Conservation and Land Ethics: A Review of Leopold's A Sand County Almanac

One of the central themes of A Sand County Almanac is Leopold's observation of nature and his reflection on the ways of the natural world. In the beginning, Leopold follows the tracks of a skunk that has just come out of hibernation during the January thaw. In his essays on March and May, he tells of the returning geese and the upland plover bringing news of spring's arrival. Leopold also speaks fondly of seeing the annual bloom of a certain flower in July (cutleaf silphium). His words on this, however, are heavy with sorrow for the loss of this plant species, which is nearly extinct, save for this spot alongside the Wisconsin highway.

Leopold writes in regard to this remnant of western natural history: "The Highway Department says that 100,000 cars pass yearly over this route during the three summer months when the silphium is in bloom. In them must ride at least 100,000 people who have 'taken' what is called history, and perhaps 25,000 who have 'taken' what is called botany. Yet I doubt whether a dozen have seen the Silphium, and of these hardly one will notice its demise" (pg 49). In this passage, the author expresses sorrow over the demise of once great fields of Silphium but possibly more so over the fact that to the majority of the human population, this species fade into history will go unnoticed. This concern for the natural world is indicative of Leopold's ecocentric views. This philosophy is the true theme of Leopold's writing and is evident throughout A Sand County Almanac.

Leopold portrays his affection for living things and his sorrow over the loss of the natural world in many ways in A Sand County Almanac but most notably in his telling of the sawing of an oak. The tree had been struck by lightning, which brought it down, and while this saddened Leopold, he did not express anger towards the lightning, rather, he saw the event as a natural process that, while sad, could be used towards a good purpose. " . . .we knew that the lightning had bequeathed to us three cords of prospective fuel wood" (pg 9).

Leopold eloquently tells the story of this tree's life and the many years that it stood strong while the world around it changed. As he cuts through the tree, he link's each growth ring to a year in human history. He evokes vivid images with his words as he takes the reader back through his ownership of the land and his predecessor's, back through the decades of the great depression, back through the decades of expanding cities in the 1890's, and back to the establishment of Wisconsin farmlands. Leopold clearly takes note of the historical significance of nature, and he seems to understand and bemoan the fact that the natural world is often ignored when people look at history.

Many people have a tendency to believe that the only important history involves the actions of other humans. Leopold, however, expresses the view that all nature has historical relevance, whether it's an old tree standing strong through hundreds of years of change and turmoil, a prairie flower harkening back to the days of the old west, or a bird flying the same route and eating of the same plants as its ancestors. This reflects his view that nature has inherent value and does not merely exist for the benefit of mankind .

This leads into the aspect of A Sand County Almanac that has most influenced conservation-the land ethic. Leopold explains that the community concept of ethics is a process of cooperation and that "the land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include, soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land" (pg 239). The land ethic, however, does not seek to end all human uses of the land.

Leopold states that a land ethic cannot prevent alteration, management, and use of these resources but rather it does affirm their right to exist. In other words, the ethical theory that Leopold puts forth is the notion that, while we may use the land and its resources, that is not its only value, and a land's value should not be measured solely on the basis of economic factors.

Many people believe that if an area of land is not fertile that it is worthless; they believe that if an animal does not feed people or in some other respect aid the human race it is of no value; they believe that the land and all of the animals on it are here for our benefit. A Sand County Almanac disputes these beliefs. Sand County itself is thought of as a wasteland by many, but Leopold writes about the intrinsic value of the land instead of focusing merely on the resources to be exploited by man. Furthermore, the land ethic seeks to place humans on the same level as other animals and to give the rest of the natural community the same right to exist that humans have "In short,
While reading A Sand County Almanac, the reader is taken from observations of everyday natural occurrences to strong statements of the need for ethical, political, and philosophical consideration of natural issues. It is this combination of simplicity and profound contemplation that make this book a classic.