The wildlands project and the rewilding of North America

Denver University Law Review

Volumn 76, Issue 2, 1999, Pages 535-553

  Foreman, Dave ^a  

^a Wildlands Project

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 13544269804     PISSN: 08839409     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (89)

1. Michael Soulé & Reed Noss, Rewilding and Biodiversity As Complementary Goals for Continental Conservation, WILD EARTH, Fall 1998, at 19, 20-21.
2. The section entitled "Wilderness" in Leopold's A Sand County Almanac is stunning for the extent to which it anticipated much of modern conservation biology. ALDO LEOPOLD, A SAND COUNTY ALMANAC AND SKETCHES HERE AND THERE 188-201 (1949).
3. The last event happened 65 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period when dinosaurs became extinct.
4. See EDWARD O. WILSON, THE DIVERSITY OF LIFE 280 (1992).
5. Wilson warns that the number of species driven to extinction "might easily reach 20 percent by 2022 and rise as high as 50 percent or more thereafter." Id. at 278. Some nonscientists, particularly those who stand to make a buck off of exploitation of the land, and neoclassical resource economists pooh-pooh this extinction crisis. University of Tennessee ecologist Stuart Pimm has taken the lead in quantifying the magnitude of the extinction crisis. See Stuart L. Pimm et al., The Future of Biodiversity, 269 SCIENCE 347, 348-49 (1995).
6. "This century will see the end of significant evolution of large plants and terrestrial vertebrates in the tropics." Michael E. Soulé, Thresholds for Survival: Criteria for Maintenance of Fitness and Evolutionary Potential, in CONSERVATION BIOLOGY: AN EVOLUTIONARY-ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE 151, 168 (Michael E. Soulé & Brace A. Wilcox eds., 1980).
7. Michael E. Soulé & Bruce A. Wilcox, Conservation Biology: Its Scope and Its Challenge, in CONSERVATION BIOLOGY: AN EVOLUTIONARY-ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE, supra note 6, at 1, 8.
8. Michael Soule, What Is Conservation Biology? A New Synthetic Discipline Addresses the Dynamics and Problems of Perturbed Species, Communities, and Ecosystems, 35 BIOSCIENCE 727, 727 (1985).
9. Soulé & Wilcox, supra note 7, at 4.
10. See ROBERT MACARTHUR & EDWARD WILSON, THE THEORY OF ISLAND BIOGEOGRAPHY 5-7 (1967). David Quammen's outstanding book, The Song of the Dodo, looks at island biogeography and extinction in exhaustive, but fascinating, detail. See DAVID QUAMMEN, THE SONG OF THE DODO: ISLAND BIOGEOGRAPHY IN AN AGE OF EXTINCTIONS (1996).
11. See ROBERT MACARTHUR & EDWARD WILSON, THE THEORY OF ISLAND BIOGEOGRAPHY 5-7 (1967). David Quammen's outstanding book, The Song of the Dodo, looks at island biogeography and extinction in exhaustive, but fascinating, detail. See DAVID QUAMMEN, THE SONG OF THE DODO: ISLAND BIOGEOGRAPHY IN AN AGE OF EXTINCTIONS (1996).
12. See John Terborgh, Preservation of Natural Diversity: The Problem of Extinction Prone Species, 24 BIOSCIENCE 715, 715 (1974); see also Jared Diamond, The Island Dilemma: Lessons of Modem Biogeographic Studies for the Design of Natural Reserves, 7 BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION 129, 144 (1975). See generally Michael Soulé & Allan J. Sloan, Biogeography and Distribution of the Reptiles and Amphibians on Islands in the Gulf of California, Mexico, in TRANSACTIONS OF SAN DIEGO SOC'Y OF NAT. HIST. 139, 154 (1966) (discussing and illustrating "the relationship of the number of terrestrial vertebrates to the size of the island, and to the distance from the probable source of immigrants").
13. See John Terborgh, Preservation of Natural Diversity: The Problem of Extinction Prone Species, 24 BIOSCIENCE 715, 715 (1974); see also Jared Diamond, The Island Dilemma: Lessons of Modem Biogeographic Studies for the Design of Natural Reserves, 7 BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION 129, 144 (1975). See generally Michael Soulé & Allan J. Sloan, Biogeography and Distribution of the Reptiles and Amphibians on Islands in the Gulf of California, Mexico, in TRANSACTIONS OF SAN DIEGO SOC'Y OF NAT. HIST. 139, 154 (1966) (discussing and illustrating "the relationship of the number of terrestrial vertebrates to the size of the island, and to the distance from the probable source of immigrants").
14. See John Terborgh, Preservation of Natural Diversity: The Problem of Extinction Prone Species, 24 BIOSCIENCE 715, 715 (1974); see also Jared Diamond, The Island Dilemma: Lessons of Modem Biogeographic Studies for the Design of Natural Reserves, 7 BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION 129, 144 (1975). See generally Michael Soulé & Allan J. Sloan, Biogeography and Distribution of the Reptiles and Amphibians on Islands in the Gulf of California, Mexico, in TRANSACTIONS OF SAN DIEGO SOC'Y OF NAT. HIST. 139, 154 (1966) (discussing and illustrating "the relationship of the number of terrestrial vertebrates to the size of the island, and to the distance from the probable source of immigrants").
15. "One of the principles of modern ecology is that the number of species that an area can support is directly proportional to its size. A corollary is that if area is reduced, the number of species shrinks." Michael E. Soulé, An Unflinching Vision: Networks of People Defending Networks of Land, in NATURE CONSERVATION 4: THE ROLE OF NETWORKS 1, 2 (Denis A. Saunders et al. eds., 1995).
16. See Michael Soulé et al., Benign Neglect: A Model of Faunal Collapse in the Game Reserves of East Africa, 15 BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION 259, 261 (1979). The predictions of Soule, Wilcox, and Holtby have recently been confirmed by William Newmark. See William Newmark, Insularization of Tanzanian Parks and the Local Extinction of Large Mammals, 10 CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 1549, 1552 (1996).
17. See Michael Soulé et al., Benign Neglect: A Model of Faunal Collapse in the Game Reserves of East Africa, 15 BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION 259, 261 (1979). The predictions of Soule, Wilcox, and Holtby have recently been confirmed by William Newmark. See William Newmark, Insularization of Tanzanian Parks and the Local Extinction of Large Mammals, 10 CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 1549, 1552 (1996).
18. A thorough discussion of island biogeography and species-area relationship as it applies to conservation was done by Bruce Wilcox in 1980. See Bruce A. Wilcox, Insular Ecology and Conservation, in CONSERVATION BIOLOGY: AN EVOLUTIONARY-ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE, supra note 6, at 95, 96-99, 113.
19. See David Wilcove et al., Habitat Fragmentation in the Temperate Zone, in CONSERVATION. BIOLOGY: AN EVOLUTIONARY-ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE, supra note 6, at 237, 249-50.
20. See id.
21. See William D. Newmark, Legal and Biotic Boundaries of Western North American National Parks: A Problem of Congruence, 33 BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION 197 (1985); see also William Newmark, A Land-Bridge Island Perspective on Mammalian Extinctions in Western North American Parks, 325 NATURE 430 (1987) [hereinafter Newmark, A Land Bridge Island Perspective].
22. See William D. Newmark, Legal and Biotic Boundaries of Western North American National Parks: A Problem of Congruence, 33 BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION 197 (1985); see also William Newmark, A Land-Bridge Island Perspective on Mammalian Extinctions in Western North American Parks, 325 NATURE 430 (1987) [hereinafter Newmark, A Land Bridge Island Perspective].
23. See William D. Newmark, Legal and Biotic Boundaries of Western North American National Parks: A Problem of Congruence, 33 BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION 197 (1985); see also William Newmark, A Land-Bridge Island Perspective on Mammalian Extinctions in Western North American Parks, 325 NATURE 430 (1987) [hereinafter Newmark, A Land Bridge Island Perspective].
24. "Without active intervention by park managers, it is quite likely that a loss of mammalian species will continue as western North American national parks become increasingly insularized." Newmark, A Land Bridge Island Perspective, supra note 17, at 432.
25. Metapopulations are analogous to a region of semi-isolated human villages.
26. See Reed F. Noss, Landscape Considerations in Reintroducing and Maintaining the Florida Panther: Design of Appropriate Preserve Networks (1985) (unpublished report submitted to the Florida Panther Technical Advisory Council).
27. See Soulé, supra note 8, at 727, 730.
28. Bruce Wilcox & Dennis Murphy, Conservation Strategy: The Effects of Fragmentation on Extinction, 125 AMERICAN NATURALIST 879, 884 (1985).
29. Reed Noss, Protecting Natural Areas in Fragmented Landscapes, 7 NAT. AREAS J. 1, 5 (1987).
30. I give a slide show on island biogeography and reserve design a couple of dozen times a year. The most common response I get is, "Why did it take so long to figure out something that obvious?"
31. JAMES COX ET AL., FLORIDA GAME AND FRESH WATER FISH COMM'N, CLOSING THE GAPS IN FLORIDA'S WILDLIFE HABITAT CONSERVATION SYSTEM: RECOMMENDATIONS TO MEET MINIMUM CONSERVATION GOALS FOR DECLINING WILDLIFE SPECIES AND RARE PLANT AND ANIMAL COMMUNITIES 1 (1994).
32. See id.
33. See id.
34. See id.
35. Id.
36. The Nature Conservancy's lead person on this was Steve Gatewood, now the executive director of the Wildlands Project.
37. See LEOPOLD, supra note 2, at 132.
38. See WILLIAM S. ALVERSON ET AL., WILD FORESTS: CONSERVATION BIOLOGY AND PUBLIC POLICY 30 (1994).
39. See Michael E. Soulé et al., Reconstructed Dynamics of Rapid Extinctions of Chaparral-Requiring Birds in Urban Habitat Islands, 2 CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 75, 75-92 (reporting the results of a statistical analysis conducted to determine the distribution of native, chaparral-requiring birds in urban San Diego County and concluding that coyotes control the populations of smaller predators there).
40. See Wilcove et al., supra note 15, at 237.
41. Soulé et al., supra note 33, at 83-84.
42. S.T.A. Pickett & John N. Thompson, Patch Dynamics and the Design of Nature Reserves, 13 BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION 27, 27 (1978).
43. Reed F. Noss, The Wildlands Project: Land Conservation Strategy, WILD EARTH, Special Issue 1992, at 10, 11. As an example of how widely accepted the conservation biology approach has become, the Department of Defense in 1998 listed Noss's goals as the management direction for military lands.
44. REED F. NOSS ET AL., U.S. DEP'T OF INTERIOR, ENDANGERED ECOSYSTEMS OF THE UNITED STATES: A PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF LOSS AND DEGRADATION 1 (1995).
45. For example, cliffs in Arizona's Granite Mountain Wilderness Area are closed to climbing when peregrine falcons are nesting, and a stretch of Utah's wild San Juan River is closed to camping when bighorn are lambing.
46. See Reed Noss, A Recipe for Reserve System Design and Management, WILD EARTH, Special Issue 1992, at 24, 24-25 (stating that a regional reserve system requires active management to protect and maintain native environment and native species).
47. Soulé & Noss, supra note 1, at 19.
48. Brian Miller et al., Using Focal Species in the Design of Reserve Networks, WILD EARTH, Winter 1998-99, at 81, 81.
49. Id.
50. Id.
51. Id.
52. Id.
53. Soulé & Noss, supra note 1, at 22.
54. Id.
55. Id. (citations omitted).
56. Id.
57. Id.
58. Id. at 23.
59. Id. at 24.
60. Id.
61. Id.
62. Back in 1964, David Brower wrote that "real wilderness" was "big wilderness - country big enough to have a beyond to it and an inside." David Brower, Wilderness - Conflict and Conscience, in VOICES FOR THE WILDERNESS 3, 3 (William Schwarz ed., 1969).
63. See John Davis, Wildlands Philanthropy: Private Wealth Protecting Public Values, WILD EARTH, Summer 1998, at 19, 19-22.
64. See id. at 21.
65. See Nancy Plevin, Turner's Plans Rile His Ranching Neighbors - Wolves to Be Released in New Mexico, SEATTLE TIMES, Dec. 7,1997, at A8.
66. See Soulé & Noss, supra note 1, at 20-22.
67. See id. at 21.
68. See id.
69. See id. at 22.
70. Id. at 26.
71. Michael McCloskey, Conservation Biologists Challenge Traditional Nature Protection Organizations, WILD EARTH, Winter 1996-97, at 67 [hereinafter McCloskey, Conservation Biologists]. McCloskey continues his critique of the conservation biology approach in this symposium. See Michael McCloskey, Changing Views of What the Wilderness System Is All About, 76 DENV. U. L. REV. 369, 373-74 (1999).
72. Michael McCloskey, Conservation Biologists Challenge Traditional Nature Protection Organizations, WILD EARTH, Winter 1996-97, at 67 [hereinafter McCloskey, Conservation Biologists]. McCloskey continues his critique of the conservation biology approach in this symposium. See Michael McCloskey, Changing Views of What the Wilderness System Is All About, 76 DENV. U. L. REV. 369, 373-74 (1999).
73. Michael McCloskey, Conservation Biologists Challenge Traditional Nature Protection Organizations, WILD EARTH, Winter 1996-97, at 67 [hereinafter McCloskey, Conservation Biologists]. McCloskey continues his critique of the conservation biology approach in this symposium. See Michael McCloskey, Changing Views of What the Wilderness System Is All About, 76 DENV. U. L. REV. 369, 373-74 (1999).
74. McCloskey, Conservation Biologists, supra note 65, at 67.
75. Id.
76. Id.
77. Id. at 68.
78. Id. at 69.
79. Id.
80. Id. at 70.
81. Id.
82. Postmodern deconstructionist critics of the wilderness idea seem unable to understand this important point. See, e.g., J. Baird Callicott & Michael P. Nelson, Introduction to THE GREAT NEW WILDERNESS DEBATE 1, 12-13 (J. Baird Callicott & Michael P. Nelson eds., 1998).
83. Noss, supra note 37, at 10.
84. See FOREST SERV., U.S. DEP'T OF AGRIC., RARE II FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT: ROADLESS AREA REVIEW AND EVALUATION (1979).
85. See McCloskey, Conservation Biologists, supra note 65, at 68.
86. Id.
87. Aldo Leopold, Journal Entry, in ROUND RIVER: FROM THE JOURNALS OF ALDO LEOPOLD 165 (Luna B. Leopold ed., 1953).
88. See Sky Islands Alliance, A Proposal for the Creation and Stewardship of the Sky Islands/Greater Gila Nature Reserve Network (1998) (unpublished manuscript, on file with the author).
89. Noss, supra note 37, at 10.