Photo: William C. Gladish Trusting Wildness is a forum for thought-provoking writings about wildness and conservation in the 21st century. As a valued member of the Wildlands community, we invite you to read, reflect on, and respond to our blog posts below. Please pull up a chair and join the discussion!
Mountaineer and ecophilosopher Dolores LaChapelle was a pioneer of deep ecology. In this tribute to her work, we explore the relationship between deep ecology and rewilding. Photo: Margot Early
Paleontologist Catherine Badgley revisits the question, “Can biodiversity and agriculture coexist?” 20 years after she first explored this complex territory in Wild Earth journal. Photo: Catherine Badgley
Wildlands Network’s Rebecca Hunter reflects on the meaning of wildness in the agricultural lands of Iowa, where rivers present critical opportunity for connectivity planning. Photo: Tom Zittergruen
“Just for a minute, imagine a world where we truly recognized the intrinsic worth of all species.” Greg Costello explores rewilding as a personal journey and a conservation strategy. Photo: Greg Costello
The U.S. has implemented some of the world’s most comprehensive conservation legislation, yet 1 in 5 species is at risk of extinction. Conservation biologist Dr. Fred Koontz advocates a national movement to transform our state wildlife agencies. Photo: Robert Long
Iowan MJ Hatfield describes herself as “head over heals into the wild diversity of insects and how little we actually know about the community of life in our own backyards.” MJ’s impassioned and lyrical celebration of moths and other wild creatures in Iowa serve as a timeless reminder that “wildness remains around us” wherever we live.
In an exclusive Wildlands Network interview, Paula MacKay invites animal behaviorist Dr. Marc Bekoff to explore the complicated ethics surrounding wildlife reintroductions, and to share his views on how rewilding can (and must) incorporate compassionate conservation in order to be successful.
Through the powerful words and images of his “Lord Man” parable, Tom Butler implores us that humanity must choose between continuing on its destructive path of overpopulation and overconsumption, or rejoining the community of life on Earth. Photo: Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library
E.O. Wilson cautions that we must protect at least half of the Earth’s land and water to sustain Nature’s complexity, ecological processes, and diversity of life. Wildlands Network’s Kim Crumbo takes this one step further, arguing that the resilience of life depends on a Whole-Earth approach to conservation. Photo: NASA
Wolves returned to the North Cascades 10 years ago and continue to reoccupy some of their former range. As their population grows, so do tensions with people who don’t want them back. Paula MacKay asks, are we giving wolves a fair chance? Photo: Western Transportation Institute
The U.S. Midwest has long been a hole in visionary maps of a rewilded North America. Wildlands Network’s Executive Director, Greg Costello, says it’s time to to fill in the gap. Photo: Bill Thompson, USFWS
“The Snow Leopard” chronicles Peter Matthiessen’s journey with renowned wildlife biologist George Schaller into the remote mountains of Nepal. Paula MacKay explores the question: What does it actually mean to SEE a snow leopard? Photo: Snow Leopard Trust