The Ethical Role Of Wilderness Conservation In The United States

Men resort to natural resources in order to survive since their first appearance on earth. Then, as mankind evolved, and structured into a society, the use of those resources increased. Men destroyed entirely ecosystems in order to conquer more lands as the population grew. As a result, biodiversity was lessen, and men begin the process of not viewing themselves as part of the nature. But, that’s not the reality of everyone. Many men need to connect with nature and to do so they feel the urge to preserve as many as it is possible. Therefore, every Nation has their own law to ensure nature preservation. The United States has the Wilderness Act that was created in 1964 by the U.S. Congress in a joint effort with conservation organizations, concerned citizens, federal agencies and wilderness users. So, what is wilderness? In order to understand that, people should understand their own definition of wilderness (sociological wilderness), and understand the legal definition of wilderness.

That perception can very man to man depending of their country, their culture, where they grew up, and so on. Dawson and Hendee (2002) for example say, “For some urbanities with scant outdoor experience, wilderness might be perceived as any relatively undeveloped wild land, uncut forest, or woodlot”. So, the perception of what wilderness is depend of the which perspective people has about it. So, depending of that perception someone’s values regarding wilderness will also change. For some people wilderness is a place of solitude, sacred and untrammeled by men. In contrast, the legal point of view see wilderness as an area possessing qualities described at Wilderness Act of 1964. Those qualities are key elements to designated wilderness. Wilderness Act of 1964 describe those key elements