Natural Area Programs of the Nature Conservancy

Abstract

The Natural Area movement is a relatively new phenomenon in the United States. A natural area is defined here as an area protected from humancaused disturbance in order to maintain the biotic features of the area irrespective of their economic potential. The first state park, Yosemite, was created in 1865; the first national park, Yellowstone, was established in 1872. Since that time, most parks have been created to preserve their scenic, geological, or topographical features. Biological features have largely been incidental to the creation of parks. Game refuges and state and national forests were also created during this period, but primarily as a means to protect an economic resource. Although agricultural and industrial development occurred consistently in the United States prior to World War II, the destruction of natural lands increased dramatically following the war. Destruction resulted from a growing human population, the need for high economic returns, and the development of large and efficient machinery for land conversion. As the destruction increased, the realization grew that some undisturbed natural areas deserved to be protected. In the midwestern United States where the conversion of land was highest, the protection sentiment was strongest. Virtually every midwestern state now has a state Natural Areas Program. In some midwestern states, the political influence and public support for natural areas rivals that for state forests and game management areas. The roots of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) can be traced back to 1917 when the Ecological Society of America formed a committee for the preservation of natural conditions. Prior to World War II, TNC was an allvolunteer organization consisting primarily of scientists. The first parcel of land The Nature Conservancy purchased was in 1953, which marks the beginning of the continuing role of the organization. The mission of TNC is to protect the full array of biological diversity by finding, protecting, and maintaining the best examples of communities, ecosystems, and endangered species in the natural world. In TNC jargon, the process is element-driven, meaning that activities are focused on preserving the elements of natural diversity, i.e., the species and communities making up the natural world. The approach is to concentrate efforts on the rarest species and communities