RMP 800: Reflection 11/17/09

I'd like to go back to the discussion of the term "wilderness." Dictionary.com had the term described in the following way:
"-noun
1. a wild and uncultivated region, as of forest or desert, uninhabited or inhabited only by wild animals; a tract of wasteland.
2. a tract of land officially designated as such and protected by the U.S. government.
3. any desolate tract, as of open sea.
4. a part of a garden set apart for plants growing with unchecked luxuriance.
5. a bewildering mass or collection."

I definitely see the Euro- Ethnocentrism in this definition but I think it does a better job of describing wilderness than the way the word is frequently used these days. I think the uncultivated and unchecked are important parts of the descriptions. I don't agree with the second definition or the idea of wasteland. It can be desolate without being wasteland. To me, "wilderness" describes places like Antarctica, Mount Everest, and the ocean floor.

Should we use "outdoors" (away from human settlement, open air) or "nature" (primitive, wild condition, an uncultivated state) instead of the term "wilderness"? I think they are both a little closer to what we mean when we say "wilderness."

The idea was thrown out that we could create a new definition for the word "wilderness" but I don't think we can do that. It would be incredibly hard to introduce a new term, especially if it is not a slang term, being used to poke fun at something. I think it would be too hard to get rid of the old definition. It would be more effective to just coin a new term than to replace the old definition.

As for my personal land use philosophy, I believe we must find a happy medium. The environment is important and we have taken way too much advantage of it in the past century, BUT we also can't survive without a little recreation. We need the interaction with nature and the time spent outdoors to be healthy human beings. Therefore, we must find a balance between using land (and water!) for health and recreation benefits and conserving land for future generations. We as Recreation professionals must take a stand and lead society to a balance.