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

1. - an expression of a future-natural state for British landscapes Mark Fisher (formerly a real scientist) www.self-willed-land.org.uk mark.fisher@self-willed-land.org.uk

2. bleak, empty, harsh, savage, barren, wasteland What wordsare commonly associated in Britainwith a wilderness landscape?

3. 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

4. So what really is a wilderness landscape? Survival fat layer

5. Where’s this? Garden of the Gods State Park Colorado, USA Brimham Rocks North Yorks

6. Where’s this? Walker Ranch State Park California, USA Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Wales

7. Where’s this? Triglav National Park Slovenia Peak District National Park Derbyshire

8. Where’s this? Parque Natural Sierra delasNievas, Andalucia, Spain Rothiemurchis Forest Speyside, Scotland

9. Where would you find these? Cathedral Grove, MacMillan Provincial Park, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada Ancient woodland Grass Wood, Grassington North Yorks

10. Where’s this? Mount Rainier National Park Washington, USA The Strid, Bolton Abbey Estate North Yorks

11. Where’s this? Ute Trail, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA Moughton Fell, Yorkshire Dales National Park

12. 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

13. 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

14. Do nothing Remove constraints The spiral of intervention Least effort for maximum effect Biological intervention Mechanical intervention Chemical intervention

15. Zone 1 Home garden Zone 5 “Wilderness” Zone 0 House Zone 2 Orchard Zone 3/4 Agroforestry, water storage, timber & wood Zones of land use – how often and how much? Human determination and use Wild nature’s 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

16. “FUZZY” LANDSCAPES - Craven Limestone Complex Grass wood Bastow wood Coniston Old Pasture Zones - successional woodland, wood pasture and open pasture

17. 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

18. “Zone 5” “Zone 4” 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

19. 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

20. Guidelines for Protected Areas Management Categories – IUCN, 1994 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??

21. 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 people’s 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?

22. “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.uk/what_wildland.htm