Conservation Corner: September 17, 2001

Conservation Versus Environment
by James L. Cummins

I have a friend in Virginia who recently conducted a selective cut on some of his timber so he could send his son to the University of Virginia - since I graduated from Virginia Tech, his taste in universities could be better, but the purpose of this story is the same. After the cut, he was harshly criticized by some of his "pseudo-conservation" neighbors.

These "pseudo-conservationists" do not understand what it is they are trying to "protect." Anti-loggers view the cutting of trees, and of course farming, as ruining nature; the animal rights activists believe our furry and feathered friends will be just fine if we humans would leave them alone.

While both of these groups can be very emotional, neither comprehends the science behind managing fish and wildlife and the habitats needed to support them, yet the public buys into their sound-bites.

Environmentalists are more interested in protecting something, like a tree, compared to conservationists, who believe in managing trees in a manner that we will have at least as many trees, or more, in the future. An example of an environmental organization is Greenpeace; examples of conservation organizations are Wildlife Mississippi and Wildlife Forever.

The latter are the type one of my heroes, President Theodore Roosevelt, would support. Remember when this President came to Mississippi to campaign since the state's Governor Vardaman had attacked Roosevelt on his social policies? For the record I don't either, but it happened. As a result of Roosevelt's trip, the "teddy bear" was born to honor his conservation ethic.

Roosevelt's concern enabled him to be the pioneer of our first conservation agenda. In 1905 he worked to reserve, to Congress and the President, the right to create federal wildlife reserves. He created the Forest Service. In 1907 he signed into law the Agricultural Appropriations Act which stated that the Forest Service shall aid in enforcement to protect wildlife.

The philosophy that Roosevelt formulated has changed. Now, conservationists are spending most of their time fighting or just being angry at the bureaucrats for distorting environmental issues. Do you think President Richard Nixon ever thought that when he founded the Environmental Protection Agency, they would propose to ban lead sinkers that are used for fishing? Do you think that when timber harvest in the Pacific Northwest was banned due to the spotted owl, the demand for lumber, paper and other forest products declined?

As we conduct our business daily activities, we need a balanced approach to the environment - conservation - to sustain it.

James L. Cummins is Executive Director of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation in Stoneville, Mississippi. Known as "Wildlife Mississippi," the Foundation is a non-profit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and plant resources throughout Mississippi.