Land Ethics for Bureau of Land Management Employees

Abstract

With increased public concern for public lands resource steward-ship, the Bureau of Land Management is more and more expected to make what is perceived as "right decisions." The ethical dimensions of often highly complex decision making processes have become more and more apparent. The baseline research presented here is designed to promote a land ethic awareness among a wide spectrum of bureau employees who contribute to the daily management of the public domain. Throughout history philosophers have made more profound changes in civilization than all of the conquering armies. Ideas in ethical standards of governing our relationships to land use generally and public land use specifically will not be an exception. At this point in time there are few definitive answers, although there is myriad profound thought. What is known is that as resources and wild lands become scarcer, land ethics will evolve into sharper focus; but, a personal land ethic to a bureau employee cannot now be identified with certainty. Rather, it must be a personal quest integrated into the prediction of a personal value system and the rigors of objective scientific or other types of training.

Parent Publication

• Proceedings of the Symposium on Social Aspects and Recreation Research, February 19-22, 1992, Ontario, California

Citation

DePaepe, Duane. 1992. Land Ethics for Bureau of Land Management Employees. In: Chavez, Deborah J., technical coordinator. 1992. Proceedings of the Symposium on Social Aspects and Recreation Research, February 19-22, 1992, Ontario, California. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-132. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; p. 32-33