What is the difference between preservationist and conservationist

I spent my free time exploring the woods around our small farm, knowing early on that I wanted to help save the untouched places where wildlife made their home. As an adult, I am fortunate to live out my passion, working for a land trust and saving land. As we think about the philosophy of our work, broader questions are asked - what are we saving, who are we saving it for, and are we conserving or preserving?

I think back to John Muir and Gifford Pinchot. Both were leaders in the early environmental movement of the 19th century, but the two men held very different views. Muir saw wilderness as a place to be revered and protected from the intrusion of humankind. Pinchot, on the other hand, was a pioneer in American forestry who saw wilderness as a natural resource to be wisely used and managed for economic gains. The Forest Reserve Act of empowered presidents of the United States to set aside parcels of public land as national forest reserves.

Pinchot's "utilitarian" forest conservation approach won favor with Congress at the time. After years of advocacy, Muir and his allies succeeded, and Mount Rainier National Park was established in Although Muir and Pinchot began a friendship and found common ground in the early years, their friendship ended in with public clashes over such issues as sheep grazing in national forests and the damming and flooding of the glacial Hetch Hetchy Valley, part of Yosemite National Park, by the city of San Francisco.

Differing views and tension over the use and treatment of natural areas continues today. Okay, enough with the definitions. What does all of this mean? Our two biologists have different fundamental ideals as to how to protect Pisgah. This will allow native species to propagate and maintain their numbers as they would if the invasive pig was not present. The Preservationist disagrees with the Conservationist — he believes that Pisgah National Forest and its wildlife will be best protected by limiting habitat destruction in the area and not interfering with animals or plants in any way.

Limiting destruction could be done through multiple regulations and restrictions of the use of the land. By leaving flora and fauna in Pisgah National Forest alone as much as possible, nature will be able to continue its course with few human effects. Conservation can also refer to choices that people make every day to consume less, like taking shorter showers or installing solar panels.

Preservation typically refers to the setting aside of areas of land that are either human-free, free of obvious marks of human influence like roads or fire pits, or whose sole human inhabitants are native people. Like conservationists, preservationists would likely support a policy that gave tax refunds to people who installed solar panels on their homes, but they would also support a policy that banned the construction of roads in a national park. By ensuring that resources are taken out of the environment at a sustainable rate, conservation programs help humanity continue to exist and grow.

Preservationists, on the other hand, often see wild nature as having value in and of itself, not only when it can help us humans.