On stewardship ethics among land managers

Excerpt

MANY land managers tend to think of themselves as stewards of the land, within the context of shepherding or manipulating the future of the land, for example, or as having dominion over the land. For them, the idea of stewardship is an ethical principal, in these regards.

For the community (in this case, all of society), scientific stewardship of the land leads to a sustainable future, assuring upcoming generations of guaranteed products and benefits from the land.

It is also ethical because in caring for the land, the steward provides for the community—more than for himself. This is his or her way to lead what the Greek philosophers called a decent life.

In terms of economics, sustainable stewardship is good because it ignores short-term profits for long-term, continuing benefits.

Politically, the land stewards have been able to hold a moral and intellectual dominance in the past because of their personal, physical commitments to the demands of the land and their reliance on scientific principles that were a cut or two above what most citizens understood.

There are, of course, some chinks in the armor of stewardship that have developed of late

Because of a large number …