A. Emphasis on non-human populations
"However, the native ecosystem and the collective needs of
non-human species must take precedence over the needs and desires of
humans" NOSS
"Wild Earth (the magazine edited by Davis) exists in part
to remind conservationists that in the long run all lands and waters
should be left to the whims of Nature, not to the selfish desires of one
species which chose for itself the misnomer Homo sapiens."
DAVIS
"…
humanizing of landscapes must stop now
and be reversed." DAVIS
Buffer zones are "lands used for human activities compatible
with conservation that put biodiversity first." NOSS
B. Accordingly human population must decrease
Before the Wildlands Project can succeed: "the 20th century
population explosion will be followed by a slow implosion in the late 21st
and 22nd centuries." SOULE
"…pending human population reduction, that at least 95 percent
of a region be managed
as wilderness and surrounding multiple-use wildlands." NOSS - His
dream
C. And areas used for industrial/commercial purposes must radically
decrease.
"…we see wilderness as the home for unfettered life, free from
industrial human intervention." WILDLANDS PROJECT MISSION STATEMENT
"Vast landscapes without roads, dams, motorized vehicles,
powerlines, overflights, or other artifacts of civilization." MISSION
STATEMENT
In buffer zones "Only human activity compatible with
protection of the core reserves and corridors would be allowed."
MISSION STATEMENT
"Does all the foregoing mean that Wild Earth and The Wildlands
Project advocate the end of industrial civilization? Most assuredly."
DAVIS
D. While wilderness
increases.
"I suggest that at least half of the land area of the 48
conterminous states should be encompassed in core reserves and inner
corridor zones." NOSS
E. Interconnection between human populations will be sacrificed to
interconnection between non-human pops.
"Core reserves would be linked by biological corridors to allow
for the natural dispersal of wide-ranging species, for genetic exchange
between populations, and for migration of organisms in response to climate
change. Buffers would be established around core reserves and corridors to
protect their integrity from disruptive human activities. Only human
activity compatible with protection of the core reserves and corridors
would be allowed. Buffers would also be managed to restore ecological
health, extirpated species, and natural disturbance regimes." MISSION
STATEMENT
"Wilderness recovery must start now but continue indefinitely—expanding
wilderness until the matrix, not just the nexus, is wild." DAVIS
"
Large blocks of habitat, containing large
populations of a larger species, are superior to small blocks of habitat
containing small populations. Blocks of habitat close together are better
than blocks far apart. Habitat in contiguous blocks is better than
fragmented habitat. Interconnected blocks of habitat are better than
isolated blocks; corridors or linkages function better when habitat within
them resembles that preferred by target species. Blocks of habitat that
are roadless or otherwise inaccessible to humans are better than roaded
and accessible habitat blocks." NOSS
F
. Private
property will be confiscated, bought up, or restricted.
"In the lowlands some eroding and degraded croplands now used to
produce feed for livestock (in the US, livestock consume about 70% of
grain production) will have to be converted to other uses." SOULE
"For instance, say you own a cattle ranch that sits astride a
valley that forms a natural link between two massifs in Montana, and that
is vital for a link in the system. And say that I, a stranger, show up one
day and ask you to donate your ranch to a conservancy or to the state. At
first you would probably think me a fool. At worst you would feel
attacked, especially if I said that there would be a bill introduced into
the legislature that would declare your land to be a critical habitat,
thus justifying its condemnation. But if you had been a partner in an open
planning process, you might be more disposed to the conservation
objectives of the program, if not the means of realizing it. And it might
make a big difference if I told you that I wasn’t asking you to give up
ranching on your land, but to consider leaving it to a conservancy after
the death of your children, by which time cattle ranching in Montana would
probably not be economic." SOULE This quote illustrates two of the
means of acquiring private land: donation and condemnation. Purchase is
the third.
"…it is reasonable to assume that every modern humanized
landscape comes at the cost of unique genes, populations, races,
subspecies, species, microclimates, microhabitats, animal paths, or
natural disturbances. We do not know whether a development will
expropriate a favorite sunning spot of a pair of snakes…" DAVIS
Therefore greens oppose all development
"
In many cases, private lands will need to
be acquired and added to national forests and other public lands in order
to serve as effective buffers." NOSS
"…
wilderness areas, and the public and
private lands that envelop them must be managed as a whole in order to
meet the goal of maintaining natural processes"
NOSS
G. These goals will be achieved over a period of time in incremental
steps.
"Over time, each regional planning group will develop a map-based
program for their bioregion. Later, representatives of the bioregional
groups will meet and integrate their plans into a national, then
continental strategy." SOULE
Some readers will ask why we should adopt such a politics of patience.
After all, 100 years is less than 1/10,000 of the lifetime of the average
vertebrate species. The goal should be staying the course, not setting a
speed record." SOULE
"
Wild Earth writers and editors will
continually challenge wildland proponents to design and implement ever
more expansive reserve plans." DAVIS
"Putting this nested hierarchy idea into practice means local
nature reserve systems should be linked together into regional systems,
which in turn are connected by inter-regional corridors that ultimately
span continents." NOSS
