Today in class we discussed Elizabeth Thorndike's essay "the Great Experiment in Conservation" and we all seemed to struggle with her concept of wilderness as a place in which almost, if not all, human presence should be removed. The truth is: even if all humans magically agreed not to set foot in the Adirondacks, human influence would still creep over the blue line. There is no existing land on earth that humans can completely protect from our own destruction. Sadly, the benefits and values of "protection of ecological functions and services, plant and wildlife habitat, genetic pools, freshwater supplies, flood control, soil erosion, air quality, and renewable resources" all are effected by what goes on outside the park too. Although Thorndike's defense of the Adirondacks as a resource of environmental knowledge and resources is well founded, I struggle with her argument for the application of her goals. Human influence in the park seems all but inevitable, the question is: how do we best coexist?
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