- an expression of a future-natural state for British landscapes

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- an expression of a future-natural state for
British landscapes
Mark Fisher (formerly a real scientist)
www.self-willed-land.org.uk mark.fisher_at_self-wille
d-land.org.uk
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bleak, empty, harsh, savage, barren, wasteland
What words are commonly associated in Britain
with a wilderness landscape?
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Not bl likely!!!!
Given the option, would these wild animals choose
to live in a landscape described by those words?
Mule deer, mountain sheep, black bear Jasper
National Park, Alberta, Canada
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So what really is a wilderness landscape?
Survival fat layer
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Wheres this?
Garden of the Gods State Park Colorado, USA
Brimham Rocks North Yorks
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Wheres this?
Walker Ranch State Park California, USA
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Wales
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Wheres this?
Triglav National Park Slovenia
Peak District National Park Derbyshire
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Wheres this?
Parque Natural Sierra de las Nievas, Andalucia,
Spain
Rothiemurchis Forest Speyside, Scotland
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Where would you find these?
Cathedral Grove, MacMillan Provincial Park,
Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
Ancient woodland Grass Wood, Grassington North
Yorks
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Wheres this?
Mount Rainier National Park Washington, USA
The Strid, Bolton Abbey Estate North Yorks
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Wheres this?
Ute Trail, Rocky Mountain National Park,
Colorado, USA
Moughton Fell, Yorkshire Dales National Park
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What did all those landscape examples have in
common?
Little evidence of human intervention, possibly
in the past, certainly in the present
Outside the margins of productive/extracted land
A richness of diverse vegetation suited to the
edaphic and climatic conditions
Capacity to support a wide range of the animal
kingdom
An intrinsic beauty (biophilia Edward Wilson,
1984)
A LARGE MEASURE OF SELF-DETERMINATION To
varying extent, they are self-willed land
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How did I come to embrace self-willed land?
Permaculture an earth science based on
observation of self-regulating natural
systems Permacuture Design a developed system
of design principles and tools, underpinned by an
ethical framework A natural systems approach
to designs for living

• The spiral of intervention
• Relative placement the zones of land use

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Do nothing
Remove constraints
The spiral of intervention Least effort for
maximum effect
Biological intervention
Mechanical intervention
Chemical intervention
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Zones of land use how often and how much?
Human determination and use
Wild natures determination
In Zone 5 people are Visitors only, observing
learning at the feet of Mother Nature
In Zone 1 people are Experts and teachers
DECREASING INTENSITY of use
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FUZZY LANDSCAPES - Craven Limestone Complex
Grass wood
Bastow wood
Coniston Old Pasture
Zones - successional woodland, wood pasture and
open pasture
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Zone I - Special Preservation - Area of special
importance - may be no people access. Zone II
Wilderness - Extensive area of a good
representation of a natural region. Experience of
remoteness and solitude. Minimal human
interference and no car access. Zone III -
Natural Environment - Managed as a natural
environment, with outdoor recreation activities
requiring minimal, rustic services and
facilities. Cars may be allowed. Zone IV -
Outdoor Recreation - Limited area whose defining
feature is direct access by car. Zone V - Park
Services - Communities in existing national parks
which contain a concentration of visitor services
and support facilities. LAKE LOUISE Banff
National park
Zones I and II together constitute the majority
of the area of all but the smallest national
parks.
Zoning in the National Parks of Canada Riding
Mountain National Park, Manitoba
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Zoning inside a National Forest wilderness areas
Great Gulf Wilderness
National forest 800,000 acres Wilderness areas
114,932 acres 14.4
Pemigewasset Wilderness
Caribou Speckled Mountain Wilderness
Presidential Range Dry River Wilderness
Methods of tree harvest in the non-wilderness
areas mimic increasing levels of natural
disturbance. Regeneration is natural after
harvest
Sandwich Range Wilderness
White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire, USA
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Zoning inside a European protected area PAN
Park Wilderness
PP Wilderness - a core area without extractive
use of at least 10,000ha
Park Area (Park Limits) 38,138 ha IUCN Category
II (national park) Wilderness zone (Central
Area)14,215 ha (37.3 of total area) Gemenele
Scientific Reserve 1,630 ha IUCN Category Ia
(scientific reserve)
Retezat National Park, Southern Carpathians,
Romania
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Guidelines for Protected Areas Management
Categories IUCN, 1994
CATEGORY Protected area name Area managed for
I a b Strict Nature Reserve / Wilderness Area Strict protection
II National Park Ecosystem conservation and recreation
III Natural Monument Conservation of natural features
IV Habitat/Species Management Area Conservation through active management
V Protected Landscape/Seascape Landscape/seascape conservation and recreation
VI Managed Resource Protected Area Sustainable use of natural ecosystems
There is a gradation of human intervention from
Category I to VI
Our National Nature Reserves are Category IV,
our national parks are Category V Where is our
land protected for values in Categories I to
III Can we CREATE it??
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Our future-natural starts from here
Original-natural existed before people became a
significant ecological factor Present-natural -
would exist now if people had never become a
significant ecological factor. Different because
climate and soils may have changed in the last
5000 years. Past-natural present day woods
whose components have been inherited from the
original-natural forests (Ancient
Woodland) Potential-natural - a hypothetical
state that could develop instantly in the absence
of influence from people
Future-natural a state that will develop if
peoples influence is removed, and woodland
regenerates at its own pace (100-500 yrs). Not a
re-creation of the past, and subject to
continuing extinction, introductions, and changes
in soil and climate.
FROM Natural Woodland Ecology and Conservation
in Northern Temperate Regions, George F. Peterken
(1996) Cambridge Uni. Press
How much land are we prepared to gift to wild
nature?
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upland wilderness cf. English Nature
interpretation board
Ingleborough NNR
WORDS/DEFINITIONS ARE IMPORTANT!! (and so is
understanding)
See What is Wildland? www.self-willed-land.org.u
k/what_wildland.htm