ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the extent to which species to be protected—the extent to which the Ecological Society of America (ESA) should be enforced—to be a political question. This means that the nation should adopt whatever policy musters the most political support. In a political context, as one commentator has written, "'nature' and its cognates serve as metaphors for moral or religious truth. Saying that something is 'natural' is to assert both that it is desirable and that its virtues have a foundation in reality." Each side appeals to the interconnectedness of the "nature" it values—whether it is the integrity of person and property or the integrity of ecological systems. Environmentalists respond by describing all nature as interconnected, so that if society fails to protect the habitat of the least creature, the entire ecological system may collapse. The ESA reiterated the belief that "Ecosystem function depends on its structure, diversity and integrity."
