Generations on the Land: A Conservation Legacy

Conclusion

Conclusion Readers of this book will surely be moved in different ways by the remarkable lives and lessons that leap from its pages. some readers will be struck by the headlong crash of quiet and humble rural people with twenty-first-century modernity. some will focus on the almost epic workloads required of family members, young and old alike. others will be filled with a sense of hope that these and other families across the land can succeed against long odds in their pursuit of sustainability. and, finally, some readers, upon turning the final pages, will be left with reverberations of stoic men and women whose daily engagement with a sometimes capricious and often beautiful natural world has left them with an abiding sense of their own impermanence. those who have been tied to a place a while like the Wilsons, the peters, the colemans, the papes, and the selmans act and speak as wise elders because they earned their wisdom the hard way. their respect for the natural world and the way they relate to it was developed over the long run. the Langes, the prices, and the treadwells accomplished transformative feats in shorter time spans because they had to keep what they’d gained and make use of their knowledge in short order. everyone has traveled their own path. several families achieved their goals with the help of additional workers. Most insisted on doing it all themselves. their politics, religion, and beliefs run the gamut of ideology. and yet they share an independent streak, as well as an uncommon love for the land. For all of them, sustainability isn’t a buzzword, but a way of life. this book opened with a reference to the tools aldo Leopold believed were essential to improve land health: axe, plow, cow, fire, and gun. all [ 106 ] Conclusion of these families lean heavily on these tools to leave the land better than they found it. the treadwells explicitly borrow from Leopold’s tool set in management of their texas properties, especially in management and enhancement by fire. nearly all of the operations deliberately utilize livestock as a range improvement tool.terry peters uses modern versions of the axe to improve Wisconsin’s forestland with each cutting. Families including the selmans, prices, colemans, and papes incorporate hunting into their business and educational missions. to survive and flourish, the toolboxes of these remarkable families have continually varying inventories: a variety of water structures and management; mechanical and chemical brush control; diverse fencing strategies; livestock breeding technologies; and the latest high-tech computing and mapping equipment. and though each of these is important in different ways at different times, the stories in this book spotlight even more important intangible tools that can’t be seen in the field or stored in a barn. tools like ranch tours for a wide variety of visitors, strong local partnerships, planning, teaching, and sharing stretch the impact and importance of their work beyond the borders of their land. the Lange family and jaclyn Wilson mined the resources of modern business management to strengthen their operations. Many of them, most notably the papes, keep detailed diaries to help them understand the deeper signals from the land and to be mindful of lessons learned by previous generations . similarly, Gary price emphasizes patiently watching and listening to achieve greater ecological awareness. the stories of these families offer ideas that can be applied by other landowners and even by city dwellers and suburbanites. Most of the Generations on the Land families begin with the basic tenet that making a living from the land requires hard work, a stubborn commitment, knowledge accumulated over generations, openness to new ideas, and a willingness to adapt to changing conditions. that each of these families has figured out how to prosper against all natural and manmade odds earned them recognition. that they continue to look for better, even novel, solutions is a rare human quality worthy of continuous praise. Conclusion [ 107 ] each and every family member in these unforgettable stories reinforces who we are as americans and as people. the land they live and work on defines our nation to the rest of the world. knowing how they have lived their lives and how they inspired and supported one another should make us want to live our lives better and make our place in the world as good as it can be, each and every day...