Mark your calendars for the 8th Annual Conference November 4, 5, 6, 2009 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Living Leopold: the land ethic and a new agrarianism


In 2009, we are celebrating the centennial of the arrival of the great American conservationist Aldo Leopold in the Southwest as a ranger with the fledging U.S. Forest Service. Over the course of a diverse and influential career, Leopold eloquently advocated a variety of critical conservation concepts, including wilderness protection, sustainable agriculture, wildlife research, ecological restoration, environmental education, land health, erosion control, biological holism, watershed management, and, of course, a land ethic.
Each of these concepts resonates today – perhaps more so than ever as the challenges of the 21st century grow more pressing. But it was Aldo Leopold’s emphasis on conserving whole systems – soil, water, plants, animals and people together – that resonates most strongly today. The health of the whole system, he argued, is dependent on its indivisibility. And the knitting force was a land ethic – the moral obligation we feel to protect soil, water, plants, animals, and people.
Leopold’s call for a land ethic is the root of what is being called a new agrarianism, an intermixing of ranchers, farmers, conservationists, scientists and others who aim to create a regenerative economy that works in harmony with nature. Leopold is the spiritual mentor to this hopeful effort.
In this ‘practitioners’ Conference, we will feature speakers who are “living Leopold” in their work – people who are implementing his vision on the back forty, where the land ethic is alive and well.
For details on the conference visit the Quivera website