Conservation Biology and the Evolution of a Land Ethic

"Conservation biology" is reportedly distinct from other natural sciences because of its focus on a wide array of biota, the long-term scale at which it operates, its holistic nature, its assumption that organisms have an intrinsic value and its direct application of research to a management goal. However, most of what contemporary conservation biologists endorse was previously proposed by Aldo Leopold, and practiced by two of his former students, Frederick and Frances Hamerstrom. That their work with Northern Harriers (Circus cyaneus hudsonius) and Greater Prairie Chickens (Tympanuchus cupidopinnatus) has received widespread recognition is a testimony to the effectiveness of this approach. Conservation biology is only now gaining widespread acceptance probably because of the increasing importance that society has recently placed on the environment. Leopold predicted that society's perception of the environment would move towards what he termed a "land ethic" before the approach endorsed by contemporary conservation biologists could be successful. We may be witnessing the stirring of just such a movement.