Leopold's Land Ethic is highlighted by an extension of the moral considerations we give to man to nature and the land around us. This extension of ethics to land, in Leopold's eyes, did not mean that animals could not be killed for or, or that the resources of the land could not be harvested for use by man. Leopold himself was an avid hunter, and was clearly not an individual animal rights activist. However, Leopold view the land ethic as holistic. There is a land community and that community is what is important. Leopold viewed the relationship between predator and prey as healthy, and viewed the destruction of predators as a direct threat to the overall health of the ecosystem.
Janisse Ray's book also describes a type of land ethic. Growing up in a place she called as a place as you could find, Ray still managed to love the land she grew up in. This love is similar to Leopold's views which grew out of his relationship with the land he lived on.
Growing up on a farm in rural southern Minnesota, I feel some of the same connection that Leopold and Ray felt with the land. Farming done properly fits in marvelously with the land ethic. The resources of the land can be harvested and maintained by man as long as the ecosystem as a whole maintains its overall health and vibrancy. Farming, especially in the modern sense, changes the landscape. However, farmers like my step-dad strive to be stewards of the land. Most farmers use chemicals to fertilize the land, and chemicals to kills the weeds and bugs and fungi that naturally inhabit the land. I don't know if Leopold would agree with me, but I think the chirping birds and the grasshoppers buzzing over the dark green corn fields in the summer is a relatively healthy ecosystem. Leopold thought the most important important aspect of the extension of moral consideration to the land was the health of the ecosystem as a whole, and I believe that growing up on a farm has helped me gain a similar perspective.
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