Landscape Quote by Rebecca Solnit
““Now, wilderness can be seen as a useful fiction, a fiction constructed by John Muir and his heirs and deployed to keep places from being destroyed by resource extraction and wholesale development.””
About This Quote
Source Book: Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, Cheryl Strayed, 2012
Nature is framed as a story that protects it from exploitation, shaping public perception and policy.
In simple terms: Wilderness is a protective story.
Key Takeaway
Recognize how narratives shape environmental policy.
Themes
environment
conservation
storytelling
politics
culture
Mood
reflective
critical
Type
analytical
philosophical
When to use this quote
- activism
- policy making
- media campaigns
- community education
Key Concepts
Narrative framing
environmental ethics
public perception
Questions to Reflect On
- How do narratives influence your view of nature?
- What stories could better protect ecosystems?
A Different Perspective
Stories can be co-opted to serve economic interests, limiting true protection.
![“His treatment of mechanical problems wasn't divorced from the worldly situations in which they arise, and as a result [John Muir's service manual on Volkswagens] is extraordinarily clear and useful. It has a human quality, as well.” quote by Matthew B. Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/8f3/matthew-b-crawford-26537_muir_his-treatment-of-mechanical-problems-was_2566071.jpg)
![“There are instances: [Henry David] Thoreau read [John] Wordsworth, [John] Muir read Thoreau, Teddy Roosevelt read Muir, and you got national parks. It took a century for this to happen, for artistic values to percolate down to where honoring the relation of people's imagination to the land, or…” quote by Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ee0/robert-hass-3548_artistic_there-are-instances-henry-david-thoreau_1836417.jpg)
![“In that year [1865] John Muir offered to buy from his brother ... a sanctuary for the wildflowers that had gladdened his youth. His brother declined to part with the land, but he could not suppress the idea: 1865 still stands in Wisconsin history as the birth-year of mercy for things natural…” quote by Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bf9/aldo-leopold-1278_birth_in-that-year-1865-john-muir-offered-to-b_1777207.jpg)
![“John Muir, Earth — planet, Universe [ Muir's home address, as inscribed on the inside front cover of his first field journal ]” quote by John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ecf/john-muir-678_cosmopolitan_john-muir-earth-planet-universe-muir-s-h_1240184.jpg)
![“[In mountaineering, if] we look for private experience rather than public history, even getting to the top becomes an optional narrative rather than the main point, and those who only wander in high places become part of the story.” quote by Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/1e6/rebecca-solnit-569_high-places_in-mountaineering-if-we-look-for-private_78831.jpg)
