Throughout his book Leopold offers various theories of conservation. At another point he compares it to a friendship, which requires a complete acceptance and acknowledgement of the land and everything that lives on or with it, as opposed to a selective love of certain species or landscapes. Here, Leopold compares conservation both to the act of writing, and to the concept of stewardship — which implies a responsibility for the health and wellbeing of the land.

Although a conservationist is not required to keep the land perfectly preserved, he or she must, instead, make intelligent and thoughtful decisions about any…