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9 BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION BIOLOGY i(#> Standing on Solid Shoulders Gary K. Meffe Only recently has the discipline of conservation biology come forward as a new and challenging force in conservation. It emerged in the dosing decades of the twentieth century, largely through the efforts of a growing number of ecologists, population geneticists, and others who realized that their work, and their world, were at risk. Their field sites were disappearing, their study populations were being fragmented, and their academic isolation from the rapidly deteriorating world around them was not a promising long-term strategy for professional success. They had to change directions, see their world in a larger context, venture beyond their field sites, and apply their collective knowledge to a world in crisis. Key texts, induding Raymond Dasmann's Environmental Conservation (1959) and David Ehrenfeld's Biological Conservation (1970), laid the foundation for the eventual formation, in 1985, of the Society for Conservation Biology.! The society and its journal Conservation Biology have given voice to a gathering intellectual force whose overriding goals are to understand patterns of biological diversity and ultimately to conserve it in the interests of a more functional and sustainable world. In the thrill of such intellectual explosions-and indeed we are still in the early stages of a period of tremendous change and excitementit is easy to fall victim to hubris and to forget those who have brought us to this place and time. I would argue that modern conservation biology -a broadly integrative approach to the protection and management of biodiversity, drawing upon many primary fields and disciplines from the sciences and humanities-developed formally only in the late 1970s and early 1980s. I would argue just as strongly, however, that it has deep roots, going back to a time long before many of its contemporary practitioners were born. One of the major roots can be traced back to AIdo Leopold-forester, wildlife biologist, land manager, philosopher, recreationist , restorationist, wilderness proponent, and, yes, conservation biologist . Half a century after his death, modern conservation biology con127 128 Part I. Conservation Science and Practice tinues to grow and prosper on the strength of his vision and his deep and prescient insights into nature and the human condition. As an unabashed follower of Leopold, I had felt that I knew his writings reasonably well. I had read his biography, twice read A Sand County Almanac, encountered various of his other writings, and repeatedly used his prose to teach, inspire, and guide conservation efforts. I now realize, however, that I still knew only the surface of Leopold's legacy, only the easily observed aspects, and had not yet explored the real depths of his work. Collected for the first time in one place, the quotations in this section constitute a powerful and evocative medley, revealing the definition and development of his thinking. Three impressions immediately arise in reading these selections: the foresight in Leopold's thinking and writing over the first half of this century, the relevance of his work to the second half and beyond, and the rather depressing inability of human beings to absorb and understand the lessons Leopold offered. The discernment of Leopold's thought regarding biodiversity and conservation is astounding. Decades before the term "biodiversity" was coined, he was stating that "the biota as a whole is useful," and calling upon his fellow professionals to put their techniques to work "in the interest of nongame, rare, or threatened species."2 Long before ecosystem science was much of a science, he recognized the importance of the "interdependence between the complex structure of the land and its smooth functioning."3 In a time (not yet past) when conservationist efforts focused disproportionately on large species that attracted public attention, he urged his colleagues to look beyond the "show pieces" and "to think in terms of small cogs and wheels."4 Long before the U.S. Endangered Species Act was passed, and well before broad recognition of impending global mass extinction was gained, he noted that species losses were "occurring too frequently to be dismissed as normal evolutionary events."5 Reading such words, I frequently found myself checking the dates of their publication, thinking that surely they must represent more contemporary thoughts; but no, 1925 ... 1935 ... 1947 were correct. Equally impressive is Leopold's breadth of understanding. He addressed a remarkable variety of themes that remain central to conservation biology today: environmental ethics and the moral dilemma of human -caused extinction; landscape-level diversity; endangered species; loss...

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