Brent Plater – Brent Plater

Park Equity in the GGNRA

April 8, 2016March 10, 2021 by Brent Plater

Brent Plater

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Wild Equity recently claimed that the GGNRA's proposed rule for dog management will, if some modest but essential changes are made to the proposal, create a more equitable park experience for all. But calling something 'equitable' begs the question: equitable for whom? I've been involved with dog management issues for over…

The World We’d Rather Have

March 17, 2016March 10, 2021 by Brent Plater

Brent Plater

2682

I’ve been a professional environmentalist for over 15 years. People actually pay me to protect the places I love and the most vulnerable communities and species on the planet. It’s an incredible privilege, and every day I feel gratitude for the faith and support people have given me. Even so,…

For People and the Plants and Animals That Accompany Us on Earth

April 13, 2013August 24, 2022 by Brent Plater

Brent Plater

2237

In late October of 2012, Wild Equity Institute Executive Director Brent Plater was invited to a weekend workshop to discuss the future of the conservation movement with luminaries in several environmental fields. The following essay is one of several products we’ve produced based on that workshop. In a…

Defend Wildness Resolutely Everywhere: A Defense of Drake’s Estero Wilderness, In Response to Jason Mark

December 20, 2012March 10, 2021 by Brent Plater

Brent Plater

2644

This article is intermittently childish (‘cows degrade wilderness, so oysters should be able to too!!’), ignorant (nearly all designated wildernesses begin as a ‘potential’ wilderness area) and myopic (if your vision for Alemany Farm was as short-sighted as it is for Drake’s Wilderness, we’d still be using the farm as…

Feeling Xerces Blue

January 4, 2008December 11, 2017 by Brent Plater

Brent Plater

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If San Franciscans voted for their totem animal, a little butterfly known as the Xerces Blue would almost certainly be on every ranked-choice ballot. Found here and nowhere else on Earth, the butterfly’s fierce loyalty to these lands reflects our own love for the City, and it also mirrors San…

In Wilderness is the Preservation of You

July 9, 2007December 11, 2017 by Brent Plater

Brent Plater

1959

For five years, I was a competitive cyclist—not competitive against Lance Armstrong of course, but I trained for hundreds of hours a year, joining a community of amateur athletes who found it prudent to spend more money on their bicycles than their cars. Aside from the spending habits, it was…

Requiem for a River Dolphin

January 19, 2007December 11, 2017 by Brent Plater

Brent Plater

1858

Fifteen years ago, Douglas Adams—author of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy—entreated us to grab our towels, head for China’s Yangtze River, and take advantage of our last chance to see the Baiji dolphin, the 20 million year old Goddess of the Yangtze. I didn’t go. I took a reassuring…