“Entropy” is a word I learned in physics class, having to do with the natural tendency of the universe toward increasing chaos. This has to do specifically with regard to energy and matter, but the term could also apply to, for example, a group of second graders on a field trip.
It could also be used to describe how natural systems change. Sure, there are cycles in nature, but there are also trends influenced by internal and external factors such as human introduction of invasive species, global climate change, the suppression of natural fires, and the impacts of historical and current human land uses.
Our Natural Lands Trust preserves will naturally and not-so-naturally change in different ways than they would if they were not being managed. I don’t mean to imply that we think we can do a better job than “nature.” We are merely shaping a few of the possible outcomes of changes on these lands. We’re removing some hazard trees, planting other trees, controlling the worst of the invasive species, and making the preserve friendly to visitors. Entropy doesn’t happen as fast on our preserves.
If as preserve managers we are doing our job well, the effects of our work should not be that noticeable. A properly pruned tree should appear natural, not butchered. A well-maintained building is not obviously in need of repair. Forests in this region that we manage can be distinguished primarily by a reduced density of invasive species, not by anything obviously added.
We don’t manage for the sake of doing it. The least possible intervention to achieve a goal is the best management, because it is likely to have the fewest unintended outcomes (and cost less, too!).
Visitors may wonder, for example, is this woodland free of the invasive plant Japanese honeysuckle because it was never here or because staff and volunteers have gone to great lengths to control it? Are the roadsides free of trash here because nobody ever litters? (Feel free to ask when you visit!)
We aren’t trying to freeze the preserves in time. Forest succession, the cycles of death and life, and changes to the surrounding neighborhoods will continue and will influence the preserves, forever. But without our efforts, we may lose some of the values that made the land worthy of preserving.