others the environment itself raised some safety concems (Coyote, Raven, Willow).
CEUPE R RNA SPM PNM
CE = City Envirorunent SPM = Semi-Primitive Motorized National Parks and some ‘softened’ wilderness areas (highly impacted) UPE = Urban Park Environment PNM = Primitive Noiunotorized Managed Wilderness: lower impact, ‘softened’ wildemess areas = Rural Primitive: Wild Places, pristine and least impacted sites of Managed Wildemess RNA = Roaded Natural Areas plus ‘Cultivated’ Wildemess
Figure 9. A combination of the WEC and ROS. 321
Under the systems described in Figures 8 and 9, some people would be permitted to live in the ‘cultivated’ wildemess. This would require much monitoring as the wild condition could become similar to the pastoral environment, should the human population inhabiting the area grow excessively large. The ‘cultivated’ wildemess could in fact be similar to Darter’s and Pike’s areas where they believed they grew up in a wildemess condition. These areas have also been called “mixed communities” (Foreman, 1994, 233) and possess a higher degree of wildness than the pastoral environment. Such a condition may also meet some of the requirements of Shepard’s principles for ‘A Post-Historic Primitivism’ (1992), although he would probably not agree with such areas called a ‘cultivated’ wildemess as this would conjure pastoral images. However, within these areas where people live, buffer zones would exist and any human influence would be kept to a minimum. 2 This description could also correspond to a Class IV area of the Primitive and Semiprimitive Nonmotorized designations of the ROS where impacts are highly visible (Hendee et al.. 1990). More remote areas would be considered wild places. Of course, within this new designation there would be various classes to prevent over-crowding and excessive impact on the sites. The wild places would at least correspond to the conditions available in a Class I area of the Primitive and Semiprimitive Nonmotorized designations of the ROS (ibid.), however, these areas should actually transcend these characteristics. Wild places should be the extreme environment where very limited numbers of people, if any, are allowed to enter the setting. These areas would represent the ‘extreme’ macho image as stated by Coyote and the locations which many of the non-visitors would not allow people to access.3
2 While I agree with the recent writings on conserving wildness as opposed to wildemess, and from the interviews it seemed that many of the participants talked about this quality, I think wildemess areas do possess wildness which needs to be preserved. In addition, the idea of people living in ‘cultivated’ wildemess is very much dependent on a major shift in worldview, from the Dominant Social Paradigm (DSP) to the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP). 3 From my own experiences and idea of wildemess, it is difficult to mesh different activities in one type of environment. Large tracts of land should exist which people can never visit or at least enter for several decades. But, to gain an appreciation of wildemess the ‘hands-on’ experience is required. Even the non-visitors believed that with all the technology available to us, it is not possible to experience wildemess without being in that setting, or having had a previous experience to which the person can relate the simulated one. Good environmental education can occur in any of the settings mentioned by the participants, still be valuable and almost all could impart that 322
The WEC tends toward the assumptions of The Wildlands Project, where large tracts of land are allowed to retum to their wild condition, while existing reserves, wildemess areas and preserves are connected through the creation of corridors, and certain areas are protected from exploitation. Unlike the current wildemess areas where people are visitors, people would not be allowed to visit wild places. This again is based on another assumption, a change in society’s worldview where environments are preserved for their intrinsic value without people ever utilizing them for any purpose. This, of course, also requires a major shift in thought away from the Dominant Social Paradigm (DSP) to the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP). As Foreman (1994) stated, “extensive Wildemesses where humans only visit are also essential. Large camivores and many other species need réfugia away from constant human presence. We humans do not always make good neighbors’’ (233). Just as what is considered wildemess differs for people, meanings of wildemess can also vary for users or people interested in preserving it. According to Ansel Adams the appreciation of wildemess was based on scenery “which in its exploited aspect is merely a gargantuan curio. Things are appreciated for size, universality, and scarcity more often than their subtleties and emotional relationship to everyday life’’ (Adams, as cited in Pomeroy, 1957,215). Others envision wildemess as a recreation area, some for its scientific purpose. A strong wildemess ethic bases its value of wildemess on spirituality—wildemess areas preserve environmental excellence, other environments are inferior because of their weak spiritual association. This may lead to problems, both with the image of ‘lesser’ environments and could strengthen the duality of wildemess and civilization. However, “the wildemess ethic itself is not necessarily opposed to the alternative environments of countryside and city, it becomes opposed only when values derived from the wildemess ethic are used to judge environmental quality in settled environments’’ (Graber, 1976, 108). Some of the participants enjoyed wildemess, but also enjoyed the other environments for the options which were furnished. For example. Aspen stated that he was a city person and enjoyed this environment immensely. Osprey expressed similar notions. Coyote mentioned that employment was only available in civilization, plus the technology required for her work. She, however, continued by expressing the ‘wildemess’ feeling. Therefore, all wildemess areas would not become wild places, but for the foundation of this new category, at least 2% of the existing 4% of wildemess should become wild places. However, new areas should be added on a continual basis. 323 viewpoint that urban areas need to be maintained and improved. Graber (1976) generated a corresponding observation: “A resurgence of interest in the spiritual and aesthetic aspects of the countryside and the city is needed to balance the wildemess ethic” (109). Evolution of a pastoral/city ethic could assist in the disintegration of the civilization/wilderness dualism. Snyder (1990) stated that wildemess may temporarily wane, but wildness will always remain. Wildemess areas may not be required to give that ultimate wild feeling to humans, but are definitely required for certain species to survive. As in current wildemess management, the most important species that requires control is the human. Whether people will ever be able to live fully integrated with wild places or wildemess to completely disintegrate the present dichotomy of humans and nature is also dependent on a shift in attitude and will be discussed in a later section.
Differences between personal and legal definitions of wildemess resulting from the activities allowed in legallv designated areas. All of the participants (with the exception of Perch) believed that their idea of wildemess corresponded to some degree with the legal definition of wildemess. In fact, one of the points that many of the participants (Bobcat, Pike, Birch, Osprey) had not considered was the issue of size, although some (Coyote, Darter, Aspen, Hawk) thought that areas did not have to be large or legally designated as wilderness to impart that particular feehng with this setting. However, when they read the activities permitted in the areas practically all stated that the definitions would not correspond. Participants had various problems with the different practices from hunting to grazing (and other possible extractive operations) to recreation and scientific research. However, consistently participants seemed to have the most concem about hunting, followed by grazing. Most of the non visitors and some of the visitors could not comprehend how areas could be designated wildemess when sport hunting was allowed. Subsistence hunting did not create such a strong negative response. However, Salmon and Fox (who, it seems, had visited legal wildemess) believed that the legal and personal definitions corresponded because of the multiple uses of wildemess. In their views, all the activities would have to be managed so as not to impinge on one another, particularly the solitude aspect of the wildemess recreation 324 experience. (Still Fox did not agree with grazing in wildemess areas.) Darter, who had resided near or in wildemess all his life, believed that the legal definition protected and managed the wildemess. Wolf would allow some of the activities to occur because it diminished the dichotomous aspects of humans and wildemess. Many writers and philosophers believe that by creating a boundary around wildemess areas humans have increased and strengthened the separation between humans and nature.
A dichotomv exists between humans and nature, wildemess and civilization. The participants would have continued the separation between humans and wildemess, although in some cases access to areas would be permitted. A number of participants (Coyote, Wolf, Aspen, Shades, Oak, Eagle, Osprey) directly discussed the separation of humans and nature and some believed that managing wildemess areas increased this schism. Indeed, Aspen and Osprey declared themselves to be ‘city people’ not interesting in visiting the wildemess. Raven believed that human protection of wildemess did not imply that it was weak, in fact this setting (and process) was extremely powerful. This has been cited by authors, researchers and philosophers for many years, beginning with Thoreau and continuing into the 1990s. Borgmann (1995), Evemden (1992), Gunter (1992), Lease (1995), Light (1995), Oelschlaeger (1991, 1992, 1995), Rolston (1989), Snyder (1990), Soule (1995), van der Post (1982), Zimmerman (1992), among others, discuss the human/nature dualism or dichotomy to varying extents. However, all seek a reexamination of the language used in describing nature and society’s worldview in its treatment of the planet. Many claim that because people are not allowed to live in wildemess areas, then humans are separated from nature. Examining the basis of this dichotomy, it is clearly visible that it has been created by humans, by culture and it can only be nullified by humans. Culture operates within nature; humans and all of our possessions would not be possible without nature. The isolation which has occurred has been traced to the objectification of nature, the development of science and the history of westem civilization. (See Chapter 2.) However, humans still depend at present on oxygen from plants, water from the hydrologie cycle and so on just as we did 500 years ago. Our relationship is intimate and deep: we breathe oxygen which enters our basic constituents-cells-and in tum give the trees carbon dioxide which enters their cells, producing yet more oxygen for us to 325 breathe. (Osprey may have been correct not to become anxious about suffocation from deforestation, but perhaps she should be slightly concerned.) Our perception of the relationship has altered, but physically we are still connected to nature; she encompasses and involves us. As much as humans have been removed from nature, this connection can not be denied. That is the problem. We try to deny it—living in a society that continually expects economic growth to create employment for an ever increasing population where technology is advancing at an alarming rate, reducing the need for people to work. In addition, attempting to sustain each additional person may become increasingly difficult, as feeding smaller global populations has not been attained. Language has continued and enhanced the separation. Through the objectification of nature, humans have become separated from nature. Thus by isolating subject from object, the belief was bom that the world (the object) could be acted upon without the subject being affected. This, of course, is incorrect because humans live in an enclosed system, called earth. We breathe the air we pollute, drink tainted water, and so on. “Linguists have a word for the power of language: displacement. It is they way by which [the human species] came to survive in nature” (Eiseley, 1970,144). So, as the human project, we give meaning to objects through language. Our meaning for wildemess (and nature) has changed over time and space as the human species has evolved. Some writers and philosophers believe that two realities or worlds exist. The first is ‘living nature,’ the life-support systems which humans and all species depend on and are connected to for survival. The second is the ‘cultural nature,’ that which is created by the human mind and connected to the first world through perception. Language “is also the method by which [humankind] created and entered [our] second world” (ibid.). Our perception, our attitudes toward the first world are greatly influenced by ‘cultural nature.’ Hayles (1995) believed that reality and world are incorrect terms because they suggest an objective reality, rather “unmediated flux” should be utilized (49). Through interaction with this flux, humans give meaning to it. “It interacts with and comes into consciousness through self-organizing, transformative processes that include sensory, contextual, and cognitive components” (ibid.). Indeed, according to Evemden (1992) the dualism may never have existed. In this dichotomy. Nature is envisioned as a measurable, independent object because it is composed of material objects. Whatever is encountered is regarded as an “extemally 326 existing entity independent of our own willing and creation. Indeed, objects gain credibility for us as the traces of our authorship are progressively eliminated” (ibid., 99). Therefore, Evemden (1992) claims, the assimilation of humans into Nature is really an assimilation into ourselves, “or rather, into our conception of how it ‘ought’ to be. The paradox we encounter, of this perpetual oscillation between the domains of nature and culture, arises from a fundamental error. The dualism cannot actually be resolved, because it never existed' (ibid.; emphasis in original). Yet there is ‘something out there’ whether it is an ‘unmediated flux’ or a ‘first world.’ (However, most people would agree that a dualism does exist, indeed Evemden (1992) continues with his argument concerning the presence of this dichotomy.) Our dualism has removed all subjects from Nature; it only consists of independent objects. Subjectivity, valuation and meaning are locked into humanity and away from the natural world. So, while humans can observe the ‘objects’ of nature, the other in nature is seldom encountered. To perform this function, to encounter the other beings as other, not as pets or domesticated species, it is necessary to create a diffuse barrier between nature and culture so that subjectivity can flow freely between the two sides. Through this flow, this lived experience, the other becomes known. Humans need to “retum to things themselves (which) is to retum to that world which precedes knowledge” (Merleau-Ponty, 1962, ix). In other words, ‘things’ need to be observed before they are categorized as Nature when they become social creations, and their “primordial givenness is subordinated to their social utility” (Evemden, 1992, 110). But how can this be performed? Can we ‘bracket’ our societal protocols to achieve a direct experience of the world? Did this not occur in our first encounters with the world? As a child grows, everything is treated as a part of her and revolves around her; she is the center of the world. However, the day arrives when “the realization occurs that there are things in the world that are not me: that there is other” (ibid.. 111). When a bird is first encountered, it is impossible for the child to state ‘this is a bird’ because there are no birds the first time, or at least words for birds. Only after the repetition of the first experience and the comparison of that experience with those of other people, will the class of ‘things’ known as birds appear. (However, while things are classed in particular way, discovering what they mean is not always as straightforward.) 327
“The child’s first such experience might be marked by delight, fear, or amazement. But more important is the impact of the realization that there is an other, something in experience which cannot be contained in the self and is, therefore, uncaimy—and ‘wild”’ (ibid., 112). Such was the case with the visitors to wilderness, even those who experienced it at a later age. Which brings the argument full circle to the point concerning the preservation of wildness. However, to experience the other, do we need to experience as for the first time, or only as a child? The other may also be experienced if, as stated above, our social conventions are bracketed and we enter an area such as wildemess. “For only in solitude, in the absence of the demands for social consensus, can the uninterpreted other be encountered and the emergent self escape constraint” (ibid., 113). Some of the participants (Birch, Wolf, Fox) believed that each wildemess trip was totally new and thus would experience most aspects for the first time. Westem civilization which dominated much of human culture, followed more recently by ‘Euro-American civilization’ (Soule, 1995), has invented many coexisting constmctions of living nature. These constmctions, as outlined in Chapter 2, clearly show that as the human species evolved our perception of nature and wildemess altered. If indeed we are in this postmodem era, society’s perception of nature, in general, according to Soule (1995), is still envisioned as a storehouse of extractable resources for consumption, but wildemess, to some degree, has taken on a slightly different connotation. Its function is to provide reflection, relaxation, solitude and “a counterpoint to technological society in a landscape that is managed to reveal as few traces of the passage of other humans as possible” (Graber, 1995, 123, emphasis in original). Protection of the spiritual values of wildemess is one of the key management approaches for this environment. However, these values of wildemess are again homocentric and of an extrinsic nature. Yet while noting this, in the wild setting, humans can encounter the other, only if the importance of experience is not denied, which can happen in the current dualism because this experience is visualized as overly-subjective. However, it is precisely this type of perception which is required to get to know the self and other, which will eventually disintegrate the boundary between humans and nature. Yet, this perception is not unidirectional, Merleau-Ponty (1968) introduced the term ‘reversibility’ to denote the double or complementary aspect inherent in all perception. “We can experience 328
things, can touch, hear and taste things, only because, as bodies, we are ourselves a part of the sensible field and have our own textures, sounds and tastes...to touch the world is also to be touched by the world” (Abram, 1995, 75). This, of course, reinforces the point that nature, wildemess and wildness are all within us, all well as experienced ‘unmediated flux.’ Perhaps the writer Nelson (1989) discussed this false dichotomy best when he stated while on a trip to an island he was studying that
“a sudden understanding runs through me, that every breath I take draws the clear flesh of earth through my self, creates a never-ceasing flow of particles in and out of my body...I eat from this island; I eat from this ocean. The island and ocean flow through me...Tuming away from the artificial boundaries of physical separateness, I can strive to become a part of the island’s life, just as it has become the center of mine;...Living from wild nature joins me with the island as no disconnected love ever could...! am the island and the island is me” (Nelson, 1989,248; 249; 250, emphasis in original).
For some people getting to know the other is enough, while for some people, the experience transcends to a different level, that of the Wholly Other, which is connected to the spiritual aspects of wildemess. This is another one way of reconnecting with the ‘first world,’ or ‘living nature,’ perhaps at a deeper level.
Wildemess had a spiritual significance. Most of the visitor participants believed that wildemess had some influence on their spiritual^ beliefs or vice versa. In either case, the connection was dynamic for the participants. Generally, the non-visitors thought that wildemess did not have an influence on their spiritual beliefs. However, those members who did, had very strong beliefs on the influence of the image of wildemess on their spiritual beliefs. Therefore, did the wildemess experience influence the spiritual beliefs of the participants? Definitely. Within the group of participants who did think wildemess influenced spirituality or vice versa, those who visited this setting seemed to project a stronger conviction for this environment than the non-visitors. It is interesting to note that while the participants categorized themselves as spiritual or religious, most emphasized the
4 As previously stated, spiritual denotes spiritual and religious beliefs unless otherwise stated. 329 point that they were either non-practicing or did not believe in institutional religions. However, some of them (Willow and Pike) placed great significance on their convictions toward wildemess based on the teachings of the Bible, although others (Wolf) clearly had beliefs based on Christian teachings altered by wildemess experiences. (This aspect is also closely connected to valuing wildemess, which will be discussed later in this section.) The visitors group, for the most part, believed that wildemess influenced their spiritual beliefs. Participants used terms and conditions describing the connection between wildemess and spirituality such as ‘getting closer to God’ (Trout), ‘seeing God’s influence in things’ (Fox), wildemess as a ‘manifestation of God rather than under Man’s dominion’ (Wolf), wildemess was the way God wanted the world (Pike and Darter), when industrialization has destroyed everything, a cataclysm will occur, a ‘second-coming’ (Perch), ‘a cleansing experience’ (Salmon), and reflection, ‘relaxation’ and a ‘perspective exercise’ (Coyote). While the participants seemed to refer to God, she/he was not necessarily the Judeo-Christian God, but the Creator or some powerful spirit. The solitude which the wildemess environment offered played an important role in allowing the individual to have this experience. Many authors have written about spiritual aspects of wildemess experiences. Indeed one of the main objectives for wildemess preservation results from the ability of wild places to reconnect the individual with the earth, spiritually and emotionally on trips and to a lesser extent, physically, i.e. living off the land. At this point, the two former aspects are discussed. In the previous discussion, experiencing the other was only possible through solitude, in areas where the social conventions could be bracketed and removed for the mind, so that as Abram (1995) stated “to touch the world is also to be touched by the world” (75), spiritually, emotionally and physically. However, when speaking about spirituality, humans experience the other on a completely different level, the experience transcends to that of the Wholly Other. (See Chapter 2 for a discussion of the spiritual aspects of wildemess.) Practically every wildemess writer, from Thoreau to Foreman, and researcher is cognizant of the spiritual/emotional benefits of wildemess. While much of this knowledge is based on personal experiences or philosophical thought, some research has been performed in this area (McDonald and Schreyer, 1991; Stringer and McAvoy, 330
1992). However, it was generally connected with the therapeutic qualities of wildemess, such as solitude, rather than specific spiritual benefits (Carpenter and Stewart, 1989; Hartig et al.. 1993: Hollenhorst et al.. 1993). In this dissertation, the influence of wildemess experience was clearly visible on spiritual beliefs, although some visitors (Bobcat, Grizzly) did not see any connection. Why? Perch only connected spirituality and wildemess in a minor way, and then he saw it as more of a negative aspect, humans would destroy the world and the second- coming of the Judeo-Christian God would result from this. He never really had an experience in a ‘typical’ wildemess environment, although he did separate the relaxation quality of the setting and acquired this in the metro setting. Yet Perch did not have a spiritual experience, he did not experience the Wholly Other (Graber, 1976,2). Why Bobcat and Grizzly did not connect wildemess and spirituality is more difficult to explain. Bobcat had wildemess experiences at a young age similar to other visitors, although her recent experience was in ‘softened’ wildemess. In addition, she also had what she considered a ‘real’ wildemess experience. Grizzly had only three wildemess experiences all in stereotypical wildemess. Clearly these participants had experienced the other, but had not an experience which transcended to the Wholly Other level. However, the answer probably rests on a combination of numerous factors. Most of the visitors experienced wildemess at a young age, believed they lived in or close to it, and/or experienced the place with one or two important people in their lives. The wildemess visited at some point had to offer a stark contrast to their familiar environment, and they had to remain in the setting for long period of time to have the transcendental experience and creating in some cases the location as a ‘sacred space’ (ibid.). Many wildemess users experience a spiritual connection with the land. To do this, the visitor must be willing to accept wildemess in “its full individuality, as a unique and astonishing event’’ (Evemden, 1992, 117). This was apparently tme for participants who experienced wildemess in some of the westem states (Trout, Fox, Wolf, Coyote, Salmon, Pike). However, Fox in particular may have experienced the Wholly Other, and from the interview did seem to portray a strong wildemess ethic. (Although most of the participants listed above could also possess this ethic.) The basis of the ethic is that “wildemess is a manifestation of the Wholly Other from man, and it is to be valued for that reason” (Graber, 1976, 11). However, humans require rituals to 331 witness this manifestation, thus minimizing human presence and power in the area. Figure 10 illustrates the axioms and corollaries of the wildemess ethic.
AXIOM Wildemess as Wholly Other
FIRST COROLLARY SECOND COROLLARY Wilderness as a stage for transendence Order and Perfection
Man's insignificance Unity with the earth Moral order Physical Order (ecology)
Force of natureVast size Beauty Knowledge of God Regularity
Figure 10. Axiomatic Structure of the Wildemess Ethic (Graber, 1976,11).
The person who uses wildemess as a temple or place of worship, or who desires a spiritual connection with the land, transcends her ordinary mundane world, self, and manner of perception. Wildemess becomes the stage on which the transcendence occurs, the first corollary of the ethic. To achieve this mental and emotional state, the person requires two psychological discoveries: first to grasp human insignificance in comparison to nature, and second that she is only a small part of nature. In addition, the second corollary require a recognition of order and perfection. This is further divided into moral and physical order. In relation to physical order, ecological order is identified with perfection, which, according to Graber (1976) “is 332 identified with the absence of man and his works” (13). Ecology emphasizes stability which recognizes change, but it is proceeding to a condition of quasi-equilibrium or climax. Also, there is a regularity to wildemess, it changes with the seasons, every ‘thing’ within it is connected. The participants who talked of the spiritual aspects of wildemess referred to many of the aspects shown in Figure 10 as the basis of the wildemess ethic. Some used similar terms to those shown in the figure (beauty, vast size, force of nature, knowledge of God). The ecological aspects of wildemess involved the use of terms such as ‘elements, connectedness, plants and animals’ although some of the participants mentioned the unpredictability of wildemess, but more in relation to its impacts on humans than on the ecosystem itself. Assigning moral order to wildemess has two ramifications: first, “the beauty of nature is thought to suggest its moral content, (and) since nature is God’s handiwork, the study of its moral content provides information about God himself’ (ibid, 14). This was clearly visible when Fox mentioned that he could mold God into whatever he wanted in this setting, and Trout stated that she felt closer to God in this setting. However, no matter how keen the awareness of sacred power is in the wildemess, the question remains, is the participant “deducing its tme moral implications or merely projecting (her) own moral code onto (the) experience?” (ibid., 47). van der Post (1982), relating from his own experiences, stated that people “emerge from the wildemess as if they were coming from a highly sacred atmosphere” (69). He continued that wildemess is the authentic cathedral, the initial temple, the original church of life from which people emerge transformed in a positive way. (See the references on therapeutic value of wildemess.) In addition, Greenway (1995) explained that people entering wildemess must cross the “wildemess boundary,” (132) not only physically but also mentally and emotionally, and leave the civilization boundary behind to fully appreciate the experience. Without this crossing, people experience wildemess in varying degrees, what Greenway called a “gradient of wildemess effect, ranging fi*om none (no effect) to a complete blowout of one’s usual programs for processing reality” (ibid.). Perhaps Grizzly, Bobcat and the other visitors had not crossed the boundary fully in their wildemess experiences to have a manifestation of the Wholly Other. 333
Stewardship was also a point elaborated on by some participants (Willow, Bobcat, Salmon). Willow mentioned it directly, while others talked about leaving the planet in the same state which they found it. Participants also stated that the wildemess condition of the world was the way God had wanted the planet (Darter, Pike, Hawk). Willow and Pike, in particular, tied the idea of stewardship to the Bible. Denig (1985) claims that even though humans are given dominion over nature in Judeo- Christianity, humans specifically are given a “husband-like dominion in chapter one (of Genesis) like the husbandman, the farmer/gardener we encounter in chapter two...(this) is based on what we have learned about dominion—that it is to be like a husband” (100). This, of course, can be expanded to mean total domination of the earth, which westem civilization has performed well. Yet, Willow related stewardship to all of nature, including wildemess, not just the tilled pastoral environments. Such an idea of caring for the earth has resurged in certain traditions with Judeo- Christianity. The Franciscan Order, based on the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi, have become more involved in environmental issues, relying heavily on a stewardship based on co-existence rather than dominion. Both humans and nature were created by God, therefore, both are similar in “their subordinate status. This—God’s two-fold sovereignty—is the basis of man’s co-existence with nature” (ibid., 101). These two perspectives are generally the basis for ideas of stewardship from the westem tradition. Finally, as discussed above, it is claimed that by creating wildemess areas a separation between nature and humans is reinforced, because in definitions and stereotypical images of wildemess, people are generally excluded from the setting. Yet in relation to spirituality, many indigenous peoples have created areas in their local environment which they do not enter except for spiritual reasons. Some even were completely forbidden to human entry. The Lakota Native Americas would only enter the Black Hills of South Dakota for spiritual reasons. The Dmids in Ireland set aside groves of oak trees for spiritual worship. Native Hawaiians, and some tribes in Papua New Guinea, zoned large areas off-limits because the locations belonged to the spirits (Foreman, 1994). Humans have always envisioned certain areas of land as sacred, just as many contemporary wildemess users do of this area. 334
Wildemess had a value. Each of the participants, visitors and non-visitors placed a value on wildemess; some identified an intrinsic value in wildemess. Extrinsic values ranged from being part of the planet’s life support system (Salmon, Birch, Shades, Owl) and maintaining biodiversity to humans’ extraction of medicinal cures and other resources from such areas (Oak, Hawk, Raven, Eagle, Owl). It was also valuable as a retreat from modem life (Perch, Trout, Darter, Pike, Birch, Shades, Bobcat, Coyote, Grizzly, Wolf, Perch), as a spiritual retreat (Fox, Trout), or as an area unaffected by humans (Wolf, Fox, Bobcat). Osprey had difficulty expressing her value of wildemess. She did recognize that it assisted her life support system but still could not envision some areas (such as deserts) as being directly valuable to her. An intrinsic worth of wildemess was also expressed by some of the participants (Wolf, Fox, Bobcat, Hawk, Raven, Eagle, Osprey, Aspen, Shades, Willow, Trout, Perch), for some this value rested on the mysterious aspects of life (Owl, Oak, Salmon). Pike stated that as wildemess was fumished to us by God, then it should be valued as such. Coyote believed the setting was intrinsically valuable in that it removed humans from urban existence for some period of time. Grizzly made the point that for a value to be present, interaction with the environment was required, therefore, he would see the intrinsic value of wildemess as Coyote did. All of these values have been documented by writers, researchers and philosophers, from John Muir and E. O. Wilson to Holmes Rolston. Clearly being a retreat from modem life and a ‘reality check,’ as Wolf called it, was very important to all the participants. The ability of wildemess to perform this function has been documented by Greenway (1995) from his wildemess trips (and many other researchers. Refer to therapeutic values of wilderness). Some of this has been discussed above in the spiritual aspects of wildemess experiences and what was termed ‘a gradient of the wildemess effect.’ The ability of this environment to remove a person from ‘civilized living’ and the ‘noises’ associated with it is the first step to experiencing the other and possibly the Wholly Other. Values, both extrinsic and intrinsic, were manifested first by contributing to environmental organizations, then recycling, conversations with other people, and having low impact when in wildemess areas. These demonstrations of value were 335 followed by the number of trips to areas, volunteering, voting in an environmentally conscious manner, and using environmentally-ftiendly products. Such categories were non-exclusive; some participants expressed two or more of these demonstrations. This corresponded with the research of Mine and Gifford (1991), which, although based on an environmental fear appeal, illustrated that following an experience people became more verbally committed to the objective of the appeal, and donated more finances to environmental organizations. Wolf, for instance, talked about his media experience watching the fires burning and stated that if someone called him following the event, he would have donated money. Bobcat mentioned that she joined an environmental organization when approached, following her most recent experience in Scotland. The number of participants who would donate time was understandably quite small, as most students do not have much spare time. (Mine and Gifford (1991) also found that time donation following an appeal message did not increase.) Lack of time was also cited by the non-visitors as a justification for not experiencing wildemess, but also the reason that trips had become more challenging for the visitors. The emergence of recycling as the second most important way of demonstrating value placed on wildemess was not surprising either. Recycling has been projected by many federal and state agencies, industries, institutions and environmental groups as an extremely significant environmental behavior. In fact, the point that so many of the participants were adamant that recycling demonstrated their value of wildemess and mentioned it almost immediately when asked the questions suggests they believed the practice was extremely important. While it is an important action, people often forget that reducing consumption and reusing materials should come before the recycling of materials. This often is an easy way to demonstrate a value, it does not mean that people have to alter their lifestyle in any way. Wolf talked of switching to environmentally-friendly products, as a way of demonstrating value. Raven was the only participant who admitted that he did not recycle because he did not see that as an individual he could have an impact, and he stated that if other people had a similar attitude which could be changed then it would have a major impact. This is related to 336 locus of control. 5 Oak also stated that her students believed that they had little or no control over development occurring in their community. In addition, the participants (Bobcat, Willow) who specifically discussed the Exxon Valdez oil spill admitted that it did not impact their fuel consumption. However, visitors and non-visitors generally perceived wildemess as a positive, although a few participants (Eagle, Wolf, Bobcat, Shades, Willow) did also associate negativity with it through the prospects of getting injured out there and perhaps dying, or being killed by some predator.
Despite the positives and the negatives support for this type of environment was strong among all the participants. No one suggested destroying it, although Bobcat believed that human considerations should be of primary importance in land use management. Research confirms that support for wildemess is quite strong. Johansen and Rudzitis (1991) in a survey of 11 U.S. counties found that 53% cited wildemess as an important reason why they moved to live in an area, 65% were against opening areas for mining and energy development (22% of those surveyed favored this development), 81% believed this land was important to their county, 43% wanted more access to wildemess while 39% were in favor of additional wildemess preserves. The results of this research confirm some of Johansen’s and Rudzitis’ (1991) findings. In another study, Burde and Fadden (1995) surveyed residents of a county in Dlinois as to their knowledge of and support of wildemess, but in particular within a local national forest. Results illustrated a pervasive lack of knowledge of the legal definition of wildemess, areas designated as such, and the activities allowed in these settings. However, respondents did show strong support for wildemess. In this current study, the majority of the participants also showed a pervasive lack of knowledge of the legal definition of wildemess. But, it is interesting to note that all the participants did believe that their personal definition and the legal definition of wildemess corresponded. However, when they read the activities permitted under the 1964 wildemess legislation the
5 Locus of control is based on a continuum which moves from a high intemal locus of control (the individual has control over her actions) to an extemal locus of control (the individual sees extemal factors as controlling her actions). Rotter et ai. (1972) documented this factor originally; since then it has become an integral part of many behavioral models in environmental education, for example the Model of Responsible Behavior (Hines et al.. 1986). 337 majority of the participants did not believe that legal wildemess could fall under their definition of this environment.
Societv’s attitude toward wildemess had altered. The participants believed that society’s attitude toward wildemess has changed in a positive manner in recent years. However, some expressed the belief that society still had a negative image of wildemess. Practically all of the visitors believed that spirituality had some impact on society’s attitude toward wildemess. Many of them focused on the Judeo-Christian tradition which encouraged dominance over nature. However, even with this heritage entrenched in society, a positive change was perceived to be occurring. People were becoming concemed about the natural environment and as a result wildemess issues. Institutional religion had assisted in the maintenance of the domination of nature with its ‘conquer the ‘wildemess’ ethos. However, Salmon, Wolf and others believed that society had progressed beyond this attitude but had not completely eliminated it. Grizzly mentioned the problem with grazing fees in the westem states. In addition, while individuals could have spiritual experiences. Trout, Grizzly and Coyote all believed that the institutional framework was too rigid and would not accommodate the individualistic spiritual experience from wildemess. Interestingly, Osprey could envision a connection between indigenous people’s treatment of wildemess and their spiritual beliefs, but not westem civilization. She had not encountered any westem religion which cared about the environment, yet Willow believed that a major stewardship aspect was connected to this religious tradition. Religion clearly was a significant factor influencing society’s attitude toward wildemess, according to the participants.
Other factors included the media which covered environmental issues more, the rise of the environmental movement and organizations, and celebrities focusing on specific wild areas. Hawk asserted that the rise of the environmental movement and the concem of society was visible in the number of people becoming involved in environmental issues and the amount of funds raised by organizations. Darter stated that it was becoming more politically correct to be concemed about the environment. While the impact of the media was generally positive. Coyote believed it was negative by portraying wildemess as an extreme environment where only ‘survivalists’ could 338 venture. However, Eagle was also concerned by the environmental backlash being created by the negative image of some groups, such as Earth First! Grizzly mentioned that wilderness was a function of wealth and only the developed, western nations could afford to set aside land for such purposes. This is often a point stated by individuals who attempt to portray wilderness as another effort of western domination and imperialism being forced on less developed nations. However, it should be noted that indigenous cultures in these nations often placed boundaries around land for spiritual worship. In addition, many contend that wilderness has been set aside as a playground for the environmentalists, or the elitists within society. Indeed, wilderness travel has become an in-vogue trip and has become associated with using the ‘proper gear’ which is invariably expensive. Interestingly, some of the non-visitors attached a great importance to natural experiences and the meanings which people attach to a place. Owl asserted the value of wilderness by exhibiting the connectedness of all life. Raven and Eagle thought that the perceptions which people possess of a particular place will determine its potential use. Raven mentioned a person’s ‘ties to the land’ where an indigenous burial ground will be sacred to some, but if it has oil underneath it, the land will be viewed very differently by other people. Eagle referred to the romantic image of wilderness held by people in the cities while loggers perceive the land as a resource. Coyote, a visitor, alluded to her ancestors who were farmers and planted seed in the Great Plains. People had lost that intimate contact with the earth in the urban areas and a recoimection was necessary. It seems that while society’s image of wilderness had improved and become more positive the image depended on the perception of the person, the value placed on the land, and the relationship or lack of connection to the land. In other words the behavior which people exhibit toward the wilderness is based on their perceptions and values—their beliefs—this would suggest a similarity to the theory of reasoned action (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1980).6 Yet while many of the participants did possess a deep appreciation of wilderness and their own impact on the environment, their lifestyles rarely changed. Hanna (1995) refined Fishbein and Ajzen’s (1980) model, and adapted it to include aspects of adventure education and environmental education. She proposed a
6 Basically the Theory of Reasoned Action states that feelings, thoughts, intentions, and actions are conceptually distinct but linked variables in a larger causal network. 339 model of involvement in and for wilderness, where attitudes toward wilderness were based on predisposing factors (demographics, past experiences connected to wilderness) interacting with the beliefs about wilderness which lead to attitudes concerning this environment. According to Hanna (1995), these attitudes lead to intentions in (outdoor recreation) and for (environmental involvement) wilderness. These finally lead to specific behavior in and for wilderness. In contrast to Haima’s (1995) results, proximity to wilderness and the parents’ desire to have the participants visit such locations when they were children seemed to be an important factor in whether or not the participants in this study experienced wilderness. In addition, while the non-visitors experienced natural areas and encountered wilderness through media, it led to specific behaviors which the participants coimected as aiding wilderness and in the long-term nature. Some of the non-visitors, in fact, were so concerned about the behavior of people in the wilderness that they believed access should be denied. Contrast this to one of the visitors (Trout), who rode motorcycles in areas which that person considered wilderness, possibly seriously damaging the natural system. The destructive powers of even well-intentioned wilderness users was mentioned by Fazio (1979) and Robertson (1986) in their respective studies. The positive image of wilderness and the environment was reflected in the concern and values expressed by participants. This was similar to the results of an international Gallup survey on the ‘Health of the Planet’ (1992) which illustrated that environmental issues were a major concern for individuals. The results of the survey also indicated that residents of poorer nations were concerned equally about the environment as individuals from the richer nations. What was probably the most interesting aspect about this theme was that only one of the participants. Wolf, saw himself as a part of society and that he shared in the impact of society on the environment He used environmentally-friendly products, and recycled goods in his home. The other participants generally blamed industry for destroying and exploiting wilderness, which is generally a common perception (Gallup, 1992, 17), without necessarily realizing their own contribution to the problem. Or if they did recognize it, they did not alter their behavior accordingly. While industries and businesses have been regulated for strict pollution standards, it seems that any solutions to the environmental (and wilderness) problems facing society have to be examined on 340 an individualistic level (Russell, 1987). Yet, while it seems that a more pro- environmental concern is emerging, will it impact the behavior of people? While the number of people recycling seems to be increasing as a result of this concern, will people be agreeable to altering their behavior and foregoing some aspect of their lifestyle? In his research, Gigliotti (1992) reported that the students he sampled were less amenable to making personal sacrifices than students 20 years ago. Without this individual sacrifice, environments including wilderness may not survive. However, support for preservation of wilderness was high among all participants, some non-visitors in particular even discussed denying access to these areas for humans. Hummel (1982) reported from his research that “self-generated references to the pristine character of wilderness were related to higher levels of support for the designation of...wildemess areas by federal government” (197).
2. At what point in a person’s life-story does the initial experience/event occur laying the foundation for the interpretive landscape of wilderness? Is it an experience that involves media or a natural setting? What is the relationship between each experience/event/setting and the person’s interpretive landscape of wilderness?
The following themes are associated with this research question: (n), (k), (p), and (r). Age of the participant and involvement of parents, siblings, friends, or role models in the first wilderness experience. The importance of environmental experiences at a young age has been documented in previous research. Palmer (1993), Tanner (1980) among others, reported the importance of natural experiences during childhood. Many of the visitors had their first wilderness encounter in their childhood or teenage years. Yet, others had them in their twenties. This is interesting and warrants further exploration. Did this group of participants have significant natural experiences before visiting the wilderness? Grizzly and Wolf both had. Perhaps, they had a keen awareness of natural areas before their wilderness experiences. Indeed, attempting to advocate a healthy environmental awareness without first forming a bond to nature from experiences may be totally ineffectual fBixler et al.. 1994). 341
The presence of parents, siblings, friends or role models during the first wilderness experience has been reported by Roggenbuck et al. (1990). Examining the results it was clearly seen that for the visitors, family, friends or role models were important in the first wilderness experience. Friends seemed to be more important in the more recent experiences. For the non-visitors natural experiences also played a role, although media seemed to be the greatest influence. The influence of friends and family also played a role with this group, although not as significant as with the visitors. Participants talked with friends about particular locations and watched media events with members of nuclear and extended families.
Wilderness was generallv portraved in media in a positive manner. Media clearly had an impact on the meaning of wilderness for both the visitors and non-visitors to wilderness. For the non-visitors, media had the most impact on their wilderness definition, although natural experiences, and contact with a visitor also contributed to delineating this environment. Media were divided into films (educational and entertainment), TV programs (nature documentaries and entertainment shows), photographs, books, and music (commercial and nature tapes). It was interesting to note the similarity between many of the TV programs and movies used by both groups of participants. As stated previously, while most believed that media could help gain an appreciation of wilderness, it could never replace the experience. Overall, entertainment programs on TV and movies were cited the most by the non-visitors as the sources of media influencing their perception of wilderness. This was followed by news reports, print media, and nature programming on TV. In general, the wilderness was the backdrop for the story of the movie or program, although it played a crucial role in the plot. The non-visitors mentioned the Exxon Valdez oil spill (Willow) and forest fires (Birch and Shades) as events covered in magazines and the news concerning wilderness. Programs showing the interplay of environmental and social issues were cited by Aspen as the type of program which disgusted him because they illustrated the way western society exploits developing countries. He also made an interesting point that the view of the wilderness which is visualized by the viewer was the perspective of the person filming and directing the program. 342
Oak and Aspen mentioned that wilderness could be trivialized by its portrayal in certain media, such as The Jungle Book and The Lion King. Such books and animated features often leave the impression that wilderness is a very safe place, something which is not correct. On the other hand, dramas set in wilderness such as Grizzly Adams can have a major influence on the definition of wilderness as it did in Birch's case. Owl exhibited a consistency in the media she discussed as influencing her idea of wilderness. She watched National Geographic documentaries about international areas, particularly those concerning jungle. Movies set in this type of wilderness also impacted her greatly, Medicine Man and the Tarzan movies were examples she described. Hawk had a major interest in large animals and she consequently was influenced by specific types of nature programs and movies. A clear connection was visible between a Jane Goodall nature program and the movie. Gorillas in the Mist. (Jane Goodall is an animal behavior scientist who works specifically with gorillas.) However, she also read about wildlife in some magazines, and it was clear that wildlife in wilderness was a major component of her definition. In fact. Hawk claimed that it had a direct connection to her decision to study zoology. Visualizing wildlife as an important component of wilderness was shared with the other participants and indeed with the American public. Hendee etal. (1990) state that in 1980,55% of all Americans 16 years and older “engaged in some form of wildlife appreciation...and that does not count the millions who enjoy wildlife-related programs on television” (269). The visitors also believed that media did impact their definition, although only Perch cited it as having the most impact on his idea of wilderness. He was the person who had probably the most ‘controlled’ vision of wilderness as a visitor. Grizzly Adams was the TV prograrrt which most impacted his perception. Overall, media exposure and influence on the meaning of wilderness for the visitors was divided as follows: news reports, movies, print media, nature documentaries, TV shows, adventure documentaries, and music. Deforestation and the Exxon Valdez oil spill were again of concern to the participants (Wolf, Bobcat and Grizzly), however, wolf hunting from helicopters and the storage of nuclear waste under a mountain in a western state were also cited as relevant news reports. Different movies were used by this group, but again wilderness was a major component of the plot. Deliverance (Darter), Nell (Trout) and Out of Africa (Bobcat). 343
Pike, Grizzly and Fox did not trust the portrayal of wilderness issues through the news media, which was similar to Raven’s point, while Owl and Darter thought that the media stereotyped the users of wilderness in their selected movies. Media, therefore, seems to portray wilderness in a negative and positive manner. In many ways, because the visitors and non-visitors had similar definitions of wilderness, one might suggest that media had a major positive influence on the meaning of wilderness for the participants. This indeed could be the case, however, some past research indicates that heavy viewers of television, particularly news programs, were not more environmentally concerned that other people, particularly in their actions (Shanahan, 1993). In Shanahan’s (1993) research, the influence of the paucity of environmental images on groups of people was explored. Shanahan did determine in his research that certain attitudes did alter, such as recycling and increased use of environmentally-friendly products. Most of the participants in this study followed similar practices, yet commitment to preservation of wilderness seemed higher, particularly as non-visitors stated that access to such areas should be denied or highly curtailed. For this group, entertainment movies were cited more often than news reports. This leads to a question: does the use of wilderness as a background setting or a the subject of a movie have a greater impact on helping a person define wilderness than new reports or nature documentaries? While it did seem so in this study, further research on this aspect of media is required. Examining the Transactional Approach as represented by Zube and Kennedy (1990) (Figure 3) in light of some of the data, it would seem that media does impart an idealized image of wilderness to non-visitors. In the illustration of the approach, the category of insiders changes to a media team which visits a wilderness area, the image which the visitors (represented by the immigrants) possess could be very different from that of the non-visitors (outsiders). Aspen stated that the image he received from the media was from the perspective of the director or cameraperson. The visitors had some lived experience or a transaction with the place to counterbalance this projected image and/or experience. Coyote mentioned the ‘macho’ image of wilderness which did not correspond to her idea of this image, while Willow discussed the animal survival aspects portrayed by media which seemed to define wilderness for him. No matter the type of program the manner in which the environment is projected seems to have an influence on how people view or perceive that setting (Burgess, 1982; Zonn, 1984). 344
Yet, while media did influence the participants, it can not be judged as solely responsible for their definition of wilderness. Indeed, the participants in this research would not be as confident as Burgess (1982) concerning the strength of the media event as a substitute for the actual experience. However, at that moment in time, the media did have an impact, it was important to the participant in that situation, perhaps in bridging a gap in the person’s knowledge. But as seen in the data the meanings of wilderness did alter for the participants as a result of other experiences, even other media events. Therefore, it is important to consider the elements of time, context, and change in this and other communication models. Wilderness is an individual meaning, but at the same time is patterned and functions within a network of social relationships (Moffitt, 1993). The impact of the projected image in creating the idealized landscape of wilderness was important in this study. Certain areas were not considered wilderness because they did not correspond with the type of setting non-visitors had defined as wild a result of various media experiences. This generates many problems for such idealized landscapes or wilderness. It may focus attention on the “remote and the special to the neglect of the nearby and the familiar’’ (Lowenthal, 1976, 397). It may assist in the definition of a wilderness ethic and an urban ethic, as opposed to a land ethic. In addition, such images may create a false expectation of the idealized environment. Seeing wildlife in certain environments is not always as easy as shown in media. Gallagher (1993) believes that people who have been immersed in media, particularly television, are not impacted as much when visiting a wild area. While this may be true, media may assist in laying some dimensions to a person’s idea of wilderness, but the person should realize that the situation in the wild is not always as projected in the image. Increased demand could be placed on availability of such areas for lived experience and projected experiences. Following the success of the movie Dances With Wolves in the Badlands-Black Hills area of South Dakota, visitor numbers increased to the national park, followed by additional film crews trying to capture the scenery as movie background (Wilkinson, 1995). Indeed, the numbers of film crews seeking access to national paries and wilderness has increased significantly over the past decade. While many of the non-visitors had natural experiences they did not consider these experiences to correspond with their idea of wilderness. This may have resulted 345 from the ideal image of wilderness which was imparted by media, which helped form their idea of that environment Or it may have been a result of not experiencing the other or Wholly Other on such occasions.
Idea of wilderness largelv impacted bv media, but natural experiences were also important. For the non-visitors, the idea of wilderness largely resulted from some form of media experience or from friends who had visited this environment. However, natural experiences also played a crucial role for many of these participants. For people who had such experiences, they had difficulty believing that a ‘true’ wilderness existed because of human impact spreading on a global level. Many of the natural experiences discussed could have been considered wilderness trips. However, as the environment did not attain the ideal wilderness landscape portrayed in media, then the non-visitors did not believe that the natural environment encountered could be defined as wilderness. This aspect of landscape portrayal and the use of the wilderness setting in conunercials for motorized vehicles could have serious implications for wilderness education. Many people could perceive wilderness as an unattainable ideal, thus leading to a deterioration of existing wild places. In addition, commercials using four wheel drives may give the impression that such activities should be allowed in wilderness areas, diminishing solitude and the ability to ‘get away’ from technology.
Non-visitors were more pro-preservation, generallv denving wilderness access to people. Interestingly, the non-visitors, especially those who did not have any wish or desire to visit wilderness were more in favor of denying access to such areas completely. Many of the non-visitors and visitors did believe access to be an issue as well, although while many of the non-visitors thought curtailing access to such places, some of the visitors believed areas should be more accessible, especially for physically challenged or older people. This issue is not new and resurfaces continually in debates concerning the equality of the wilderness experience (Hendee et al.. 1990). One of the solutions to access is that people do not require wilderness for every type of outdoor experience. Use of an environment prescribed in the WEC or ROS would play a role here. 346
However, physically challenged people can also access certain managed wilderness areas. Wilderness Inquiry, a Minnesota based organization, organizes trips “to integrate adults and youths with and without disabilities in outdoor education and adventure experiences” (Lais, 1995, 28). Such programs have been very successful for both groups of participants. The idea of curtailing total use of some wild places, while reinforcing the human/nature dichotomy, may be necessary in the short- and near-term to prevent extinction of some flora and fauna species.
3. In what way does the interpretive landscape alter over time and what events/ experiences are related to the refinement? Does this modify a person’s view of wilderness?
Theme (d) addresses this research question. The definition of wilderness for the majority of the participants, visitors and non-visitors, did change over time. In most cases, while the definition was refined new types of landscapes were added to the wilderness rubric rather than a major alteration to the meaning of the term. The visitors who stated a change occurred believed that it expanded to include new areas. For example Grizzly and Trout, who had both been raised in the West, expanded their definition to include areas in South Carolina (following a canoeing trip) and Ohio (following a rockclimbing event) respectively. Fox, who was also raised in the West, believed that his stricter definition was not formed until after he was fifteen. Through education he realized that mega-fauna (such as elk, bear, wolves) should be present in an area to qualify it as wilderness. Bobcat mentioned that she considered Sequoia National Park ‘softened’ wilderness at 23 years, a point she would not have considered when she was eight years old. This clarification of wilderness—between softened and real— resulted from experiences in areas with human influence (national parks, Scotland) to more rugged landscapes (camping in Montana). Indeed, for the visitors, most of these changes were as a result of experiences in different types of wilderness environments. Some visitors, however, believed that their definition had not altered. As Darter believed he had lived near wilderness all his life, he thought that his idea had not changed. Salmon based his definition on his first experience, an adventure trip with the 347
Boy Scouts, which was a more stereotypical or ‘macho-type’ experience. (Coyote would have classed it as such based on her criteria.) For most of the non-visitors the definition altered in a similar way to the visitors. Participants refined their idea through natural experiences or media, allowing more settings to be included. Owl progressed from defining wilderness as jungle to including deserts. Eagle considered wilderness to be more of a spiritual location now instead of just a recreational area. Those who stated that the meaning had not changed over time, believed that wilderness had always been the same for them. Aspen believed that his definition had not changed since high school, because he did not experience it or seek any additional information about it. The qualitative aspects of the experience seemed to be more important to the participants as their definition altered, especially for those who did not live in close proximity to the setting. While a certain level of physical characteristics had to be present to define a location as wilderness, some times the visitors would compromise on levels of ruggedness, remoteness, etc. to attain that solitude. This was visible when the visitors went to ‘softened’ or slightly developed locations. Perch, for example, was able to separate the qualitative aspects almost completely by using the metro park to escape his urban setting. Trout defined an area in Ohio as giving her some solitude, but for that real close connection to God she had to go further west. Fox, a participant who had an intense spiritual relationship with wilderness, could only experience this connection in a rugged setting. It was not surprising that most of the participants believed that their idea or meaning of wilderness changed over time. Meanings and perceptions of landscapes, people, etc., are anything but stable over time and space. An important aspect of meanings, according to Francis ( 1987), may be the expectations which people bring to a place. Generally, users and non-users expect certain qualities to be available in particular environments. He found that conceptual differences existed between ‘parks’ and ‘gardens’ in a city environment In this research, users and non-users also expected certain characteristics, physical and qualitative, to be inherent in wilderness areas as opposed to other natural sites. Experiencing or not experiencing such characteristics may influence the meaning associated with that environment. 348
In this particular case, most of the change resulted from experiencing a new space—a different type of wilderness—either directly or indirectly, over time. The reaction of the participants to the new wilderness resulted from the situation in which they found themselves. For instance. Perch believed that Sharon Woods was wilderness, because it afforded him a relaxing atmosphere; the classification system developed by Fox (working definition as opposed to a strict defrnition) and Bobcat (softened and real wilderness) was a result of direct experiences. However, all these environments fall under the rubric of wilderness. The changes did not diminish the value placed on wilderness, indeed for most of the participants they strengthened the support for the setting. Participants exhibited this value in different ways. One of the most common was recycling and contributions to environmental organizations.
4. How do the meanings that people have for wilderness relate to the situation, the material conditions of their lives, and exposures?
Themes (i), (1), (m), (o), and (q) deal with this question. The setting was important to the wilderness experience. The participants believed that the type and quality of the setting influenced the experience. All of the visitors believed that it was possible to have some sense of a wilderness experience without being in that particular setting, but it was generally a pale imitation of the ‘real’ experience. It was a holistic experience as Coyote stated which could not be partitioned off into different senses. The interaction with the environment was according to Grizzly a gestalt, and therefore a wilderness experience could not occur in any fabricated setting. In addition, while many believed that it was possible for media of various sorts (movies, books, music, photographs) and memories to trigger emotions or pleasant recollections about a wilderness trip, the person had to have a prior experience in a wilderness setting to make that connection. However, while these emotions and memories could be quite strong and vivid, they only constituted a part of the experience. It was interesting that when Owl thought about wilderness it brought back a smell sensation of a Caribbean trip for her, where she encountered a natural environment 349
The non-visitors, on the other hand, had never experienced wilderness directly, although many had natural experiences, but most of them also believed that to experience wilderness the person had to be in that setting. However, three of the undergraduate non-visitors thought that it was possible to experience wilderness in a different environment, at least to a certain degree. Interestingly, another participant in this cell created a clear distinction between seeing and experiencing wilderness and for Osprey the former was definitely preferable. The actual experience was the key factor in distinguishing the personal image of wilderness and that formed from the images projected by media. Media did play a crucial role, the similarity between what many of the non-visitors and visitors expressed as wilderness was significant. However, until that physical interaction occurs, wilderness remains, as Willow stated, a theoretical perspective. Evemden (1992) discussed this as the lived experience as opposed to an interpretation of an image projected by some medium. Even when questioned about virtual reality (VR), all the participants believed that this technology could not replace the wilderness experience. Many were unsure of the developmental stage of the technology, but did envision some positive outcomes of VR. It could help people gain an appreciation of the environment through virtual visits, be used for training adequate wilderness behavior, and be valuable to physically challenged people allowing them access to this virtual environment. However, on the other hand, the participants also mentioned many dangers inherent in the technology. When, and if, VR progresses to a stage of complete wilderness replication, it could also devalue the experience because it would be accessible to people everyday. Part of the value of wilderness is its scarcity. In addition, some participants (Perch, Willow, Wolf, Bobcat and Grizzly) mentioned the intrinsic danger in the replication of wilderness and the experience. According to them, it would give the perception that that actual environment is unnecessary and therefore, could be developed and exploited. But Salmon contended that a VR wilderness would not support any life. However, Eagle and Oak stated that through this technology less impact may result to the environment as people could experience wilderness in this manner, therefore areas could be preserved. Coyote found the thought of using technology to create an experience which, to her, was aimed at removing oneself from technology, to get away from the appliances of life, a paradox. Such an experience would not work for her. Raven contended that 350 the person would always know it was an artificial environment and experience, because nature has a randomness which could not be computer generated. However, as a society we have adapted to artificial items, which when introduced first may cause a negative reaction but after some time can gain a foothold in our lifestyle. Yet, it is improbable that VR would ever completely replace wilderness or the experience. Taylor (1994) surveyed a group of environmental educators and VR developers and reported that the technology would not be “developed or marketed as a substitute for actual experiences” (108), particularly in education. Users, in this case educators, would control the development of software and some natural experiences, such as a walk in the woods, would be more beneficial as an actual experience and cheaper for schools.?
Best experience associated with characteristics of landscape. All of the visitors associated the best memory of their wilderness experiences with the landscape. Emotions imparted by the environment included relaxation, spiritual qualities, and the sense of awe experiencing the physical grandeur of the location. Considering the amount of research on the therapeutic value of wilderness experiences this was not surprising. The ‘cleansing effect’ or spiritual impacts of wilderness experiences were cited by many of the visitors as the major influences of their trips. Ewert (1986) and Bixler et al. (1994) discussed the role of fear in environmental experiences and the impact it may have on people in this environment. For the visitors in this study, fear of the wilderness was not an emotion that was mentioned, except perhaps by Wolf with his monkey experience. Generally the environments did not evoke this emotion, although people did recognize the power inherent in it. However, in the non-visitor group, a few cited this emotion as one connected to wilderness: Willow, Osprey, and Raven. (Refer to the discussion in Wilderness existed on different levels, based on Wildness section for some additional analysis on this topic.)
7 As schools become increasingly concerned about insurance and other costs for outdoor experiences some form of a virtual experience will probably occur. Already schools use multi-media presentations to visit other environments around the globe. Also, as the value of wilderness increases and conflicts grow between various groups of users, it may be less expensive to use virtual reality as an option for experiences. 351
Worst experience associated with person/people on trip. Some of the participants had a difficult time selecting a specific recollection within a trip which they considered a ‘worst’ memory or of designating an overall worst trip. This was not surprising as most people often stated that the bad memories tended to be small and faded into the background as the better memories subsumed the experience. It is interesting to note that any participant who did mention a worst memory generally associated any bad incidents with a person or persons involved in some way with an aspect of the trip. For Coyote, it was a person accompanying her on one of her trips, while Trout mentioned hearing some gun shots which frightened her. Because wildemess was so different from their typical mundane environment and perceived as awe-inspiring, it was probable the group dynamics and social interaction would be responsible for any bad memories. People tend to visit wildemess with a specific intent and are often disturbed if this objective is imposed upon, particularly by other users. More experienced hikers travel to areas offering greater solitude because of their location as they know that certain trails and campsites will be more-crowded than others (Carpenter and Stewart, 1989), thus avoiding bad memories.
Trips became more challenging in time and finance. Time and finances were cited as the major challenges facing participants who wished to visit wildemess. This was particularly the case for the graduate students and particularly those people who had more of the extreme environment in mind as a wildemess. Lack of time and finances were also reported as two of the top three reasons why people do not visit namral areas for recreation (Fisher et al.. 1984). In addition, the view that many outdoor enthusiasts require expensive protective clothing is a common perception and while it was not mentioned specifically could be included under the heading of finances. According to Cosgrove (1995) “the highly elaborated codes of conduct and dress for (wildemess) can be as rigid and exclusive in their moral message as their expense’’ (37). This perception could be promoted through commercials and wildemess documentaries. Cosgrove (1995) believes that such codes and perceptions “articulate an individualistic, muscular and active vision of bodily health largely derived from Anglo sociopsychological culture’’ (ibid.). Access becomes an issue, which many of the participants cited. 352
Motivations are also important, sometimes to counterbalance the challenge, other times a physical challenge may be an incentive for the experience. Five types of motivation drive American adults to participate in outdoor recreation: fitness, social, excitement, experience self and nature, conformist/space cramped (Market Opinion Research, 1986). The visitors mentioned some aspect of these factors as motivations for their wildemess trips, while the non-visitors expected some of these dimensions to be part of that type of experience.
Non-visitors did not experience wildemess because of proximitv. lack of interest, time and finances. Non-visitors were similar to visitors in that time and finances influenced their ability to visit wildemess areas, although proximity to areas was more of an issue. Lack of interest on behalf of some of the participants in this group or their parents was also an important factor. Wisener and Sharkey (1973) reported that lack of interest was more critical than lack of ability as a barrier to participation in a wildemess experience.
Wildemess, it seems, can be represented by many different types of environment, but meanings associated with it by the participants in this study were very similar, even between the visitors and non-visitors. As seen in the discussion above, there were striking variations in some cases in the physical characteristics of the landscape. However, the emotional and spirimal aspects of the actual or hypothesized experience were extremely similar. For example. Perch discussed an urban park as opposed to Fox’s description of a desert area in Utah. While both gave a sense of solitude and relaxation to the person, the spiritual aspects were not encountered by Perch, but Fox did receive ethereal feelings. The intensity of the spiritual aspects of the wildemess experience along with the solitude has led to the development of a Fields of Wildemess Experience Model, constmcted from the theorizing of the participants. Figure 11 is a diagrammatic representation of this model. The diagram exhibits a combination of the WEC and ROS described earlier. At the point where all the circle meet is the process/quality/essence of wildness. As one proceeds away from this point, wildness diminishes but is never destroyed. The landscape where wildness is found in its purest form is wildemess. Wildness is at a low level in the city environment, but still present. 353
Solitude S o litu d e
W ildness
Levels of Intensity of Wildness Levels of Awareness
Physical Aesthetic (Spiritual-Nonreligious) Characteristics Characteristics
CE = City Environment SO = Somewhat Oblivious UPE = Urban Paric Environment N = Noticing R = Rural O = Otherness RNA = Roaded Natural Areas HC = Heightened Connection SPM = Semi-Primitive Motorized PNM = Primitive Nonmotorized P = Primitive: Wild Places
Figure 11. Fields of Wildemess Experience Model 354
On the opposite side is a representation of the spiritual aspects of the experience. Again, as one moves out from the meeting point, the level of spiritual (not necessarily religious) connection diminishes. Intense spiritual experiences were encountered in the wilderness setting, as opposed to the city enviromnent. The spiritual aspect is a mirror image, it seems, of the condition of the physical landscape. A third element of this model is the quality of solitude, or escape, which the environments afforded the participants. This is represented by the inward direction of the solitude line to the most solitary of envirorunents, the wilderness. Solitude is an important quality of the environment, it too is at its most intense at the meeting point, allowing the individual to cross the physical and psychological boundaries to experience the Wholly Other. In cases where solitude is available in other natural environments, it allows a ‘reality check,’ assisting the person in gaining a perspective on her life at that point in time and perhaps how her life fits into the greater scheme of existence. Awareness of the Other and Wholly Other increases with the intensity of wildness; a person may be somewhat oblivious to her connection with nature in an urban environment, but in more pristine conditions a heightened connection may be formed with that environment, nature in general, and the Wholly Other. The model is based on the theorizing of the participants and the interpretation of the researcher. It represents a mirror reflection of both aspects of the experience governed, to a large extent, by the physical and qualitative characteristics of the environment. Each side corresponds and overlaps to create the necessary conditions for an intense or a weak wildemess experience depending on the type of environment. Further research is required to explore this model and its relationship, if any, to the meaning of wilderness. Raven stated that wildemess was ‘what you made of it’ and people have different meanings for this place. Graber (1976) states that “inconsistencies of this type are not damaging, for the true definition of wildemess is found not in the present or absence of physical modification, but in human needs and desires” (10). However, much has changed in the last twenty years and while this may still be the case another dimension has to be added to wildemess. That is areas where the life systems of this planet can function without excess hinderance from humans. These may also be considered ‘human needs and desires,’ but they go beyond that allowing nature to redefine itself. 355
Implications of the Study This research has a number of implications for the meaning of wildemess and its management as a legal entity. The similarity of personal definitions between the visitors and non-visitors, the legal definition, and past writings is important. It seems that in our social discourse a certain meaning of wildemess prevails. Stegner (1960) was correct when he stated that wildemess had become an intimate part of the American psyche, because it helped form the character of the people and the country. Perhaps it is such an integral component of the culture that wildemess is now a major tradition in this country; this landscape has become as American as apple pie. This is visible in the nature programming, movies and even cormnercials where the ‘macho-image’ and survivalist (or frontier) aspects of wildemess predominate. It was also clear in the negative response of most of the participants to the activities permitted in legally designated wildemess. Such activities were not in harmony with their definition of this landscape. This finding of agreement among various definitions has an important impact on the policy toward and management of wildemess areas. The study validated many of the findings of past research, particularly regarding knowledge of the legal wildemess definition. However, the result of witnessing such a similarity between the various wildemess definitions suggested a universal meaning for wildemess in the American culture which could clearly impact the management of this environment. If ‘wildemess is what we want it to be’, then clearly for the majority of the participants legal wildemess does not agree with their idea of this environment. Many of the activities currently permitted in such areas should be curtailed or eliminated to allow wildemess to define itself (wild, untamed, free-flowing, no human impacts), at least as the participants in this study described it. The main activities to be suspended would be hunting, grazing, mining and perhaps the curtailment of some research and recreation. Indeed, in recent years, many wildemess purists do not consider wildemess experiences a valid reason for entering such areas because of impacts on the environment and many are now remaining outside of very pristine places. As wildemess is managed by federal agency personnel (and in some cases, state—if a state designated wildemess), it would be interesting to interview such managers to determine if their personal definition would correspond with the participants of this study and the underlying cultural definition. Perhaps their professional ideology and agency philosophy would have changed their definition to 356 allow the current multiple use system. (In the past, some personnel have quit their agency because of disagreements over wildemess policy, notably Aldo Leopold.) In addition, marketing wildemess either as a useable or dwindling resource would be impacted by this Anding. Tourism, recreation and commercial product advertising should re-examine their policies. For example, should vehicles be seen driving across ragged areas, does this convey the solitude of wildemess or does it reduce the solitude offered by this environment? Such questions need to be examined in light of this research. Most of the participants mentioned that their on-site experience was positive, while part of the trip to/ffom the area or some other aspect of the experience may have been negative. This validated Clawson and Knetsch’s (1966) research. However, the point that some non-visitors had experiences which could have been classed as wilderness experiences, but did not consider them as such may be a result of a heightened anticipation which was created in part by the media’s or tourism board’s portrayal of the site. This is an important point which needs to be recognized in maiketing of such areas. In addition, the establishment of more ‘wildemess’ types of environment is required if people are to be able to access areas without having to travel to the westem states. Many of the participants believed large tracts of wildemess were located here, but did not have enough time or finances to travel to them. However, in relation to marketing would a person be willing to pay more money for the type and magnitude of solitude which larger wildemess areas afford? It seems that this particular group would not be able to pay such costs, but other groups have enough disposal income to support such an experience. Whether such a process creates another group of wildemess purists or elitists is debatable, however the fact that all defînitions share the commonality discussed above suggests that wildemess is far from being an elitist commodity but an egalitarian asset Access to certain types of wildemess may represent an elitism, but the defînition of it certainly is not; taken in its broadest terms as defined by the participants in this study where specific qualities could be separated from the physical environment a degree of wildemess is available to all. Evert-Jan Wals (1991) concludes from his study that while experiences in nature are not imperative for learning about nature, they are important in enhancing personal growth and spiritual development 357
The intensity of the spiritual aspects of the wildemess experience in pristine areas was clear from the data. What impact increasing access through marketing would have on this is unknown, although it surely would diminish opportunities for such experiences. This was particularly tme for the wildemess experiences (as opposed to the natural experiences) and certainly validates Wals’ (1991) research as well as that of many other researchers, but brings it to new heights with the development of the Field of Wildemess Experiences Model. The use of circles in this model suggests that in wildemess management policy the use of straight-line continua should be discarded. After all, the wildemess experience is a holistic experience and possesses a gestalt, as the participants observed, which can not be replicated by any existing media. Further refinements of this model will appear as this research continues. The advocacy for wildemess by the visitors and non-visitors suggests that participation, whether direct or vicarious, leads to support of and stakeholding in the resource. Such a stance could be strengthened by education. Burde and Fadden (1995) believed that the public need to understand wildemess philosophy and its interpretation in relation to land management policies. Part of this rests on how the pubhc perceives wildemess; they cited environmental education as part of the solution. However, as Raven stated (and as some of the debate between the preservation of wildness or wildemess indicates) wildemess is fashioned by people and we can make of it what we want it to represent Any education program or marketing policy has to realize that and be cognizant of the dangers inherent in such programs. One major point that should always be at the forefront of such programs or promotions is that large tracts of land, whether they are called wildemess, wild places or wildness areas, are required for other species to survive and possibly even for ourselves.
Recommendations for Future Research The following recommendations are based on the outcomes of the use of the Sence-Making methodology and the exploration of the meaning of wildemess for this group of participants.
• The successful utilization of the Sense-Making methodology in this research suggests that this method could be very useful in other environmental constmcts, meanings, and perceptions. Sense-making research in the following 358 areas would be possible: a more indepth examination of the constructs nature, environment, and wildemess; an exploration of the meaning of wildemess for users on-site; determining the influence of specific media, i.e. animated features such as Bambi, commercials which use the wildemess as a backdrop, on the meanings associated with certain wildemess activities; and environmental communication techniques.
The meaning of wildemess was explored for a sample of undergraduate and graduate students with a Sense-Making instrument Further research is required in exploring the meaning of wildemess for people, especially those who have been restricted to urban environments, individuals who work in wildemess settings, and employees of the agencies who administer legally designated wildemess.
Specific aspects of the meaning of wildemess should be explored, such as the spiritual points. Spirituality as afforded by the wildemess setting seemed to be extremely important to the participants. It may warrant a Sense-Making study specifically on the association of this strong feeling with this type of landscape, particularly the point that organized religions can not accommodate the individuality of the wildemess spiritual experience.
The meaning of wildemess for wildemess managers and other federal/state land management personnel should be examined, particularly in light of the new philosophical debate conceming the preservation of wildness as opposed to wildemess. In addition, could this debate have an impact on the wildemess system and should individuals be concemed about this debate?
Policy and education implications of the meaning of wildemess and the Wildness Environment Continuum. What does the environmental education community think about the debate on preserving wildness as opposed to wildemess? How does the idea of wildemess impact the area defined as wildemess? APPENDIX A
SENSE-MAKING INSTRUMENTS FOR VISITORS AND NON-VISITORS TO WILDERNESS
359 360
Cover for Sense-Making Instruments I and II
Remarks
Hello. My name is Tony Murphy. As I explained to you on the phone I am doing research on the meaning of ‘wilderness.’ Before we begin, I would like to reiterate what I said on the phone. The interview will be audio-taped and is entirely confidential and your anonymity is assured. Is that agreeable to you? In addition, I will never use your name anywhere in the study. You will be identified by a codenumber in my records but I may use an initial or a name in my report. Would you like to nominate a name or an initial for yourself? Otherwise I will select a ‘code’ name for you. Finally, all records connecting you with the study will be destroyed at the end of my research. Have you any questions conceming the study?
Signature of participant 361
Sense-Making Instniment I Visitor to Wildemess
1. Would you describe what you consider to be wildemess? Would you describe what you consider to be nature? Would you describe what you consider to be environment? What leads you to say that?
2. Have you ever been in the wildemess? Would you list the wildemess areas that you have visited.
3. What was the first time in your life when you were in what you considered to be wildemess (at that time)?
a. What were the major events (experiences, books, TV, movies, etc.) and/or people that influenced/caused you to visit the wildemess? b.What happened during the experience? c. What is your worst memory about the experience? What are the recollections/emotions/feelings/events that really stand out for you about the experience? d.What is your best memory about the experience? What are the recollections/emotions/feelings/events that really stand out for you about the experience? e.Did the experience hurt or hinder you in any way? How? f. Did the experience help or facilitate you in any way? How? g.What words and conditions best describe the wildemess for you during this experience? h.When did this experience occur and did it relate to the rest of your life (past/present) in any way? How? i. Did the experience lead you to any conclusions or ideas? What were they? Did these conclusions or ideas change your feelings-emotional, spiritual- (pause), behavior (pause), thinking in any way? How? j. (Ask if this information was not already stated — Were you alone or in a group? Were you on a camping trip or a day trip? Where did you go?)
4. What was the most recent time in your life when you were in what you considered to be wildemess (at that time)?
a. What were the major events (experiences, books, TV, movies, etc.) and/or people that influenced/caused you to visit the wildemess? b.What happened during the experience? c. What is your worst memory about the experience? What are the recollections/emotions/feelings/events that really stand out for you about the experience? d. What is your best memory about the experience? What are the recollections/emotions/feehngs/events that really stand out for you about the experience? 362
e. Did the experience hurt or hinder you in any way? How? f. Did the experience help or facilitate you in any way? How? g.What words and conditions best describe the wildemess for you during this experience? h.When did the experience occur and did it relate to the rest of your life (past/present) in any way? How? i. Did the experience lead you to any conclusions or ideas? What were they? Did these conclusions or ideas change your feelings-emotional, spiritual- (pause), behavior (pause), thinking in any way? How j . (Ask if this information was not already stated — Were you alone or in a group? Were you on a camping trip or a day trip? Where did you go?)
5. Did your feelings/thinking/behavior/definition change toward the wildemess between your first and most recent visit? What leads you to say that?
6. What was your worst experience/trip in the wildemess?
a. What were the major events (experiences, books, TV, movies, etc.) and/or people that influenced/caused you to visit the wildemess? b.What happened during the experience? c.What is your worst memory about the experience? What are the recollections/emotions/feelings/events that really stand out for you about the experience? d. What is your best memory about the experience? What are the recollections/emotions/feefings/events that really stand out for you about the experience? e.Did the experience hurt or hinder you in any way? How? f. Did the experience help or facilitate you in any way? How? g.What words and conditions best describe the wildemess for you during this experience? h.When did this experience occur and did it relate to the rest of your life (past/present) in any way? How? i. Did the experience lead you to any conclusions or ideas? What were they? Did these conclusions or ideas change your feelings-emotional, spiritual- (pause), thinking (pause), behavior in any way? How? j. (Ask if this information was not already stated — Were you alone or in a group? Were you on a camping trip or a day trip? Where were you?)
7. What was your best experience/trip in the wildemess?
a. What were the major events (experiences, books, TV, movies, etc.) and/or people that influenced/caused you to visit the wildemess? b.What happened during the experience? c.What is your worst memory about the experience? What are the recollections/emotions/feelings/events that really stand out for you about the experience? d. What is your best memory about the experience? What are the recollections/emotions/feelings/events that really stand out for you about the experience? e.Did the experience hurt or hinder you in any way? How? 363
f. Did the experience help or facilitate you in any way? How? g.What words and conditions best describe the wilderness for you during this experience? h.When did this experience occur and did it relate to the rest of your life (past/present) in any way? How? i. Did the experience lead you to any conclusions or ideas? What were they? Did these conclusions or ideas change your feelings-emotional, spiritual- (pause), thinking (pause), behavior in any way? How? j . (Ask if this information was not already stated — Were you alone or in a group? Were you on a camping trip or a day trip? Where were you?)
8. Did your feelings (pause), thinking (pause), behavior (pause), definition change toward the wilderness between your worst and best experience? What leads you to say that?
9. What experience had the most impact on the meaning of wilderness for you (for example, a media event, a person, natural experience) or that helped you form your view of wilderness? What leads you to say that?
a. What happened during the experience? b.What is your worst memory about the event? What are the recoUections/emotions/feelings/experiences that really stand out for you about the event? c. What is your best memory about the event? What are the recollection^emotions/feelings/experiences that really stand out for you about the event? d.Did the experience hurt or hinder you in any way? How? What leads you to say that? e.Did the experience help of facilitate you in any way? How? What leads you to say that? f. What words best describe the wilderness for you during this event? g.When did this event occur and did it relate to the rest of your life in any way? How? h.Did the event lead you to any conclusions or ideas? What were they? Did these conclusions or ideas change your feelings-emotional, spiritual- (pause), thinking (pause), behavior in any way? How?
10. What media experience (TV, movies, radio, music, books, magazines, newspapers) made you the most concerned about how people diink of or view wilderness in our society? a. What happened during the media event? b.What is your worst memory about the media event? What are the recollections/emotions/feelings/events that really stand out for you about the media event? c. What is your best memory about the media event? What are the recollection^emotions/feelings/events that really stand out for you about the media event? d.Did the experience hurt or hinder you in any way? How? e.Did the experience help or facilitate you in any way? How? f. What words best describe the wilderness for you during this media event? 364
g.When did the event occur and did this relate to the rest of your life (past/present) in any way? How? h.Did the media event lead you to any conclusions or ideas? What were they? Did these conclusions or ideas change your feelings-emotional, spiritual- (pause), thinking (pause), behavior in any way? How?
11. Many of us have experiences with wilderness indirectly through the media. What exposure to wilderness in the media (either TV, movies, books, newspapers, magazines, radio, music) stands out the very most in your mind? What leads you to say that?
a. What happened during the media event? b.What is your worst memory about the media event? What are the recollections/emotions/feelings/events that really stand out for you about the media event? c. What is your best memory about the media event? What are the recollections/emotions/feelings/events that really stand out for you about the media event? d.Did the experience hurt or hinder you in any way? How? e.Did the experience help or facilitate you in any way? How? f. What words best describe the wilderness for you during this media event? g.When did the event occur and did this relate to the rest of your life (past/present) in any way? How? h.Did the media event lead you to any conclusions or ideas? What were they? Did these conclusions or ideas change your behavior (pause), feelings- emotional, spiritual- (pause), thinking in any way? How? (hi general, how do you think wilderness is portrayed in the media? What leads you to say that?)
Let's go back now to what you consider to be wilderness. Earlier you said ...... Now I would like you to answer some questions about this focus that you have about wilderness.
12. Do you plan to visit the wilderness again? Where would you like to go? How did these connect with the rest of your life? What leads you to say that? Would you list a number of specific locations that you consider to be wilderness?
13. What motivates you to return to the wilderness?
14. Would you say your wilderness experiences/trips have become more challenging (emotionally, physically, intellectually, spiritually, or in any other way) over time? What leads you to say that? How did that connect widi the rest of your life? What leads you to say that?
15. Would you say that your religious or spiritual beliefs have influenced your view of the wilderness or your view of wilderness has influenced your religious or spiritual beliefs? What leads you to say that? How did that connect with the rest of your life? What leads you to say that? 365
16. Would you say that reli^ous or spiritual beliefs have influenced society's view of the wilderness or society’s view of wilderness has influenced religious or spiritual beliefs? What leads you to say that? How did that connect with the rest of your life? What leads you to say that?
17. Besides religious/spiritual beliefs do you think there are any other factors that may have influenced your and/or society’s view of the wilderness? What leads you to say that? How did that connect with the rest of your life? What leads you to say that?
18. Would you say that you see wilderness as being valuable to you/others? What leads you to say that? How did that connect with the rest of your life? What leads you to say that? How do you demonstrate the value which you place on wilderness? 19. Would you say that wilderness has a value all of its own? What leads you to say that? How did that connect with the rest of your life? What leads you to say that? How do you demonstrate this value of wilderness?
20. Does the term wilderness imply something positive or negative to you? What leads you to say that? How did that connect with the rest of your life? What leads you to say that?
21. As you think about wilderness, do you think society’s view of wilderness has changed? How? What leads you to say that?
22. Do you think it is possible to experience wilderness without physically being in the wilderness setting? What leads you to say that? How did that connect with the rest of your life? What leads you to say that? (What about virtual reality and interactive video, can they help, hinder, or replace the wilderness experience? What leads you to say that?)
Now I would like to have an overview of your total experiences with the wilderness.
23. Do you think there is a difference in the type/quality of wilderness experience you can have on a camping trip and a day trip? Can you have a wilderness experience on a day trip? What leads you to say that? How did that connect with the rest of your life? What leads you to say that?
24. About how many day trips would you say you've taken to the wilderness? How did that connect with the rest of your life? What leads you to say that?
25. How many camping trips have you taken to the wilderness? How did that connect with the rest of your life? What leads you to say that?
26. Would you please sum up what wilderness means to you?
27. Do you know that a legal definition of wilderness exists? Have you ever seen or r ^ that definition? 366
28. Reading the definition, would you tell me if you think if corresponds with your idea of wilderness? What leads you to say that? Section 2(c) of the 1964 Wilderness Act defines wilderness as follows: “A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain. An area of wilderness is Anther defined to mean in this Act an area of undeveloped Federal land retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions and which (1) generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man’s work substantially unnoticeable; (2) has outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined t j ^ of recreation; (3) has at least five thousand acres of land or is of sufficient size as to make practicable its preservation and use in an unimpaired condition; and (4) may also contain ecological, geological, or other features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value” Wilderness Act, Public Law 88-577.
29. Did you know that, just as designated National Parks exist, designated wilderness areas exist? If you Imow of any, could you list them here?
30. Do you know if any of your visits to wilderness areas were actually to legally designated wilderness areas? If yes, which ones did you visit.
31. Legally designated wilderness areas are managed by 4 federal agencies, the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Land Management (this agency usually administers mining, and grazing on their lands). The agencies allow the following activities, as well as other activities, in wildemess areas under their control:
After examining these activities, do you consider designated wildemess to conform with your definition? "What leads you to say that? 367
Forest Service National Park Service R sh & Wildlife Service Bureau of Land M gt
No motorized No motorized No motorized No motorized equipment allowed. equipment allowed. equipment allowed. equipment allowed.
Legal sport hunting Sport and Commercial Legal sport hunting Legal sport hunting
allowed, legal hunting prohibited; allowed; commercial allowed; commercial subsistence hunting legal subsistence hunting prohibited; hunting and legal permitted in AK. hunting permitted in legal subsistence subsistence hunting AK. hunting permitted in prohibited. AK.
Legal sport fishing Legal sport fishing Legal sport fishing Legal sport fishing allowed; legal allowed; legal allowed; legal allowed; legal subsistence fishing subsistence fishing subsistence fishing subsistence fishing permitted in AK. permitted in AK. permitted in AK. prohibited.
Legal sport trapping Legal sport trapping Legal sport trapping Legal sport fishing allowed; legal prohibited; legal allowed; legal allowed; legal subsistence fishing subsistence trapping subsistence trapping subsistence trapping permitted in AK. permitted in AK. permitted in AK. prohibited in AK.
Grazing permitted Grazing permitted Grazing permitted where Grazing permitted where established prior where established established prior to where established to wildemess prior to wildemess wildemess designation. prior to wildemess designation. Managed designation. designation. to protect both wildemess and range resource.
Research allowed if Research allowed if Research allowed if Research allowed if conducted in a manner conducted in a manner conducted in a manner conducted in a compatible with the compatible with the compatible with the manner compatible wildemess wildemess wildemess environment with the wildemess environment. environment. environment. 368
Sense-Making Instrument II Non-Visitor to Wildemess
1. Would you describe what you consider to be wildemess? Would you describe what you consider to be nature? Would you describe what you consider to be environment? What l^ d s you to say that? 2. Have you ever been in the wildemess? If No, can you give reasons why you have not visited the wildemess.
3. What experience had the most impact on your perception of wildemess, for example, media, a person, natural experiences? What leads you to say that?
a.What happened during the experience? b.What is your worst memory about the experience? What are the recoUections/emotions/feelings/experiences that really stand out for you about the experience? c. What is your best memory about the ex^rience? What are the recollection^emotions/feelings/experiences that really stand out for you about the experience? d.Did the experience hurt or hinder you in any way? How? e. Did the experience help or facilitate you in any way? How? f. What words best describe the wildemess for you during this event? g.When did this experience occur and did it relate to the rest of your life in any way? How? h.Did the experience lead you to any conclusions or ideas? What were they? Did these conclusions or ideas change your thinking (pause), feelings- emotional, spiritual- (pause), behavior, in any way? How?
4. What media experience (TV, movies, radio, music, books, magazines, newspapers) made you the most concemed about how people think of or view wildemess in our society?
a. What happened during the media experience? b.What is your worst memory about the media experience? What are the recollections/emotions/feelings/events that really stand out for you about the media experience? c. What is your best memory about the media experience? What are the recoUections/emotions/feelings/events that really stand out for you about the media experience? d . Did the experience hurt or hinder you in any way? How? e. Did the experience help or facilitate you in any way? How? f . What words best describe the wildemess for you during this media experience? g.When did this event occur and did this relate to the rest of your life (past/present) in any way? How? 369
h.Did the media experience lead you to any conclusions or ideas? What were they? Did these conclusions or ideas ch^ge your thinking (pause), feelings-emotional, spiritual- (pause), behavior, in any way? How?
5. Many of us have experiences with wildemess indirectly through the media. What exposure to wildemess in the media, (either TV, movies, books, newspapers, magazines, radio, music) stands out the very most in your mind? What leads you to say tliat?
a. What happened during the media event? How did that connect with the rest of your life? What leads you to say that? b.What is your worst memory about the media event? What are the recollections/emotions/feelings/events that really stand out for you about the media event? c. What is your best memory about the media event? What are the recollection^emotions/feelings/events that really stand out for you about the media event? d.Did the experience hurt or hinder you in any way? How? e. Did the experience help or facilitate you in any way? How? f . What words best describe the wildemess for you during this media event? g.When did the event occur and did this relate to the rest of your life (past/present) in any way? How? h.Did the media event lead you to any conclusions or ideas? What were they? Did these conclusions or ideas change your thinking (pause), feelings- emotional, spiritual- (pause), behavior, in any way? How? In general, how do you think wildemess is portrayed in the media? What leads you to say that?
Now I would like to have an overview of your total experiences with the wildemess.
6. Do you purposely seek out media experiences (TV, movies, books, magazines, newspaper reports) concerning wildemess? What leads you to do this?
7. Do you plan to visit the wildemess? Where would you like to go? What leads you to say that? Would you list a number of specific locations that you consider to be wildemess?
8. What would motivate you to visit the wildemess?
Let’s go back now to what you consider to be wildemess. Earlier you said...... Now I would like you to answer some questions about this focus that you have about wildemess. 9. Would you say that your religious or spiritual beliefs have influenced your view of the wildemess or that wildemess has influenced your religious or spiritual beliefs? What leads you to say that? How does this connect with the rest of your life? What leads you to say that? 370
1 G. Would you say that religious or spiritual beliefs have influenced society's view of the wildemess or that wildemess has influenced society’s religious or spiritual beliefs? What leads you to say that?
11. Besides religious/spiritual beliefs do you think there are any other factors that may have iiSluenced your and/or society's view of the wildemess? What leads you to say that? How does this connect with the rest of your life? What leads you to say that? 12. Would you say that you see wildemess as being valuable to you/others? What leads you to say that? How does this connect with the rest of your life? What leads you to say that? How do you demonstrate the value which you place on wildemess?
13. Would you say that wildemess has a value all of its own? What leads you to say that? How does this connect with the rest of your life? What leads you to say that? How do you demonstrate this value of wildemess?
14. Does the term wildemess imply something positive or negative to you? What leads you to say that? How does this connect with the rest of your life? What leads you to say that?
15. As you think about wildemess, do you think your view of wildemess has changed? How? What leads you to say that?
16. As you think about wildemess, do you think society’s view of wildemess has changed? How? What leads you to say that?
17. Do you think it is possible to experience wildemess without physically being in the wildemess setting? What leads you to say that? How does this connect with the rest of your life? What leads you to say that? (What about virtual reality and interactive video, can they help, Wnder or replace the wildemess experience? What leads you to say that?)
18. Would you please sum up what wildemess means to you?
19. Do you know that a legal definition of wildemess exists? Have you ever seen or read that definition?
20. Reading the definition, would you tell me if you think if corresponds with your idea of wildemess? What leads you to say that?
Section 2(c) of the 1964 Wildemess Act defines wildemess as follows: “A wildemess, in contrast with those areas where man and his works dominate the landscq», is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain. An area of wildemess is further defined to mean in this Act an area of undeveloped Federal land retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions and which (1) generally appears to have 371
been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man’s work substantially unnoticeable; (2) has outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined of recreation; (3) has at least five thousand acres of land or is of sufficient size as to make practicable its preservation and use in an unimpairedcondition; and (4) may also contain ecological, geological, or other features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historic^ value” Wildemess Act, Public Law 88-577.
21. Did you know that, just as designated National Parks exist, designated wildemess areas exist? If you know any, could you list them here?
22. Legally designated wildemess areas are managed by 4 federal agencies, the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Land Management (this agency usually administers mining, grazing on their lands). The agencies allow the following activities, as well as other activities, in wildemess areas under their control:
After examining these activities, do you consider designated wildemess to conform with your definition? What l e ^ you to say that? (Use chart firom Sense-Making Instmment I.) 372
Demographics (Undergraduates^
Gender Male Female
What year were you bom?
Rural farm Rural (non-farm) Town (not a suburb) City suburb City center Other
How many years of education do you have?
Yes No
If no, please specify what you work at?
Please specify in which salary group your parents’ household falls.
Under $15,000 per aimum $15, - $30,000 $30, - $45,000 $45, - $60,000 $60, - $75,000 $75, - $90,000 $90, - $105,000 Over $105,000
What kind of work did your parents do? What kind of place did they work at? How do you classify your race? How do you classify your religious/spiritual beliefs? 373
Demographics ('Graduates)
Gender Male Female
What year were you bom?
Rural farm Rural (non-farm) Town (not a suburb) City suburb City center Other
How many years of education do you have?
Yes No
If no, please specify what you work at?
Under $15,000 per annum $15, - $30,000 $30, - $45,000 $45, - $60,000 $60, - $75,000 $75, - $90,000 $90, - $105,000 Over $105,000
What kind of work did your parents do? What kind of place did they work at? 374
Please specify in which salary group your lousehold falls. Under $15,000 per annum $15, - $30,000 $30, - $45,000 $45, - $60,000 $60, - $75,000 $75, - $90,000 $90, - $105,000 Over $105,000
What kind of work did (do) you do?
What kind of place did (do) you work at?
How do you classify your race?
How do you classify your religious/spiritual beliefs? APPENDIX B
CODES FOR ANALYZING DATA
375 376
Codes for People who have visited wildemess
1 WildChar Description of Wildemess 2 NatChar Description of Nature 3 EnvChar Description of Environment 4 Nat-Env-Wild Connection between Nature, Environment and Wildemess 5 Wildhst Wildemess list 5a WUdVisit Wildemess areas visited 5b WildGo Wildemess areas respondent would like to visit 5c SpecWild Specific areas considered to be wildemess 6 FiretWUd First time to visit wildemess 6a CauseVisit Events/people which resulted in visit to wildemess 6b WildExper Description of the wildemess experience 6c IstWorstMem Worst memory fiom the first wildemess trip 6d IstBestMem Best memory from the first wildemess trip 6e 1 stWildhurt/Help Whether the wildemess experience helped or hindered 6f IstWildfeelings If the experience lead the respondent to any conclusions and if they altered feelings or behavior in any way 6g IstWildrelate How the experience related to the rest of the respondent’s life 7 RecentWild Most recent time to visit wildemess 7a CauseVisit Events/people which resulted in visit to wildemess 7b WildExper Description of the wildemess experience 7c RecentWorstMem Worst memory from the most recent wildemess trip 7d RecentBestMemory Best memory from the most recent wildemess trip 7e RecentWildhurt/Help Whether the wildemess experience helped or hindered If RecentWildfeelings If the experience lead the respondent to any conclusions and if they altéré feelings or behavior in any way 7g RecentWildielate How the experience related to the rest of the respondent’s life 8 Wildchange Change in definition of wildemess from first to most recent trip and/or from worst to best memory Worstwildtrip Worst trip or wildemess experience (Few if any respondents had what they would characterize as a worst or bad trip in the wildemess) 9a CauseVisit Events/people which resulted in visit to wildemess 9b WildExper Description of the wildemess experience 377
9c RecentWorstMem Worst memory from the most recent wildemess trip 9d RecentBestMemory Best memory from the most recent wildemess trip 9e RecentWildhurt/Help Whether the wildemess experience helped or hindered 9f RecentWildfeelings If the experience lead the respondent to any conclusions and if they altered feelings or behavior in any way 10 Bestwildtrip Best trip or wildemess experience 10a CauseVisit Events/people which resulted in visit to wildemess 10b WildExper Description of the wildemess experience 10c RecentWorstMem Worst memory from the most recent wildemess trip lOd RecentBestMemory Best memory from the most recent wildemess trip lOe RecentWildhurt/Help Whether the wildemess experience helped or hindered lOf RecentWildfeelings If the experience lead the respondent to any conclusions and if they altered feelings or behavior in any way 11 Mostimpact The experience which had the most impact on the meaning of wildemess 11a Exper A description of the experience 11b Worstmem Worst memory from the most impacting experience 11c Bestmem Best memory firom the most impacting experience lid Mostimphurt/Help Whether the wildemess experience helped or hindered lie Impactfeelings If the most impacting experience lead the respondent to any conclusions and if they altered feelings or behavior in any way 12 Wildmedia Which media event had the most influence on wildemess 12a Exper A description of the experience/event 12b Worstmem Worst memory about the experience 12c Bestmem Best memory about the experience 12d Mediahurt/Help Whether the media event helped or hindered 12e Wildmediafeelmgs If the media experience lead the respondent to any conclusions and if they altered feelings or behavior in any way 13 Indirmedia Which indirect media event had an influence on wildemess 13a Exper A description of the experience/event 13b Worstmem Worst memory about the experience 13c Bestmem Best memory about the experience 13d IndMediahurt/Help Whether the media event helped or hindered 13e Indmediafeelings If the media experience lead the respondent to any 14 WildPortrayal How wildemess is generally portrayed in the media 15 WUdVirtReality Whether computers, multimedia and/or virtual 378
reality can help or hinder the wildemess experience 16 WildMotiv What motivation to return to the wildemess 17 WildChallenge Whether the wildemess experiences have become more or less challenging 18 ReligSpirit Wildemess influence on religious/spiritual beliefs for the individual and society and vice versa 18a PerGodmanifest Individual thinks that wildemess is a manifestation of God 18b SocGodmanifest Individual’s belief of society’s assumption on religious/spiritual aspects of wildemess 18c ManDominate Man’s domination of wildemess as a function of westem culture or religious beliefs 19 Other factors Any other factors which influence society’s and/or individual’s belief toward wildemess 20 PersonValue The personal value which people place on wildemess 20a Demonvalue How the person demonstrates this personal value 21 InherValue If wildemess has inherent value 21a Demlnher How the person demonstrates the inherent value 22 WUd+/- Positive or Negative wildemess 23 SocChangeView The change in the view of society toward wildemess 24 WildVisits Number of visits to wildemess 24a Setting If it is possible to have a wildemess experience in a non-wildemess setting 24b Type/Quality Type and Quality of wildemess visits—daytrips vs. extended trips 25 WUdlegalDefh If the personal definition equates to the legal wildemess defn. 25a WildActivities The activities allowed in legally defined wildemess and if they influence the correspondence of the personal and legal definition 379
Codes for People who have not visited wildemess
1 WUdChar Description of Wildemess 2 NatChar Description of Nature 3 EnvChar Description of Environment 4 Nat-Env-Wild Connection between Nature, Environment and Wildemess 5 Wildnot Reasons for not visiting wildemess 5a WildGo Wildemess areas respondent would like to visit 5b SpecWild Specific areas considered to be wildemess 6 Mostimpact The experience which had the most impact on the meaning of wildemess 6a Exper A description of the experience 6b Worstmem Worst memory from the most impacting experience 6c Bestmem Best memory from the most impacting experience 6d Mostimphurt/Help Whether the wildemess experience helped or hindered 6e Impactfeelings If the most impacting experience lead the respondent to any conclusions and if they altered feelings or behavior in any way 6f Impactrelate How the experience related to the rest of the respondent’s life Wildmedia Which media event had the most influence on wildemess 7a Exper A description of the experience/event 7b Worstmem Worst memory about the experience 7c Bestmem Best memory about the experience 7d Mediahurt/Help Whether the media event helped or hindered 7e Wildmediafeehngs If the media experience lead the respondent to any conclusions and if they altered feelings or behavior in any way If Wildmediarelate How the experience related to the rest of the respondent’s life
7g Definitewildmedia If media experiences based on wildemess are purposely selected 8 Indirmedia Which indirect media event had an influence on wildemess 8a Exper A description of the experience/event 8b Worstmem Worst memory about the experience 8c Bestmem Best memory about the experience 8d IndMediahurt/Help Whether the media event helped or hindered 8e Indmediafeelings If the media experience lead the respondent to any 8f RecentWildielate How the experience related to the rest of the respondent’s life WildPortrayal How wildemess is generally portrayed in the media 380
10 WUdVirtReality Whether computers, multimedia and/or virtual reality can help or hinder the wilderness experience 11 WUdMotiv What motivation to visit wUdemess 12 ReligSpirit WUdemess influence on religious/spiritual beliefs for the individual and society and vice versa 12a PerGodmanifest Individual thinks that wilderness is a manifestation of God 12b SocGodmanifest Individual’s belief of society’s assumption on religious/spiritual aspects of wUdemess 12c ManDominate Man’s domination of wildemess as a function of westem culture or religious beliefs 13 Other factors Any other factors which influence society’s and/or individual’s belief toward wildemess 14 PersonValue The personal value which people place on wildemess 14a Demonvalue How the person demonstrates this personal value 15 InherValue If wUdemess has iiUierent value 15a Demlnher How the person demonstrates the inherent value 16 WUd+/- Positive or Negative wUdemess 17 SocChangeView The change in the view of society toward wildemess 18a Setting If it is possible to have a wildemess experience in a non-wildemess setting 19 WUdlegalDefii If the personal definition equates to the legal wildemess defn. 19a WUdActivities The activities allowed in legally defined wilderness and if they influence the correspondence of the personal and legal definition LIST OF REFERENCES
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