The definition of forestry written into the 1941 Roosevelt Wildlife Bulletin, one of ESF’s guiding documents, states, “Forests are land areas on which are associated various forms of plant and animal life. The forester must deal with all. Wildlife is as essentially and legitimately an object of his care as are water, wood and

forage.” We will return to this statement throughout the weekend in order to ground our discussions, to consider its implications for the study of forest and natural resources management, and to understand something of what it has meant for 86 years in practice here on the Huntington Wildlife Forest.

We begin our discussions Friday evening with an essay from Gifford Pinchot titled, “A Forest Devastation Warning,” (1925). Here Pinchot presents an ardently anthropocentric vision of forest management that holds national and economic security as well as benefits for future generations of citizens at the fore. This first reading introduces one approach to natural resource management that remains an industry standard and informs best practices in the interest of human flourishing over time.

Pinchot’s human-centered utilitarianism remains common in forestry and forest science, despite an increased emphasis on a biotic approach to landscapes across environmental fields. On

Saturday morning, we’ll turn the conversation toward these broader considerations, particularly as they come through in Aldo Leopold’s early writing including “The Conservation Ethic” (1933) and “A Biotic View of Land” (1939). Here, Leopold’s ideas serve as a useful counterpoint or complement to Pinchot’s deep reliance on forest management for the purpose of economic and social security. In Leopold’s hands, the forest becomes less a matter of human utility and valuing, more a question of community and ecological responsibility.

After a field tour on the Huntington, we’ll put Pinchot’s warning against “idle lands” into conversation with two essays advocating for Wilderness designations on public lands — “The Wilderness and Its Place in Forest Recreational Policy” (1921) and “Wilderness as a Form of Land Use “(1925). In Leopold’s argument for greater protections, and without abandoning the notion of the forest as a public utility, he enlarges the definition of utility and worth in such a way that might close the distance between the two foresters’ ideas concerning conservation’s highest good.

The Philosophers’ Camp in the Adirondacks (1858) by William James Stillman, showing R.W. Emerson in the center. (Courtesy of the Concord Free Public Library)

The Tradition of the Philosophers’ Camp In 1858, 10 scholars left New England society for a sojourn in the Adirondacks. Seeking to immerse themselves in the natural environment, they hunted, rowed, fished and camped. Participant Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote a poem to commemorate the excursion, dubbing participants “freemen of the forest laws;” they were free of societal and professional boundaries. Thus liberated, they fell naturally into a cross-disciplinary cadence reflecting the style of unity between self, other and world that has come to characterize the Philosophers’ Camp and mark its intellectual significance. Our annual revitalization of the Philosophers’ Camp draws on the traditions established during the original expedition. Our readings and conversations will be an opportunity to enter into the spirit of the original Philosophers’ Camp by engaging in shared inquiry and discovery.

Seminar discussions will be led by Dr. Marianne Patinelli-Dubay, an environmental philosopher with ESF’s Northern Forest Institute

Talk of Creeks and Wild WaterOur final readings include a focus on the second half of Leopold’s essay “Some Fundamentals of Conservation in the Southwest” (1923) and Thomas Merton’s “Rain and the Rhinoceros” (1960). Leopold makes conservation a moral concern in this essay and in doing so he provides an opening into the writing of a Trappist monk who, from a small shack leaking rain on the grounds of an abbey in Kentucky, draws these various perspectives on the land if not together, at least into a larger question that remains hopeful, contested and open today. Merton’s collection “Raids on the Unspeakable” includes a meditation into how we might hold these visions of forestry together in praise of this wild and natural world, a meaningless festival of rhythms, of rain and birdsong.

SEMINAR DISCUSSIONS

In a Forest of Wildlife

Gifford PinchotAldo Leopold

Thomas Merton

The Philosophers’ Camp: Grandly Simple

October 4 - October 6, 2019

Huntington Lodge, Newcomb, N.Y.

The Philosophers’ Camp: Grandly Simple Friday, October 4, through Sunday, October 6, 2019 ESF’s Huntington LodgeNewcomb, N.Y.

This restored five-bedroom Great Camp in the “Heart of the Park” accommodates up to 10 people overnight. Nestled in a stunning location on the shore of scenic Arbutus Lake, historic Huntington Lodge is ready for your visit. It features Craftsman furniture by L.&J.G. Stickley, a dining room, full kitchen and the original “Trophy Room.”

The registration rate of $750 per participant includes accommodations, catered meals and receptions, advance reading materials, guided seminars and hikes, as well as time to enjoy unparalleled access to the largest protected wild landscape in the lower 48 states.

For additional information visit www.esf.edu/nfi/. To register, contact newcomb@esf.edu or call 518.582.4551 ext 108

ESF’s Northern Forest Institute (NFI) is an interdisciplinary educational outreach program at ESF’s Newcomb Campus. NFI is dedicated to providing enrichment opportunities for government and non-government personnel at agencies and institutions with an environmental impact, college students, primary and secondary students and the general public.

NFI’s program in Environmental Philosophy, led by Dr. Marianne Patinelli-Dubay, supports and facilitates rich conversations across a range of disciplines. The program’s educational initiatives bridge humanities content with field experience to help participants understand the impacts of the relationship between scientific research and the policy it advances.

Above: ESF’s Huntington Lodge. Below: Evening seminar, fireside

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Additional funding provided by the Adirondack Park Institute

Philosophers’ Camp participants in discussion

Northern Forest Institute