In Mourning, Defense, and Celebration of the Earth

Foremost in my mind, in gathering this anthology, was the need to convey the broader spirit of the human and personal relationship — not politically motivated — that we all share with nature. I have intentionally not gathered a lot of emotionally charged essays that moralize about how we should protect wild areas, should become active in saving endangered species, and should educate and campaign the masses about the complex and troubling issues that we face environmentally. And yet, at the same time, it is clearly important to see the seriousness of the current damage our planet is experiencing and to meet the challenges we face regarding wilderness preservation and protection.

Of all the book’s chapters, this one is the most political in its tone. Within the grief, anger, and despair we feel about the current status of the natural world, I hope to liberate, celebrate, and name the joy and peace we experience as a result of contact with wildness. It is my belief that the most effective and thoughtful political action ultimately comes from joy and gratitude, and not from shortsighted and impulsive reactions.

However, I suspect that even outright monkey wrenching — violent acts against perceived threats to wilderness — has its place. Extreme behavior and political actions serve to get our attention and to remind us of what is important to us and why we value wilderness. Without extremist wilderness advocates, some of us more complacent moderates might not become active and encourage change — educating ourselves about the environmentally sensitive issues in our neck of the woods, writing our congresspeople, attending town meetings, and casting our votes on important environmental bills and for political representatives with whom we agree on environmental issues.

Some of these essays are politically colored in their content, but they are also deeply personal, born out of a strongly felt love of nature and of wild creatures. As a way of balancing the intensity of such views, I have built the overall mood of this section around the theme of celebration of the earth, reflecting the entire anthology as a full-on festive and triumphant praising of wildness.