First Personal Perspective

Introspection, sometimes the hardest of tasks, can help us understand or remind us why we are in the field of natural resource management.  Defining one’s values can help us understand ourselves within this field of study and help us understand others.  Values allow us to understand what is important.

As I reflect, I quickly understand the fundamental value that drives all thought is my respect for life.  Perhaps from the bottom up, valuing life sets the stage for the ultimate understanding that life depends on life for survival and prosperity.  The interactions throughout existence are what makes anything meaningful.

Through my study of ecosystems, I’ve come to understand that they are mere relationships on the landscape.  In saying this, I do not mean to discount the complexity of these systems.  Actually, I found them to be dynamic and similar to personal relationships, ever changing throughout time.  We should always exert a positive influence on relationships we hold, whether between one another or individual and nature, and approach them with truth and honesty.

My relationship with nature was influenced early by family who valued the resources and experiences the outdoors had to offer.  I recall as a small child watching my father get ready for a day’s hunt, looking forward to the time when I would join him in the field.  We were taught to respect the land and its bounty.  With this respect, we enjoyed our days in the field and the time we spent together.

More often, I found myself curious about the nuances of the landscape.  No longer was the aesthetic alone satisfying; I hungered for the science behind the beauty I saw.  I marveled over the interactions I saw on the landscape.  I took note of the adaptability of species, my perceived creativity of nature, and growth every season.  I like these qualities; therefore, I strive to make them my own.  The world of business and hollow jobs left me wanting.  Could my passion for nature turn into a career?

Within my journey though academia, I have found more questions than there are answers.  Instead of rolling off a list of critical questions facing natural resource management today, I will address some that I have found particularly interesting.

The first question and perhaps most perplexing to me, what are we conserving?  Both human influence and evolution continue to change landscapes.  I tend to like the notion that we natural resource managers are merely gardeners of the Earth.  Believing that we can set the clock back to a time prior to European settlement, speaking of the North American continent, is a futile approach.  Instead we should accept the impacts of globalization and allow our values to guide our decisions.  I do not intend a defeatist attitude but a perspective that is clear and realistic.  We should accept the world as a changing place.  Our focus on the health of our ecosystems and sustainable resource management is a better or more logical direction.

We began to think in terms of sustainability over a hundred years ago when we saw our forests disappear.  Although we are more mindful of our choices today, our culture directs us to be materialistic and wasteful.  Natural resource managers will not only have to promote education, but also influence what our society values.  Our society’s values will have to be transformed if we are to become better stewards of the Earth and insure our existence.

The health of our relationships, ecosystems, are of top priority.  For without each other we are doomed to perish.  Biotic and abiotic interactions must be taken into account.  We must understand our dependence on each other!  Science and education promote understanding, but our values determine what is important.

Optimistically said, these concepts sure sound great!  So, how will natural resource managers bridge the gap between science and society?  The language of the general public and the jargon of scientists are largely different; and communication of hot topics is often passionate and irrational.  Understanding what I value is key to understanding myself.  Understanding what people value is the beginning of dialogue.  We can communicate more effectively and make progress with greater empathy.

Values help us understand ourselves and each other.  With values, we understand the world around us.  Our ecosystems face a variety of challenges that science and education cannot solve alone.  Revolutionizing our society’s values will be a necessary component for the health and sustainability of our resources, and the continued existence and prosperity of humankind.