This document summarizes discussions at the Leopold Conference where participants shared their definitions of a land ethic and the places that inform their personal land ethics. Participants posted on social media sharing that a land ethic is about caring for the land and developing a sense of responsibility for it. They also shared places like forests, prairies, rivers and beaches that make them feel connected to the natural world and shape their land ethic. The document encourages others to also share their thoughts on social media to continue the discussion.
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8. Anne Skalski
Charlottesville, Virginia
“My heart place is
where wild things
humble me and
implode my
feelings of awe.”
#LeopoldConference participants
share places that inform
their land ethic
9. Carolyn
Watkins
Columbus, Ohio
“Clintonville ravines: inside-the-outerbelt
woodlands home to barred owls, fox kits,
spotted salamanders, and trilliums.”
#LeopoldConference
participants share places
that inform
their land ethic
10. Masi Mejia
Encinal, Texas
“My heart place
is in Texas,
preferably
holding a
horned lizard.”
#LeopoldConference participants
share places that inform
their land ethic
11. Doug Mering
Baraboo, Wisconsin
“The outdoors with
people who love it too.”
#LeopoldConference participants
share places that inform
their land ethic
12. “The environment isn’t
over here. The
environment isn’t over
there. You are the
environment.”
-Chief Oren Lyons
13. Rob Hunt
Springfield, Missouri
“A narrow spring-
fed Ozark stream
that flows through
cracks, crevices,
and caves, along
logs, boulders,
moss and ferns.”
#LeopoldConference participants
share places that inform
their land ethic
14. Drew
Lanham
Clemson, SC
“Conservation is simply caring and connecting.
Love is the ethic that binds it together.”
#LeopoldConference
participants share places
that inform
their land ethic
15. “So when you say environment, or
preservation of environment, it is
related with many things. Ultimately
the decision must come from the
human heart, isn’t that right? So I
think the key point is genuine sense
of universal responsibility which is
based on love, compassion and clear
awareness.”
-The Dalai Lama
16. Tara Morrison
Minneapolis, Minnesota
“Northwest Montana - the
mountains, the forests, the
riversides...I love it all!”
#LeopoldConference participants
share places that inform
their land ethic
17. Don
Schooner
Weston, Ohio
“My small piece of utopia that I call Schooner
Farms. Where I am fortunate to spend almost
every day of my existence.”
#LeopoldConference
participants share places
that inform
their land ethic
18. Liu Bingwan
Heilongjiang Province, China
“Let us work together to
build a better world for
human beings and wildlife.”
#LeopoldConference participants
share places that inform
their land ethic
19. Marc Hirrel
Little Rock, Arkansas
An Alder Fork Haiku
Trout fights,
river rolls by
Infused with
water's spirit
Connecting to all.
#LeopoldConference participants
share places that inform
their land ethic
21. Karen
Lanier
Upton, Kentucky
“South Fork, Colorado: I learned to camp,
fish, hike, explore, watch wildlife, get lost,
get hurt, and pee under MY tree.”
#LeopoldConference
participants share
places that inform
their land ethic
22. Kimberly
Blaeser
Lyons, Wisconsin
“When I lose myself in natural spaces, come
untethered from the now, the static
compartmentalized world, then I find my
spiritual home.”
#LeopoldConference
participants share
places that inform
their land ethic
23. “There is a way that nature
speaks, that land speaks. Most
of the time we are simply not
patient enough, quiet enough,
to pay attention to the story.
-Linda Hogan
24. Grace
Vosen
Baraboo, Wisconsin
“The Driftless with its gently rolling bluffs and
streams is the most beautiful landscape to me,
even after traveling.”
#LeopoldConference
participants share places
that inform
their land ethic
26. Tovar
Cerulli
Montpelier, Vermont
“In the distance
is the place they call Lord's Hill.
Under the temple dome of the sky,
this is my kind of church.”
#LeopoldConference
participants share places
that inform
their land ethic
28. “All of life is interrelated.
We are all caught in an
inescapable network of
mutuality, tied to a single
garment of destiny.Whatever
affects one directly affects all
indirectly.”
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
29. Susie Ruby
Sperry, Oklahoma
“The place where wind heals
all, no man-made structures,
tall or short-grass vistas and
heart and soul are freed.”
#LeopoldConference participants
share places that inform
their land ethic
30. Douglas
Wagoner
Lainesville, Indiana
“No one particular place but any place wild that
embodies unaltered landscapes and ecosystems
and is vibrant with life.”
#LeopoldConference
participants share places
that inform
their land ethic
31. Jen
Kobylecky
Baraboo, WI
“Sitting by Moskey Basin on
Isle Royale National Park,
under Lake Superior's spell.”
#LeopoldConference participants
share places that inform
their land ethic
32. Maria
Arnold
Falls Church,
Virginia
“On the beach, especially early or late when the
only sounds are waves, wind, and a few birds
calling to each other.”
#LeopoldConference
participants share places
that inform
their land ethic
33. Kristin Alana
Baum
Readstown, Wisconsin
“The Upper
Mississippi River
Flyway in
Southwest
Wisconsin / the
Driftless Region.”
#LeopoldConference participants
share places that inform
their land ethic
34. Ryan
Adams
Pablo, MT
“My heart place is the Mission valley,
located in western Montana. It is the
place I call home.”
#LeopoldConference participants
share places that inform
their land ethic
35. Roberta
Moore
Baker, NV
“South Snake Range, NV and Desert
Experimental Range Station, UT - in the heart
of the hydro-graphic Great Basin.”
#LeopoldConference
participants share places
that inform
their land ethic
36. “Those who contemplate the
beauty of the earth find reserves
of strength that will endure as long
as life lasts.There is something
infinitely healing in the repeated
refrains of nature– the assurance
that dawn comes after night, and
spring after winter.”
-Rachel Carson
41. “A quiet place to communicate with nature.”
-RayThompson, Sumpter, SC
“An oak savanna with a small stream.”
-Jerry Sanders, Fairwater,WI
“Anywhere I can’t hear cars and the sounds and
sights of nature abound.”
-Rachel Starnes,Wilmington, OH
“Wisconsin.”
-Tim Eisele, Madison,WI
42. “Family land, intergenerational care.”
-Justin Hougham, Baraboo,WI
“My house sits in a woods, and I feel most aligned
with the plants and animals there.”
-Sharon Dunwoody, Madison,WI
“Michigan woods, the Great Lakes, the Smoky
Mountains, the Adirondack Mountains.”
-Lisa Eddy, Adrian, MI
43. “The fresh air, clean water, and green hills
of Devil's Lake State Park,Wisconsin.”
Steve Swenson, Baraboo, WI
“A valley edged by limestone bluffs, creek and
pond.Wetland, woodland, and prairie. Silent
and strong.”
-Page Baldwin, Madison,WI
“In the forest and by the sea.”
-Susan Setterlin,Columbus, OH
44. “EastTexas PineyWoods, the western
extension of the great Southern forest.”
-Dan Utley, Pflugerville,TX
“Surrounded by lush green nature and a warm sun.”
-Laura Zajicek-Bagenski, Kenosha,WI
“TheTallgrass Prairie in Osage County, Oklahoma.”
-LuannWaters,Wynnewood, OK
“Outside, ideally in wide open spaces.”
-Suzanne Hirrel, Little Rock, AR
45. “Walking on a rain-drizzled beach in Oregon.Watching
the moon float by. Listening to the wolves.”
Tina Krause,Winona, MN
“Mountains, stars, living water & soil, sapphire
sky, diverse vegetation, sun, rain, breezes,
bird sounds, snug shelter.”
-Barbara Bolles, Bainbridge Island,WA
“Ancient bluffs embracing the lake where spirit,
energy, aliveness fill me with deep stillness and
wild ecstatic dancing.”
-Ruthann Corrao, Prairie Du Sac,WI
46. “Nebraska’s Platte River: rich in history year-
round; filled with cranes, geese, and wonder
each spring.”
-Doreen Pfost, Elroy,WI
“My 93-acre home: where I strive to know the parts
of the land and interact with those parts in positive
restorative ways.”
-StanTemple, Mazomanie,WI
“My heart place is a sun-dappled landscape with
ancient trees, crisp water and rich soil. It is
humming with life!”
-SashaWohlpart, Cedar Falls, IA
47. “Any wild place where all wild things, each with
their own melodius note, in complex harmony,
make beautiful songs.”
-Diana Nowels,Toledo, OH
“Hiking into wilderness to a secluded campsite
with access to waterfalls, wildlife, nature and a
clear view of the skies.”
-KimberlyWaites, Birmingham,AL
“A question to ponder - one is a lake in Maine where
family gathers in summer.”
-Patricia Becker, Madison,WI
48. “Any permanent or semi-permanent wetland in
the Prairie Pothole Region embedded and
surrounded by native prairie.”
-Erv Klaas,Ames, IA
“My big two-chambered heart loves Kauai's
natural mtns and beaches and the dry basins
and range country of the southwest.”
-Tony Chiaviello, Houston,TX
“Where the wind, water and mountains meet.”
-Gail Luera, Ann Arbor, MI
“The wildlife area on my farm.”
-Lou Best, Bluffton, OH
49. “Alone in the woods. A light murmur of wind. No
phone. No electricity.Crossing paths with
nature. Connected & detached.”
-Matt Schoeffler, Sun Prairie,WI
“My heart lies with the wind.The wind that is carried
amongst the birds in the trees, wildlife below, and
their habitat.”
-Kari Smith, Pablo, MT
“Sleeping Dunes where I grew up and learned to
ID trees and birds;Togwotee Pass,WY– here
I studied the subalpine.”
-John Latimer, Grand Rapids, MN
50. “Kaçkar Mountains: because in this amazing
area, there are remnant wild lands, untouched
since times immemorial.”
-Ufuk Ozdag,Ankara,Turkey
“Winter hiking in the woods.”
-KathleenYeadon, Beech Grove, IN
“It isWisconsin. It is where my grandparents,
without knowing it, taught me to love the land
and its treasures.”
-KathleenCowens, Springfield, MO
51. Aren’t These Great?
Add your own thoughts on the land ethic and
heart places by posting on social media with the
hashtag #LeopoldConference. And tag us!
@AldoLeopoldFoundation
@AldoLeopoldFdn
@leopoldfoundation