Giving to Our Better Nature

What can the forest ecology teach us about our common life?

According to a pioneer of the conservationist movement, Aldo Leopold, the land offers us a lesson in ethics. No one part of the ecological web can dominate the others with good results. There is always “a limitation on freedom of action in the struggle for existence.” He called this approach “the land ethic.” Freedom, he argued, wasn’t doing what you wanted whenever you wanted but rather accepting that some things should not be done.

Leopold published “The Land Ethic” in 1949. In it, he chastised other American conservationists for pandering to the desires of the American consumer. “In our attempt to make conservation easy,” he wrote, “we have made it trivial.” Instead of making the forest user-friendly, he wanted Americans to cultivate an ecological conscience. “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.” A visit to the forest was an invitation to behave more ethically.

Putney Mountain Association was formed in 1946, three years before Leopold published “The Land Ethic.” The founding trustees of the Association wrote our charter focused on civics and public life. They defined our purpose to promote “civic and social welfare.” Civics encompasses the ethical obligations that citizens have to one another. Even before Leopold published this essay, the founders of PMA envisioned a civics that included the natural world. 

For almost eighty years, the Putney Mountain Association has governed itself according to the land ethic. We keep track of the needs of the various denizens of the forest, often limiting what the two-legged visitors can do. We offer workshops on forest ecology and lay out trails to minimize harm to ecological features. PMA has always understood that an ecological mindset is what makes our common life possible. By conserving the integrity, stability and beauty of the Putney Mountain forest, we are learning to live within our ecological limits. 

We invite you to join us in continuing the local efforts of Putney Mountain Association and enjoy the ridgeline we call home.