If you talk to the animals, they will talk with you
and you will know each other.If you do not talk to them,
you will not know them,
and what you do not know you will fear.
What one fears, one destroys.
~ Chief Dan George
Nature is not a place to visit, it is home.
~ Gary Snyder
It is a man's sympathy with all creatures
that truly makes him a man.
Until he extends his circle of compassion to all living things,
man himself will not find peace.
~ Dr. Albert Schweitzer
The crops of wilderness
have always been its spiritual values --
silence and solitude, a sense of awe and gratitude --
able to be harvested by any traveler who visits.
~ David Douglas
"Wilderness Sojourn"
The animals of the world exist for their own reasons.
They were not made for humans any more
than black people were made for whites,
or women for men.
~ Alice Walker
author of "The Color Purple"
Keep close to Nature's heart,
and break clear away once in awhile,
and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods.
Wash your spirit clean....
~ John Muir
A truly wise man kneels at the feet of all creatures
and is not afraid to endure the mockery of others.
~ Mechtild of Magdeberg
"The Flowering Light of the Godhead" (1265)
Climb the mountains
and get their good tidings.
Nature's peace will flow into you
as sunshine flows into trees.
The winds will blow their own freshness into you,
and the storms their energy,
while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.
~ John Muir
The wild things of this earth are not ours to do with as we please.
They have been given to us in trust,
and we must account for them to the generations which will come after us
and audit our accounts.
~ William T. Hornaday
Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out
that going to the mountains is going home;
that wildness is a necessity....
~ John Muir
When our rifles were empty, the old wolf was down...
We reached the old wolf in time to watch
a fierce green fire dying in her eyes.
I realized then, and have known ever since,
that there was something new to me in those eyes ~
something known only to her and to the mountain.
I was young then, and full of trigger-itch;
I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer,
that no wolves would mean hunter's paradise.
But after seeing the green fire die,
I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view....
~ Aldo Leopold
"A Sand County Almanac"
& "Sketches Here and There," 1948
Only after the last tree has been cut down,
Only after the last river has been poisoned,
Only after the last fish has been caught,
Only then will you find out
that money cannot be eaten.
~ Cree Prophecy
It is never too late to go quietly to our lakes, rivers, oceans, even our small streams,
and say to the seagulls, the great blue herons, the bald eagles, the salmon,
that we are sorry.
~ Brenda Peterson in "Singing to the Sound"
We are part of the earth and it is part of us.
The perfumed flowers are our sisters;
the deer, the horse, the great eagle, these are our brothers....
What is man without the beasts?
If all the beasts were gone, men would die from a great loneliness of spirit.
For whatever happens to the beasts,
soon happens to man.
All things are connected.
This we know.
The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth.
This we know.
All things are connected like the blood that unites one family.
All things are connected.
~ Chief Seattle/Ted Perry*
* Versions of and excerpts from this speech
have often been erroneously attributed to Chief Seattle.
Confusion between his actual speech and Ted Perry's television screenplay from the 1970's
led to fictitous quotes being attributed to Chief Seattle.
In any case, the words are still moving and powerful, no matter who's responsible for them.
I dedicate this page to Walkin' Jim Stoltz, a writer, poet, musician and activist, an amazing man and dear friend.
Walkin' Jim cares deeply about the environment and wildlife, and he literally walks the walk!
He has hiked the wilderness and forest trails of this country from top to bottom and coast to coast,
and he tours the country with his music and stories, helping others to see through his eyes
the matchless beauty and priceless value of our wilderness.
Several of the quotes on this page came from Walkin' Jim's wonderful homepage...Walkinjim.com.
Walkin' Jim is one of the founders of M.U.S.E..."Musicians United to Sustain the Environment."
M.U.S.E helps promote environmental awareness and protection through their music.
They sell a wonderful cd called "One Land, One Heart" that I love! Visit their website by clicking on the link below:
For more environmental and animal rights links, visit
"Paws for a Cause"
My friend Meg has created some pages devoted to her favorite wild creature...
I think you'll enjoy visiting them!
Theme from "Dances with Wolves"
