A Radical Re-evaluation of Landscape Stewardship and Conservation Planning Priorities
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Landscape conservation is at an inflection point. Massive acreages of land held by baby boomers will change hands in the next several decades. To meet climate mitigation goals, landscape conservation needs an unfathomable amount of funding and manpower to conserve as much ‘ecologically valuable’ land as possible. At this crucial time, the theories that support and direct landscape conservation are as important as the work itself. The purpose of this paper is to examine several of the theories that inform conservation planning through a critical lens. There are several problematic topics of discussion that are directly related to this issue worthy of examination such as: environmental justice, the housing crisis, the land back movement, the myth of the pristine, and allocation of funds towards invasive plant removal programs. This paper will make the argument for a re-evaluation of conservation planning theory and priorities in New England based on recent research and emerging knowledge.
DOI: 10.7275/fabos.2743
Author: Michael Peter Amato
Institution: University of Massachusetts Amherst
Language: English
Subfield: Nature and Landscape Conservation
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W6958547393
FWCI:
Cites:
Cited by:
Related to: