ABSTRACT
The geographical and ecological approaches are not mutually exclusive, of course, and in fact intersect and complement each other. Together, therefore, they hold great potential for further analysis of the relationship between American people and the lands they inhabit. At the same time, however, as traditional built environments and natural ecosystems continue to disappear in the face of modern development, there will also be an increasing need to protect such places. Therefore, future studies of folklife and the environment will likely take a proactive stance, as in the Pine Barrens project, and combine scholarly research and public advocacy to identify what is threatened, determine its significance, and promote its protection in a manner that will benefit both environments and communities.
