Reading to be done before Class:

• CES pp. 1-6
• Marsh, George P. 1864. Man and Nature; or, Physical Geography as Modified By Human Action. New York: Charles Scribner. pp. 35-48 The Destructiveness of Man and the next two sections
• John Muir. 1901. Our National Parks Chapter I The Wild Parks and Forest Reservations of the West pp. 1-12 (read further if you'd like).
• Gifford Pinchot. 1910. The Fight For Conservation Chapter I: Prosperity pp. 1-20

To prepare for discussion: Our first discussion will focus on the writings of three of the most prominent voices in the Conservation Movement in the United States which began in the 1850s. More background on these authors can be found in the first chapter of your textbook (pp. 1-6) and on the Library of Congress' American Memory Project Evolution of the Conservation Movement 1850-1910 website on which these readings are made available in electronic form. In our discussion sessions we well examine these early views on conservation for answers to the following questions:

• What is environmental conservation?
• Why should the environment be conserved?
• Should natural resources be conserved for human use or does nature have intrinsic value and beauty that should be preserved for its own sake?
• How are the perspectives of these men similar to or different from those of people today?
• As you read consider the similarities and differences in the perspectives that each author takes.

You should come away from this discussion with a basic understanding of the follwoing concepts and ideas:

• Topophila
• conservation
• preservation
• sustainable development
• frontier environments
• The contrast between conservation for human use and for nature's intrinsic value
• rought biographical details of Marsh, Muir, and Pinchot