Jason; thank you for posing this question to this forum! I find this topic to be a never-ending source of interest; the way we humans set ourselves apart from the rest of nature, the way we so often depict ourselves as being somehow outside the realm of nature and how so many of our decisions are based wholly on this paradigm. I love to explore the philosophy of it all: are we truly the only species who has 'intent' when it comes to interacting with our surroundings? What about the way certain ants manage herds of aphids like dairy farmers, for example? Do they not intentionally manage the aphid population, defend their flock from invading ladybugs who attack and attempt to eat the aphids? I'm just posing humble questions, trying to flesh out my thoughts, hoping for some interesting dialogue.
Sincerely, Kelly Stettner www.BlackRiverActionTeam.org From: Jason Hernandez <jason.hernande...@yahoo.com> Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Conservation or just gardening? To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Date: Monday, January 17, 2011, 5:08 PM This question is inspired by a conversation with a former employer. When do our interventions cease to be conservation and become gardening? For the sake of argument, I was taking the purist position: that ideally, we want to be able to put a fence around a natural area and walk away, letting nature manage it. But as my employer rightly pointed out, that is just not a realistic expectation in the 21st century, what with invasive species, systemic pollution, human pressures on surrounding areas, and countless other factors which will not go away. But of course, she also knew that there is a degree of intervention which crosses the line from conservation to gardening, that is, caring for a population that no longer participates in its ecosystem processes. There is, of course, a continuum of interventions. Removal of invasive competitors is a relatively light intervention; growing seedlings in a greenhouse and then planting them out is more intensive; maintaining an in vitro germplasm collection still more intensive. Are there any recognized criteria for determining the boundary between conservation and gardening? And if a species is beyond saving with conservation, how worthwhile is it to save that species with gardening? Can we determine when a species' only hope is gardening? Jason Hernandez Biological Science Technician, USDA Forest Service
