CONCLUSION

The ideology that is Anti-Conservationism is alive and well in the American Midwest. Its presence is more apparent in some states than others; there are states where formal Anti-Conservationism is virtually non-existent, but where its agenda is being advanced by long-established, mainstream organizations with similar interests. Nowhere in the Midwest is Anti-Conservationism as powerful a force as it is in the West. But this is not for lack of trying.

As long as government makes and enforces regulations there are bound to be some who chafe under those regulations; people who, for whatever reason, refuse to accept the legitimacy of government. In the Midwest as elsewhere Anti-Conservationism creates an alliance between those who simply want to be left alone, those who stand to benefit greatly from weakening land use protections, and those who don't understand the difference.

As long as there is something to be gained from anti-environmental deregulation there will be an Anti-Conservation Movement, or something that looks and sounds an awful lot like it. Until environmental protection policies are either universally accepted or completely rejected there will be conflict between those who advocate thoughtful conservation and those who can see only the (wise) use of our limited resources. These conflicts will be played out on stages large and small, but there can be no question that they will occur.