From the Director / Winter 2025

OVLC and Ojai’s Agora Foundation marked the 75th anniversary of Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac with a joint event on February 1. It is clear that the Ojai Valley is entering a time of profound intersection of legacy and responsibility. Leopold’s vision, a call for a “land ethic” that regards soil, water, plants and animals as a community, remains as relevant as ever. Our two organizations came together to promote the understanding of Leopold’s land ethic in this time when individual and collective responsibility can advance profound benefits.

Leopold’s land ethic, a radical idea in 1949, challenged us to broaden our view of “land.” Leopold wants us to embrace land as a community to which we belong and to which we owe responsibility. This land ethic transcends the notion of simple stewardship; it is a commitment to conservation and restoration as a moral responsibility. In a time of climate change, this expansion of ethics couldn’t be timelier.

Leopold’s message was never solely for farmers, ranchers, and other land managers. It was, and is, a call to society. In society at large, the land ethic struggles to take hold. Many of us enjoy the benefits of conservation—scenic vistas, clean air and water, and trails—without fully appreciating the responsibilities that come with these privileges. This imbalance poses a challenge, especially as urban areas grow, rural lands shrink, and pressures on natural resources increase.

One of my favorite Leopold quotes is, “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.” In a time when environmental news is so dire, I find this quote as intensely hopeful. It is a clear guidepost for individual decisions. Indeed, as OVLC has rolled out the Rewild Ojai program, we have been inspired by how many people have embraced “going native” as a meaningful way to help Ojai “preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community.” In today’s vernacular of climate change, “stability” can be thought of as “resilience.”

Leopold’s significance as a forefather of modern conservation cannot be overstated. Through his writings he is now recognized as the father of wildlife management, wilderness preservation, ecological restoration, and remains a seminal voice in environmental ethics. Despite that lofty perch, A Sand County Almanac remains completely accessible as a guide to each of us to extend our notion of community to include the soil, water, plants, and animals that comprise “the land.”

Tom Maloney, Executive Director