Contending Visions of Conservation

• Author: G. Tracy Mehan III
• Pages: 34-38

34 Best of the Books: Ref‌lections on Recent Literature

Contending Visions

of Conservation

By G. Tracy Mehan III

Why Conservatio n Is Failing and How It Can Regain G round, by

Eric T. Freyfogle. Yale University Press. 302 pages.

Hands- On Environmentalis m, by Brent M. Haglund and Thomas W.

Still. Encounter Books . 192 pages.

From the November/ December 2006 issue of

The Environmental F orum.

Eric T. Freyfogle res a shot across t he

bow of A merican Lockean tradition in

his new book Why Conservation is Fail-

ing and How it Can Regain Ground:

Despite this communitaria n heritage, conserva-

tion is showing more and more signs of embrac-

ing classic liberalism. In the name of pluralism it

invites people as individuals to develop their own

ideas about land and to embrace moral views of

their own choosing. In doing s o, it implicitly

denies [Aldo] L eopold’s and [Wendell] Berr y’s

beliefs in intrinsic moral values. In its resista nce

to “topdown” think ing and its enthusiasm for

community-based processes, it rejects any over-

riding goal conceived by intellectuals. For con-

servation to embrace such relativity, abandoning

its ecologically informed morality, would be to

turn sharply from its core teachings.

Conservat ion is losing ground—or at least fa il-

ing to advance as it mig ht, given public opin-

ion—becau se it shie s aw ay fr om the culture

wars. It says to o little about moral and civic