That Land Is A Community

It Is Inconceivable To Me That An Ethical Relation To Land Can Exist Without Love, Respect, And Admiration For Land, And A High Regard For Its Value. By Value, I Of Course Mean Something Far Broader Than Mere Economic Value; I Mean Value In The Philosophical Sense.

Do We Realize That Industry, Which Has Been Our Good Servant, Might Make A Poor Master?

Our Children Are Our Signature To The Roster Of History; Our Land Is Merely The Place Our Money Was Made. There Is As Yet No Social Stigma In The Possession Of A Gullied Farm, A Wrecked Forest, Or A Polluted Stream, Provided The Dividends Suffice To Send The Youngsters To College. Whatever Ails The Land, The Government Will Fix It.

We Americans, In Most States At Least, Have Not Yet Experienced A Bear-less, Eagle-less, Cat- Less, Wolf-less Woods. Germany Strove For Maximum Yields Of Both Timber And Game And Got Neither.

Third, There Is Value In Any Experience That Exercises Those Ethical Restraints Collectively Called 'sportsmanship'. Our Tools For The Pursuit Of Wildlife Improve Faster Than We Do, And Sportsmanship Is The Voluntary Limitation In The Use Of These Armaments. It Is Aimed To Augment The Role Of Skill And Shrink The Role Of Gadgets In The Pursuit Of Wild Things.