Land Ethics
People in many industrialized countries, and especially we, as Americans, have historically viewed natural resources as commodities to be either bought and sold or owned and used; especially if those resources are not universally abundant. It’s easy to overlook how much we depend on the land and the environment to survive. In recent years, the intrinsic need for a functioning ecosystem and healthy biome has come into focus, especially as we’ve become aware of natural disasters like rapid species extinctions, wholesale loss of habitats, changing weather patterns, and increasing scarcity of fundamental requirements like clean water and air.
Increasingly, many landowners, farmers, ranchers, and hunting enthusiasts are starting to see themselves as more than simply owners of a parcel of land, but as stewards who embrace their role as managers who both responsibly use and fundamentally protect that land. A land ethic, as imagined by Aldo Leopold, views the natural world, including soils, waters, plants and animals as an equal part of an interconnected web of relationships that form the communities which we care for and which care for us. In that moral position, care for the people around us cannot be separated from care for the land and the Earth which we call home..
We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.
Limited Use = Limited Value
When land itself is viewed as a commodity, valuable only for the specific resources that can be extracted from it, owners may overlook a wide range of potential value by managing only for that single resource. For example, when a parcel of land is singularly identified as a timber producer, the development and use of that land will likely be focused entirely on maximizing that resource. When that happens, the land’s inherent value for functions such as watershed, wildlife habitat, conservation and recreational space, is likely to be disregarded and often degraded.
It’s easy to overlook, but every field, every forest, every mountaintop is part of a watershed, because some rain falls on it. Every part of the Earth hosts wildlife and helps maintain the fundamental cycles of nature that keep ecosystems (including the human ecosystem) alive and functioning.
As landowners become increasingly dedicated to viewing themselves as stewards for their small piece of the planet and the interconnected communities which it includes, it brings a new set of questions and concerns to the forefront. After all, no single piece of land can support everything - every biome, every species of animal, every tiny amphibian and crustacean, especially while also producing harvestable resources for the benefit of the community—tradeoffs will always be necessary. But by expanding our vision and managing priorities in a new way, we often find that it is possible to combine uses. Timber production can often be integrated with wildlife management, for example, to the benefit of both sides.
Focus on Habitats
Society’s perception of land stewardship is evolving as well, and there is increasing pressure from the public at large for all landowners, from individuals to corporations to national governments, to accept responsibility for preserving biodiversity, managing ecosystems, minimizing habitat fragmentation, and more. While individuals cannot restore entire biomes on their own parcel of land, they can contribute in a significant way in maintaining and supporting the health of the land, from the soil itself to the wildlife that reside there.
The readers of this series of articles are likely to be focused on maintaining and improving habitat for deer with an eye on seasonal hunting for sport. Aside from managing hunting activity to ensure local populations are not wiped out entirely, there are many land improvements and management techniques which enhance the habitats of not only deer but a range of other wildlife as well. After all, habitats are simply the areas where species live—areas which fulfill their basic needs for food, water, cover and living space. When these habitats are healthy, they allow individuals to survive, reproduce, and maintain a stable population. Even better, that same water, cover, and food can meet the habitat needs for many other species as well.
Each basic need for a species becomes a limiting factor for survival in any given habitat. There may be plenty of food, cover, and living space for many animals, but if water is scarce, for example, the population will never expand beyond what that most limited resource can support. If you’ve embraced the mission of improving habitats and increasing wildlife populations on your land, then, your most important task will be determining the limiting habitat factors on your land and then exploring how to improve them.
Managing an Ecosystem vs Managing a Single Species Habitat
Habitats are the places where specific animals live, whether those are large herds of elephants on the African plains or tiny crustaceans on the edge of a vernal pond. While it is possible to manage a parcel of land specifically to meet the habitat needs of a single species, that’s an artificial construct. Habitats never exist in a vacuum - each element that makes up a habitat is connected to the environment in a complex web of relationships that, together, form an ecosystem. Ecosystems are dynamic, interconnected and interdependent communities of animal, plant, and microscopic life forms, as well as non-biological features of the environment.
For example, a forest is superficially dominated by trees and woody vegetation. However, the forest ecosystem includes animals, trees, understory growth, leaf litter, soil, precipitation, groundwater, fungus, and microscopic bacteria. Each part of the ecosystem depends on all other components, whether directly or indirectly. While wildlife is only part of the ecosystem, it influences, and is influenced by, each component in the system.
It’s increasingly apparent that managing a parcel of land with a laser focus on providing food, water and cover for only a single species is short sighted. In fact, managing land for a single species, in the long run, is no more sustainable than monocropping.
Unfortunately, each type of “management” practice, whether for forestry, fisheries or even wildlife, have tended to manipulate natural systems without considering their complex interdependencies. However, a thriving ecosystem depends on the support and health of each interconnected element.
Developing a habitat management program
The challenge for landowners, then, is to understand how to support and restore natural ecosystems, which have often been damaged by development, pollution, and depletion of critical resources like water. Whether you’re intent on encouraging deer to settle on your land, prefer to focus on game birds, or you’re wanting to establish a source of meat to support your homesteading family, it’s necessary to focus on the big picture and your long-term vision.
It may be relatively quick work to plant a few food plots and cut a few trees for cover but establishing a self-sustaining ecosystem that supports a healthy population of wildlife over the long term takes time. Still, the benefits of carefully investing several years of planning and follow through are many. Soil that remains rich, supports abundant growth of vegetation for food, growth, and bedding. Native plants well adapted to the local environment and ecosystems survive through the years, providing valuable nutrition and energy. Plant, animal, and microorganism populations living in a healthy ecosystem are more resistant to occasional challenges presented by disease, pathogens, parasites, and environmental disruption like droughts or flooding.
Whether you’re ready to begin working on a comprehensive ecosystem restoration or you’re taking the first steps to focus on improving habitats for local wildlife, you’ll need to establish your goals. Are you planning on hunting on your land? What are your target species (one or several)? Are you interested in encouraging a wider variety of wildlife, including rabbits, foxes, songbirds and amphibians, to take up residence as well? Do you plan to harvest resources for income or your own use? Do you want to ferment your own vintage of scuppernong wine?
It’s entirely possible to fold several goals together into one comprehensive management program. Once you’ve identified your must-haves and a few nice-to-haves, do some research to understand their habitat needs. What native plant species are naturally adapted to your climate and geography? Do your land parcels have geographical features that provide cover for certain types of animals?
Another important point to investigate is the health of streams and ponds on your land. Eutrophication is a natural process of aging (oxbow rivers are an excellent example) but agricultural pollution, erosion, and other pollutants can lead to damage and premature death of surface waters, which in turn affects every other element in the ecosystem. Before you start making wholesale changes on your land, assess the health of your surface waters (if any) and address any issues you find - algae blooms, excessive turbidity, fish die-offs, and serious erosion are all marks of an unstable aquatic environment.
Consider the state of your property - if your goal is to provide a woodland habitat on land that’s been clear cut, you might decide that it’s worthwhile to promote an interim habitat focused on open meadows with plenty of brush and brambles for cover. This will not only attract a greater diversity of wildlife while your young trees have a chance to mature, but it will help re-establish the less visible elements in the local ecosystem, such as microorganisms and decomposed organic matter that enrich the soil and help it retain moisture.
