Conserving wildness by exposing it to people destroys what it protects.

Evidence

Thus always does history, whether of marsh or market place, end in paradox. The ultimate value in these marshes is wildness, and the crane is wildness incarnate. But all conservation of wildness is self-defeating, for to cherish we must see and fondle, and when enough have seen and fondled, there is no wilderness left to cherish. — Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac, 352

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: A genuine paradox central to the whole conservation project — cherishing requires access, access erodes wildness; this resists easy resolution.
• XREF: Connects to eco-justice environmental ethics thread across the polyad courses — the tension between preservation and use. — connects to: Mass recreation dilutes what it seeks, making the search self-defeating — Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac: With Other…, 576; Roads and campgrounds dilute solitude rather than develop recreation — Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac: With Other…, 603; Possessing wild things destroys their authenticity even when the owner genuinely sought it. — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural…, 558 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Possessing wild things destroys their authenticity even when the owner genuinely sought it. #corroborates (0.88) — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Gathering Moss, 558
• Well-intentioned habitat restoration can destroy other creatures’ homes #exemplifies (0.80) — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 310