When I began hiking in the wilderness areas of California, I realized that it was very
easy to determine where the private land ended and the wilderness areas began.
The private land had been severely modified by the hand of man, where as the wilderness
areas contained a beautiful, random tangle of plant and animal species. It was this
striking random beauty of the wilderness that I have tried to capture with my photography.
It was on my trip to Hokkaido Japan that I encountered an exception to the wilderness boundary phenomena.
In the national parks of Hokkaido Japan, it was very difficult to determine where the national parks ended and
the private land began. The Japanese culture does not have the extreme adversary relationship
with nature that western culture contains, so for the most part the private land flows into the wilderness
areas by fostering the random beauty of Nature. It was on this trip to Japan, that I first
contemplated the notion of "Wilderness Without Boundaries".
"Wilderness Without Boundaries" encourages the notion that we should spread wilderness
consciousness beyond the physical boundaries of the wilderness areas. Wilderness areas should not
just be isolated, seldom visited islands of land. "Wilderness Without Boundaries"
discourages an adversary relationship with Nature, and encourages coexistence with the native species around us.
"Wilderness Without Boundaries" discourages the heavy handed modifications of the earth by man,
and encourages the creative thinking required for the conservation of our native planet and our coexistence
with it's species.
Cooperative approaches to conservation like "Wilderness Without Boundaries" are being practiced
in places like the Yellowstone area of Wyoming, Krueger National Park in Africa, and Antarctica.
Groups like the
Nature Conservancy are developing
creative approaches to ranching so that the wolf and grizzly bear can coexist with humans in the
areas around Yellowstone National Park. In addition, conservationists are promoting the notion that
the Rocky Mountain wilderness space should be extended from New Mexico in the south to Jasper Canada in the north.
At Krueger National Park in southwest Africa international borders have been eliminated so that the animals can
migrate in their natural ranges. On my long voyage to Antarctica, I had the opportunity to read
support material regarding the Antarctic Treaty. This forward thinking document which was created in the
1950's contains some key concepts which should be used today by modern conservationists.
Paul Berkman's
book (Science into Policy - Global Lessons from Antarctica) is an eye opening review of the lessons learned from the
Antarctic Treaty.
Lastly, I would encourage all of us to locally expand wilderness consciousness beyond the physical boundaries
of the wilderness areas. Encourage the coexistence with native species in your local environment.
Support your local wilderness locations, and spread wilderness consciousness to your friends. Rational,
manicured English gardens are nice, but the wilderness is the source of our human spirit.
If you have questions, comments, or suggestions please feel free to
contact us. You can contact us by email, phone, or regular mail
Email: lawton.hugh@gmail.com
Phone: (415) 753-1001
Regular Mail:
Manzanita Enterprises, Inc.
P. O. Box 320666
San Francisco, California 94132-0666
