PRESERVE

ONGOING

During the pandemic, a byproduct of demands on social isolation, I began walking with my family in Central Illinois forest preserves and other local places that preserve nature. During these walks, “preservation” became a touchstone for my thoughts and experiences. In a precise way, why were these lands where preserved? For whom, for what reason? What was the connection to an ideal of “nature” to preserve? And in a more expansive way, as the pandemic was splitting society/ies on the meaning of social preservation, social rules, relations to truth and knowledge, and the very essence of life itself, what might these environments offer us about preservation?

Again, why, for whom, for what reason?

These are my latest thoughts.

REFERENCE POINT #1

Why were these lands where preserved? For whom, for what reason?

WHAT ARE ILLINOIS NATURE PRESERVES?
Illinois Nature Preserves are biodiversity conservation areas designed to protect some of Illinois best original forests, prairies, wetlands, and natural areas. Any landowner whose property contains an ecologically important natural area may choose to dedicate that property as an Illinois Nature Preserve.
HOW DO SCIENTISTS KNOW IF AN AREA IS OR IS NOT ‘NATURAL’?
Natural area is a technical term denoting a biological community that evolved over millennia and consists of diverse species that may have developed their associations over millions of years. The best evidence of a true natural area in Illinois is the abundance of certain rare species of native plants and animals (known as conservative species) that indicate a low level of ecosystem disruption in recent times. As a rule, the more that are found in a place, the higher-quality that area is considered to be. If functional communities of conservative species are found in one area, then it is likely that that area is a true remnant of Illinois nature.
WHAT HAPPENS TO PRESERVES THAT ARE LEFT ALONE?
Mostly, they degrade. They lose species – a few at first – and in time most species. In this context, degradation means the decline of ecosystem vitality and biodiversity.
WHY ISN’T IT POSSIBLE FOR NATURE TO RECOVER IF LEFT ALONE?
Most of our intact native ecosystems exist today in small, isolated preserves, and their rare species cannot travel from one suitable habitat to another to colonize a new area. Also known as habitat fragmentation, this problem limits the size of their populations, chances of interbreeding, and, ultimately, their prospects for long-term survival. Instead, degradednative ecosystems are often invaded by opportunistic non-native species with which theyhave no long-term evolutionary relationships.