ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the production of nature in Bedford. In particular we look at nature preserves, focusing on the romantic ideas of wilderness that have been institutionalized in Bedford and the role these play in the politics of exclusion. First, we critically examine the actions and attitudes of our respondents toward nature preserves, focusing particular attention on the claims made by the officials of the preserves. Second, we explore the offering of land or conservation easements on land through the Westchester Land Trust. Donating land to an environmental organization in exchange for tax relief is an antidevelopment strategy that has been used with great success. It was first adopted in Bedford a half century ago when wealthy landowners donated land to form nature preserves that would be forever untouched by development. More recently, this strategy has been supplemented by the granting of conservation easements on a property owner’s land. The latter is proving even more popular than the outright gift of land, as the property owner retains the right to use and sell the land and yet secures a tax break for agreeing not to develop the portion under easement. We argue that the underlying philosophy of these practices is a fundamental separation between nature and culture with pristine wilderness seen as endangered and in need of cordoning off. Natural processes encountered by the administrators of the preserves are resistant to the preservation discourse, however. Dynamic ecological relationships must be controlled if the nature of these preserves is to conform to the dominant view of what wilderness should look like. This produces contradictions in the literature produced by the administrators of the preserves and ambiguity in the self-conception of the preserves’ stewardship committees.
