I do not imply that this philosophy of land was always clear to me. It is rather the end result of a life journey.

Recreational development is a job not of building roads into lovely country, but of building receptivity into the still unlovely human mind.

The worthiness of any cause is not measured by its clean record, but by its readiness to see the blots when they are pointed out, and to change its mind.

For us in the minority, the opportunity to see geese is more important than television.

We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us.

My favorite quote: The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land. In short, a land ethic changes the role of Homo sapiens from conqueror of the land-community to plain member and citizen of it. It implies respect for his fellow-members, and also respect for the community as such.

Land health is the capacity for self-renewal in the soils, waters, plants, and animals that collectively comprise the land.