Bengston, David N.; Iverson, David C. 2003. About Island I)ress Recons~ctingconsemtion in an age of bits: ,ecological economics perspective. In: Minteer , Ben A.; Manning, Robert E., eds. Reconstmeting Island Press is the only nonprofit organization in the conservation: finding ground. washington, principal purpose is the publication of books on envil DC: ~slandPress: 223-238. natural resource management. We provide solutions-c to professionals, public officials, business and community leaders, and 1i- concerned citizens who are shaping responses to environmental problems. I In 2003, Island Press celebrates its nineteenth anniversary as the leading 1 provider of timely and practical books that take a multidisciplinary ap- Reconstructing proach to critical environmental concerns. Our growing list of titles reflects 1 our commitment to bringing the best of an expanding body of literature to e environmental community throughout North America and the world. 1 Conservation- Support for Island Press is provided by The Nathan Curnmings Founda- Finding Common Ground n, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Educational Foundation of America, The Charles Engelhard Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The George Gund Foundation, The Vira I. Heinz Endowment, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Henry Luce Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur ~oundation,The Andrew W Nellon Foundation, The Moriah Fund, The Curtis and Edith Edited by Munson Foundation, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, The New- Land Foundation, Oak Foundation, The Overbrook Foundation, The BEN A. MINTEER David and Lucile Packard Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, The and Rockefeller Foundation, The Winslow Foundation, and other generous donors. ROBERTE. MANNING The opinions expressed m this book are those of the author($ and do not necessarily reflect the views of these foundations. ISLAND PRESS Washington * Cove10 London This book is dedicated to Laurance S. Rockefeller in appreciation for his in- terest in and support for this project, and in respect for his lifelong and productive engagement in conservation thought and practice. d.k Vkk The Woodstock Foundation was very pleased to join with our colleagues and friends at the University of Verrnont, the National Park Service, and The Trust for Public Land in sponsorship of a seminar on the history, values, and Copyright 0 2003 Island Press practice of conservation. *. In their task of "reconstructing conservation" for the new century, the All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing born the participating scholars addressed a wide range of questions of ethics and publisher: Island Press, 1718 Connecticut Avenue, N.W, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20009. practice and found common ground in the esseqtial humanity of conserva- tion. Conservation, both as an idea and a practice, must be concerned with ISLAND PRESS is a trademark of The Center for Resource Economics. the total relationship between humans, culture, and the natural environ- ment. It has roots in theory, science, ethics, aesthetics, and in the real places No copyright claim is made in the work of David N. Bengston, Rolf Diamant, David C. Iverson, Nora where people live and work, whether urban, suburban, rural, or wild. The Mitchell, employees of the federal government. time is upon us and the\opportunity is great-not just for conservation of Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data the land but also for renewal of the human spirit. This fundamental connection between land and the human spirit was es- Reconstructing consenration : finding common ground / edited by sential to the philosophies of George Perkins Marsh and Aldo Leopold, and Ben A. Minteer and Robert E. Manning. it is basic to my own conservation philosophy It was especially fitting that p. cm. part of the seminar took place in Woodstock, Vermont, where my wife Mary Includes bibhogaphical references and index. ISBN 1-55963-350-6 (hard cover : alk. paper) - ISBN 1-55963-355-7 and I focused much of our conservation interest for many years. There, (pbk. : alk. paper) working in partnership, the Woodstock Foundation's Billings Farm & Mu- 1. Nature comenration-United States-History, 2. Nature seum and the Marsh-Bihgs-Rockefeller National Historical Park preserve consenration-United State-Philosophy 3. Nature conservation-United and interpret a cradle of American conservation-the boyhood home of States-Social aspects. I. Minteer, Ben A., 1969- TI. Manning, Robert E., 1946- Marsh and a place that has known the hand of thoughtful stewardship over QH76.R43 2003 333.7'2'0973-dc21 two centuries. 2003009198 From the conserved farm and forest of Woodstock, from the verdant rural countryside of Vermont, and from the probing ideas of the scholars whose British Catuloping-in-Publication Data available work is represented here, we take renewed hope, rooted in our legacy of conservationism and poised to address the challenges before us. As it did in Cover artwork taken from "Billings Farm and Museum from Mt. Peg" by Vermont artist, Sabra the time of Marsh, once again the message and vision of conservation will go Field. This print was combsioned by the Woodstock Foundation, and is symbolic of the long-term stewardship of the lands in and around Woodstock, Vermont, including the Billings forth across the nation from the hills of Vermont. Fanu & Mwum and the Marsh-Bfilings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, as well as the conceptual and practical reconciliation of nature and culture outlined in this book. -LAURANCE S . ROCKEFELLER,Chairman Emeritus, The Wbodstock Foundation, Inc. Printed on recycled, acid-free paper @ May 1,2003 Manufactured in the United States of America 09080706050403 10 9 87654321 CONTENTS Foreword Part I. Introduction 1. Conservation: From Deconstruction to Reconstruction Ben A. Minteer and Robert E. Manning Part 11. Nature and Culture Reconsidered 2. Writing Environmental History from East to West Richard W Judd 3. The Nature of History Preserved; or, The Trouble with Green Bridges Robert McCullough. 4. Going Native: Second Thoughts on Restoration Jan E. Disard 5. Conservation and Culture, Genuine and Spurious Luis A. Vivanco Part 111. Reweaving the Tradition 6. Expanding the Conservation Tradition: The Agrarian Vision Paul B. nompson 7. Regional Planning as Pragmatic Conservationism Ben A. Minteer 8. Building Conservation on the Land: Aldo Leopold and the Tensions of Professionalism andeCitizenship Susan nuder 9. Scott Nearing and the American Conservation Tradition Bob Pepperman Taylor vl11 Contents Contents 10. Conservation and the Four Faces of Resistance 19. Reinventing Conservation: A Practitioner's View Eric ?: Freyfogle Rolf Diamant, J. Glenn Eugsteq and Nora J. Mitchell 11. Conservation and the Progressive Movement: 20. Conservation Stewardshp: Legacies from Vermont's Marsh Growing from the Radical Center David Lowenthat Curt Meine Part VI. Conclusion Part I'VI New Methods and Models 2 1. Finding Common Ground: Emerging PrinciplesAS for 12. Conservation: Moral Crusade or Environmental a Reconstructed Conservation Public Policy? Ben A. Minteer and Robert E. Manning Bryan Norton 13. Social Climate Change: A Sociology of Environmental Notes Philosophy About the Contributors Robert E. Manning Index: 14. Reconstructing Conservation in an Age of Limits: An Ecolog.gca1 Economics Perspective David N.Bengston and David C. lverson 15. The Implication of the "Shifting Paradigm" in Ecology for Paradigm Shifts in the Philosophy of Conservation J. Baird Callicott 16. An Integrative Model for Landscape-Scale Conservation in the Twenty-First Century Stephen C. Trombulak Part V. Reconstructing Conservation Practice: Community and the Future of Conservation Stewardship 17. Community Values in Conservation Patricia A. Stokowski 18. Stewardship and Protected Areas in a Global Context: Coping with Change and Fostering Civll Society Brent Mitchell and Jessica Brown ALL 1 ILVV LVlLLLlVW ULLU LVLVU'CIL-3 Acknowledgments Chapter 14 Appreciation is expressed to the USDA Forest Service, North Central and Pacific Southwest Forest Experiment Stations, and The McIntire-Stennis Forestry Research Program for partial support of this research. Reconstructing Conservation in an Age of Limits: An Ecological Economics Yerspective DAVIDN. BENGSTON AND DAVIDC. IVERSON Throughout most of the twentieth century, natural resource management and economics shared a common moral philosophy (utilitarianism) and philosophy of science (positivism). The "gospel of efficiency"l that was so deeply rooted in natural resource management agencies, educational insti- tutions, and management paradigms fit well with the gospel of economic efficiency preached by economists. As a result, economic thinking has had a significant influence on conservation thought and practice, much as eco- nomic rationality has colonized many other spheres of social life.2 Driven by the goal of providing the greatest good to the greatest number over the long run, natural resource managers and policy makers have been strongly influenced by the reductionist theory of value and the optimization tech- niques of economics, often attempting to reduce multiple-use management to a mathematical problem.3 The influence of economic thought once served the natural resource management community well. Utilitarian rationality reflected the nationk prevailing cultural climate and belief system,