The Wigtown Book Festival is a ten-day literary festival held each autumn in Wigtown , Dumfries and Galloway , south-west Scotland . The festival was first held in 1999 and has grown to be the second biggest book festival in Scotland.
97-579: In 2024, the festival took place between 27 September - 6 October. The 2024 festival had over 250 planned events, with a focus on discussing the Galloway Coast and climate change . Performers at the 2024 festival included actor Alan Cumming , poet Pam Ayres and writer Irvine Welsh . The first festival took place in 1999. In 2007, the Wigtown Festival Company became a registered charity. In 2013, there were 7500 visitors to
194-580: A whodunit by Dorothy L. Sayers , initially published in the US as Suspicious Characters , sees Lord Peter Wimsey , on holiday in Kirkcudbright , investigating the death of an artist living at Gatehouse of Fleet ; the book contains some remarkable descriptions of the countryside. S R Crockett , a bestselling writer of historical romances active before the First World War, set several novels in
291-689: A "lochside village". Promontory forts are highly topographically-defined sites, which in Galloway generally occupy coastal promontories overlooking the Solway Firth. Investigation of one such site at Carghidown revealed a "sporadically occupied refuge" according to Toolis, who also notes that "hardly any promontory forts occupy strongly defensive locations or have immediate access to the sea." While many surviving sites represent sporadically-occupied locations or individual households, there are also examples of multiple-household settlements. One of these
388-598: A "primeval character", meaning that it had not suffered from human habitation or development, the Eastern Wilderness Act of 1975 extended the protection of the NWPS to areas in the eastern states that were not initially considered for inclusion in the Wilderness Act. This act allowed lands that did not meet the constraints of size, roadlessness, or human impact to be designated as wilderness areas under
485-558: A controlled manner. The landscapes seen in the US today are very different from the way things looked before colonists came. Fire could be used to maintain food, cords, and baskets. One of the main roles of frequent fires was to prevent the out of control fires which are becoming more and more common. The idea of wilderness having intrinsic value emerged in the Western world in the 19th century. British artists John Constable and J. M. W. Turner turned their attention to capturing
582-480: A copy of the Wycliffe Bible was circulating in Galloway around 1520, and secret groups (proto-conventicles) gathered to hear a man named Alexander Gordon preach from it. With the end of the monasteries, the large ecclesiastical landholdings created under the medieval Lordship of Galloway were broken up amongst hundreds of small landowners. In the case of Dundrennan Abbey , much of the abbey's lands came into
679-477: A gradual incorporation of Galloway into Scotland. Scotland's legal system was administered as a system of three provinces, each with a justiciar (high official). The Justiciar of Galloway was one of these, along with justiciars for Lothian and "Scotia" (lands north of the Forth and Clyde). Additionally, Whithorn remained an important cultural centre; medieval kings of Scots made pilgrimages there. Folklore holds that
776-460: A large number of small landholders began to consolidate into larger estates. The Irish cattle trade increased until up to 10,000 head of cattle per year were being exported through this route in the year 1667. It was in this year that the importation of Irish cattle to England was banned. However, the importation of Scottish cattle was not banned; this created a new opportunity for Galloway landowners to profit from illicit Irish cattle. By this time,
873-556: A number of prominent individuals associated with the Stuart monarchy held lands in both Galloway and in Ulster, facilitating the illicit trade, which "may have been tolerated for political reasons". Many of these landowners were also Episcopalians . Galwegian Gaelic seems to have lasted longer than Gaelic in other parts of Lowland Scotland , and Margaret McMurray (d. 1760) of Carrick (outside modern Galloway) appears to have been
970-647: A period of Scottish allegiance, a Galloway contingent followed David, King of Scots , in his invasion of England and led the attack in his defeat at the Battle of the Standard (1138). Alan died in 1234, leaving three daughters and an illegitimate son, Thomas ( Tomás mac Ailein ). Alexander II of Scotland , Galloway's suzerain, planned to divide Galloway between Alan's three daughters and their husbands (all Norman noblemen) and to exclude Thomas under Norman feudal law. However, Thomas considered himself Alan's heir under
1067-490: A physical festival in September 2021. 2021 performers included the crime writer Val McDermid and the novelist Nadifa Mohamed . The 2022 festival involved over 200 events, with novelist and speakers including Karen Campbell and Hugh McMillan . The 2023 festival took place from the 22 September to 1 October. Performers and readers included Nigel Planer , Kate Mosse and Jo Caulfield . Regular festival events include
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#17327826668641164-435: A preponderance of crannog-type sites compared to certain other regions of Scotland. This is due largely to the region's geography favouring lochs (or now-former lochs), as well as a bias toward higher survival rates of undisturbed sites available for archaeological investigation due to loch-draining taking place later in Galloway than in other regions, with the discovery of such sites eliciting antiquarian interest. For example,
1261-647: A significant industry. More recently wind turbines have been installed at a number of locations on the watershed, and a large offshore wind-power plant is planned, increasing Galloway's 'green energy' production. It is thought that aspects of the Barsalloch Fort site in Galloway date to the Mesolithic period . A number of sites date to the Neolithic; these include the Drumtroddan standing stones ,
1358-569: Is a composite work produced in the 15th century, which is based on a now-lost 9th century work, the Codex Hersfeldensis , which contained portions of the Agricola . The interpretation of "trackless wastes" is based on material thought to derive from the 9th century codex, with an original Latin in avia primum transgressus ("first crossing into the trackless wastes") having been corrupted into annonave prima transgressus , which
1455-469: Is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire . It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway . A native or inhabitant of Galloway is called a Gallovidian. The region takes its name from the Gall-Gàidheil , or "stranger Gaels", a people of mixed Gaelic and Norse descent who seem to have settled here in
1552-663: Is an important part of wilderness designation because it created the legal definition of wilderness and established the National Wilderness Preservation System. The Wilderness Act defines wilderness as "an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammelled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain." Wilderness designation helps preserve the natural state of the land and protects flora and fauna by prohibiting development and providing for non-mechanized recreation only. The first administratively protected wilderness area in
1649-543: Is being rapidly degraded by human activity. Even less wilderness remains in the ocean , with only 13.2% free from intense human activity. Some governments establish protection for wilderness areas by law to not only preserve what already exists , but also to promote and advance a natural expression and development. These can be set up in preserves, conservation preserves, national forests, national parks and even in urban areas along rivers, gulches or otherwise undeveloped areas. Often these areas are considered important for
1746-556: Is designated as wilderness. As of 2023 there are 806 designated wilderness areas in the United States ranging in size from Florida's Pelican Island at 5 acres (20,000 m ) to Alaska's Wrangell-Saint Elias at 9,078,675 acres (36,740.09 km ). In Western Australia, a wilderness area is an area that has a wilderness quality rating of 12 or greater and meets a minimum size threshold of 80 km in temperate areas or 200 km in arid and tropical areas. A wilderness area
1843-544: Is grammatically incorrect in Latin. The interpretation that this passage refers to Galloway is based on contextual information, as the work later refers to "the part of Britain that faces Ireland", which is seen as referring to southwestern Scotland. In the 2nd century, the Alexandrian geographer Ptolemy produced his Geographia , which was written c. AD 150 . This work included Britain. No surviving copies of
1940-586: Is known as the Galloway Hills . Historically Galloway has been known both for horses and for cattle rearing, and milk and beef production are both still major industries. There is also substantial timber production and some fisheries . The combination of hills and high rainfall make Galloway ideal for hydroelectric power production, and the Galloway Hydro Power scheme was begun in 1929. Since then, electricity generation has been
2037-520: Is now understood that simply drawing lines around a piece of land and declaring it a wilderness does not necessarily make it a wilderness. All landscapes are intricately connected and what happens outside a wilderness certainly affects what happens inside it. For example, air pollution from Los Angeles and the California Central Valley affects Kern Canyon and Sequoia National Park . The national park has miles of "wilderness" but
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#17327826668642134-570: Is several miles inland. Following the start of the Roman conquest of Britain , the Roman general Gnaeus Julius Agricola campaigned northward, reaching Scotland around AD 79. A possible comment about "trackless wastes" may have referred to Galloway, but this is unclear. The source of this comment is the version of Tacitus' Agricola which is contained in the Codex Aesinas . The Codex Aesinas
2231-594: Is the Rispain Camp site near Whithorn, which contained a form of bread wheat unique amongst Iron Age sites in Galloway. This is a possible indication that Rispain Camp had different agricultural practices than elsewhere in Galloway, especially given the relatively low occurrence of rotary querns at sites in the area. Roughly contemporary with the Rispain Camp site, a cluster of roundhouses at Dunragit (dating to
2328-492: Is typically at least 5,000 acres (about 8 mi or 20 km ) in size. Human activities in wilderness areas are restricted to scientific study and non-mechanized recreation; horses are permitted but mechanized vehicles and equipment, such as cars and bicycles, are not. The United States was one of the first countries to officially designate land as "wilderness" through the Wilderness Act of 1964. The Wilderness Act
2425-571: The Flood , with the seas as the remains of that Flood." "If paradise was early man's greatest good, wilderness, as its antipode, was his greatest evil." Wilderness was viewed by colonists as being evil in its resistance to their control. The puritanical view of wilderness meant that in order for colonists to be able to live in North America, they had to destroy the wilderness in order to make way for their ' civilized ' society. Wilderness
2522-486: The Geographia exist which are older than the 13th century, creating the possibility that details may have been lost or distorted. Ptolemy credited much of his work to a now-lost atlas by Marinus of Tyre , a previous geographer whose work is thought to have been created around AD 114. Though it would have been written within the century after Agricola's campaign, Ptolemy's work is a Roman perspective on Britain following
2619-639: The National Parks Act 1980 and the Conservation Act 1987 that fall well within the IUCN definition. Wilderness areas cannot have any human intervention and can only have indigenous species re-introduced into the area if it is compatible with conservation management strategies. In New Zealand wilderness areas are remote blocks of land that have high natural character. The Conservation Act 1987 prevents any access by vehicles and livestock,
2716-530: The Reformation . A Brythonic speaking kingdom dominated Galloway until the late 7th century when it was absorbed by the English kingdom of Bernicia . English prevalence was supplanted by Britons and Norse-Gaelic ( Gall-Ghàidheal ) peoples between the 9th and the 11th century. This can be seen in the context of both the vacuum left by Northumbria being filled by the resurgent Cumbric Britons and
2813-695: The Stuart dynasty in Britain and Ireland. James , the Stuart monarch of both Scotland and England, heavily policed the activities of the riding clans of the nearby Scottish Borders , leading to a large number of Borderers emigrating or being transported to Ireland or to the American colonies. The Plantation of Ulster began around this time. Attempts by the Stuarts to impose royal absolutism , as well as theological disputes over episcopacy, ultimately triggered
2910-525: The Tang Dynasty (618–907). The tradition of representing nature as it is became one of the aims of Chinese painting and was a significant influence in Asian art. Artists in the tradition of Shan shui (lit. mountain-water-picture ), learned to depict mountains and rivers "from the perspective of nature as a whole and on the basis of their understanding of the laws of nature … as if seen through
3007-625: The Torhousekie stone circle , and the Cairnholy chambered cairn. There is also evidence of one of the earliest pit-fall traps in Europe which was discovered near Glenluce , Wigtownshire . The Iron Age is where prehistoric archaeological remains and recorded history overlap for Galloway. Galloway's Iron Age sites are similar to the rest of Scotland. Its distinctive type sites consist of crannogs , promontory forts, and duns . Galloway has
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3104-583: The conservation movement in the United States , partly through the efforts of writers and activists such as John Burroughs , Aldo Leopold , and John Muir , and politicians such as U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt . The idea of protecting nature for nature's sake began to gain more recognition in the 1930s with American writers like Aldo Leopold , calling for a "land ethic" and urging wilderness protection. It had become increasingly clear that wild spaces were disappearing rapidly and that decisive action
3201-425: The plural ) are Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human activity , or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally referred to terrestrial environments, though growing attention is being placed on marine wilderness . Recent maps of wilderness suggest it covers roughly one-quarter of Earth's terrestrial surface, but
3298-453: The sub-Roman Brythonic kingdom of Rheged . Rerigonium 's exact position is uncertain except that it was 'on Loch Ryan ', close to modern day Stranraer ; it is possible that it is the modern settlement of Dunragit ( Dun Rheged ). According to tradition, before the end of Roman rule in Britain , St. Ninian established a church or monastery at Whithorn , Wigtownshire , which remained an important place of pilgrimage until
3395-589: The "Galloway flail", a variant of the agriculturally-derived melee weapon . Galloway's agricultural economy was indirectly affected by the 17th-century Plantation of Ulster. Peasants in Galloway had, dating back to the Middle Ages, traditionally practiced a mixture of dairy-focused pastoral transhumance and intensive agriculture, with pockets of arable land being intensively cultivated by some peasants, while others migrated between upland and lowland pastures with their herds. Landowners such as Sir John Murray,
3492-520: The 10th century. Galloway is bounded by sea to the west and south, the Galloway Hills to the north, and the River Nith to the east; the border between Kirkcudbrightshire and Wigtownshire is marked by the River Cree . The definition has, however, fluctuated greatly in size over history. A hardy breed of black, hornless cattle named Galloway cattle is native to the region, in addition to
3589-582: The 17th-century Bishops' Wars in Scotland, which saw the appearance of the Covenanters as a social, political, and military force. The Covenanters began as participants in conventicles , which were unsanctioned secret religious gatherings that often took place outdoors, or in barns or granaries. The Covenanter movement was particularly popular in the southwest of Scotland. Covenanters had skirmishes with government troops in Galloway, some of which featured
3686-547: The 1910 Glacier National Park act made void those rights. The act of 'preserving' the land was specifically linked to the exclusion of the Blackfeet people. The continued resistance of the Blackfeet people has provided documentation of the importance of the area to many different tribes. The world's second national park, the Royal National Park , located just 32 km to the south of Sydney , Australia ,
3783-414: The 1975 Eastern Wilderness Areas Act , followed. Nevertheless, initiatives for wilderness conservation continue to increase. There are a growing number of projects to protect tropical rainforests through conservation initiatives. There are also large-scale projects to conserve wilderness regions, such as Canada's Boreal Forest Conservation Framework . The Framework calls for conservation of 50 percent of
3880-701: The 6,000,000 square kilometres of boreal forest in Canada's north. In addition to the World Wildlife Fund, organizations such as the Wildlife Conservation Society , the WILD Foundation , The Nature Conservancy , Conservation International , The Wilderness Society (United States) and many others are active in such conservation efforts. The 21st century has seen another slight shift in wilderness thought and theory. It
3977-516: The Black Loch of Myrton site (which likely dates to around the 5th century BC) was discovered due to loch-draining activities in the area of the Maxwell family estate during the 19th century. The site received the attention of a local antiquarian, Sir Herbert Maxwell , who conducted a basic excavation. Initially thought to be a crannog, the Black Loch of Myrton site was later recharacterized as
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4074-591: The Carghidown site (dated to c. 360 BC–AD 60 ) indicated a closer affinity to the Southern Uplands than to a sample from the Isle of Man . The area around Whithorn, containing both the Carghidown and Rispain Camp sites, appears to have become a local power centre. The Carghidown site is located only a short distance to the east along the coast from St Ninian's Cave , while the Rispain Camp site
4171-1486: The Forest Service, and preservationists the Park Service The World Conservation Union (IUCN) classifies wilderness at two levels, 1a ( strict nature reserves ) and 1b (Wilderness areas). There have been recent calls for the World Heritage Convention to better protect wilderness and to include the word wilderness in their selection criteria for Natural Heritage Sites Forty-eight countries have wilderness areas established via legislative designation as IUCN protected area management Category 1b sites that do not overlap with any other IUCN designation. They are: Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Canada, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Finland, French Guiana, Greenland, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, Norway, Northern Mariana Islands, Portugal, Seychelles, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Tanzania, United States of America, and Zimbabwe. At publication, there are 2,992 marine and terrestrial wilderness areas registered with
4268-472: The Gaelic system of tanistry . In the ensuing Galloway revolt of 1234–1235 , an army of Galwegian rebels ambushed Alexander's royal army and nearly inflicted a defeat before relief forces arrived to support the king. The rebels retreated to Ireland, and Alexander left Walter Comyn, Lord of Badenoch to subdue Galloway; Comyn sacked its abbeys before fleeing when faced with the return of the rebels. The rebellion
4365-536: The Grand Canyon, and Yosemite, the 'preservation' of these lands by the US government was what caused the Native Americans who lived in the areas to be systematically removed. Historian Mark David Spence has shown that the case of Glacier National Park and the Blackfeet people who live there is a perfect example of such erasure. The Blackfeet people had specifically designated rights to the area, but
4462-720: The Grim , Earl of Douglas . In 1369, he received the part of Galloway east of the River Cree , where he appointed a steward to administer the area, which became known as the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright . The following year, he acquired the part of Galloway west of the Cree, which continued to be administered by the king's sheriff, and so became known as the Shire of Wigtown . The two parts of Galloway thereafter were administered separately, becoming separate counties . The High Medieval period saw
4559-568: The IUCN as solely Category 1b sites. Twenty-two other countries have wilderness areas. These wilderness areas are established via administrative designation or wilderness zones within protected areas. Whereas the above listing contains countries with wilderness exclusively designated as Category 1b sites, some of the below-listed countries contain protected areas with multiple management categories including Category 1b. They are: Argentina, Bhutan, Brazil, Chile, Honduras, Germany, Italy, Kenya, Malaysia, Namibia, Nepal, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines,
4656-534: The Novantae people. The Rispain Camp site is also associated with the Novantae. In the west, the city of Rerigonium (literally 'very royal place'), shown on Ptolemy 's map of the world, is a strong contender for the site of Pen Rhionydd , referred to in the Welsh Triads as one of the 'three thrones of Britain' associated with the legendary King Arthur , and may also have been the caput of
4753-720: The Russian Federation, South Africa, Switzerland, Uganda, Ukraine, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Venezuela, and Zambia. The German National Strategy on Biological Diversity aims to establish wilderness areas on 2% of its terrestrial territory by 2020 (7,140 km ). However, protected wilderness areas in Germany currently only cover 0.6% of the total terrestrial area. In absence of pristine landscapes, Germany counts national parks (IUCN Category II) as wilderness areas. The government counts
4850-407: The United States (see below). The first National Park was Yellowstone , which was signed into law by U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant on 1 March 1872. The Act of Dedication declared Yellowstone a land "hereby reserved and withdrawn from settlement, occupancy, or sale under the laws of the United States, and dedicated and set apart as a public park or pleasuring ground for the benefit and enjoyment of
4947-604: The United States was the Gila National Forest. In 1922, Aldo Leopold , then a ranking member of the U.S. Forest Service, proposed a new management strategy for the Gila National Forest. His proposal was adopted in 1924, and 750,000 acres of the Gila National Forest became the Gila Wilderness . The Great Swamp in New Jersey was the first formally designated wilderness refuge in the United States. It
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#17327826668645044-717: The air is filled with pollution from the valley. This gives rise to the paradox of what a wilderness really is; a key issue in 21st century wilderness thought. The creation of national parks , beginning in the 19th century, preserved some especially attractive and notable areas, but the pursuits of commerce , lifestyle , and recreation combined with increases in human population have continued to result in human modification of relatively untouched areas. Such human activity often negatively impacts native flora and fauna. As such, to better protect critical habitats and preserve low-impact recreational opportunities, legal concepts of "wilderness" were established in many countries, beginning with
5141-663: The annual James Mirrlees lecture, which marks the local Novel Prize economist. The Anne Brown Prize has been given since 2021 for the best essay . It is named for Anne Brown, a former chairwoman and trustee of the festival and comes with a £1,500 financial prize. The festival runs an annual international poetry competition and awards three separate prizes for compositions in English, Scottish Gaelic and Scots . Prizes are given to winners. Galloway Galloway ( Scottish Gaelic : Gall-Ghàidhealaibh [ˈkal̪ˠaɣəl̪ˠu] ; Scots : Gallowa ; Latin : Gallovidia )
5238-481: The areas and further the traditional livelihood of the Sami people. This means e.g. that reindeer husbandry, hunting and taking wood for use in the household is permitted. As population is very sparse, this is generally no big threat to the nature. Large scale reindeer husbandry has influence on the ecosystem, but no change is introduced by the act on wilderness areas. The World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) classifies
5335-645: The areas as "VI Protected area with sustainable use of natural resources". Since 1861, the French Waters and Forests Military Agency (Administration des Eaux et Forêts) put a strong protection on what was called the « artistic reserve » in Fontainebleau State Forest. With a total of 1,097 hectares, it is known to be the first World nature reserve. Then in the 1950s, Integral Biological Reserves (Réserves Biologiques Intégrales, RBI) are dedicated to man free ecosystem evolution, on
5432-408: The beauty of the natural world in their paintings. Prior to that, paintings had been primarily of religious scenes or of human beings. William Wordsworth 's poetry described the wonder of the natural world, which had formerly been viewed as a threatening place. Increasingly the valuing of nature became an aspect of Western culture. By the mid-19th century, in Germany, "Scientific Conservation", as it
5529-534: The belief that they could be returned to a "primeval" state through preservation. Approximately 107,500,000 acres (435,000 km ) are designated as wilderness in the United States. This accounts for 4.82% of the country's total land area; however, 54% of that amount is found in Alaska (recreation and development in Alaskan wilderness is often less restrictive), while only 2.58% of the lower continental United States
5626-518: The candidates for the Scottish Crown. Consequently, Scotland's Wars of Independence were disproportionately fought in Galloway. There were a large number of new Gaelic placenames being coined post 1320 (e.g. Balmaclellan ), because Galloway retained a substantial Gaelic speaking population for several centuries more. Following the Wars of Independence, Galloway became the fief of Archibald
5723-639: The commercialization of some of Canada's National Parks with the building of great hotels such as the Banff Springs Hotel and Chateau Lake Louise . Despite their similar name, national parks in England and Wales are quite different from national parks in many other countries. Unlike most other countries, in England and Wales, designation as a national park may include substantial settlements and human land uses which are often integral parts of
5820-419: The conquest, and not necessarily a reflection of pre-Roman social or ethnic groups. Ptolemy listed two peoples as inhabitants of the area around Galloway: the Novantae in the west (associated with Wigtownshire, Kirkcudbrightshire, and southern Ayrshire) and the Selgovae in the east (primarily associated with modern-day Dumfriesshire). It is thought that the Iron Age inhabitants of the Barsalloch Fort site were
5917-413: The construction of tracks and buildings, and all indigenous natural resources are protected. They are generally over 400 km in size. Three Wilderness Areas are currently recognised, all on the West Coast : Adams Wilderness Area, Hooker/Landsborough Wilderness Area and Paparoa Wilderness Area. In the United States, a Wilderness Area is an area of federal land set aside by an act of Congress . It
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#17327826668646014-493: The contrary of Managed Biological reserves (Réserves Biologiques Dirigées, RBD) where a specific management is applied to conserve vulnerable species or threatened habitats. Integral Biological Reserves occurs in French State Forests or City Forests and are therefore managed by the National Forests Office . In such reserves, all harvests coupe are forbidden excepted exotic species elimination or track safety works to avoid fallen tree risk to visitors (already existing tracks in or on
6111-412: The earl of Annandale , received large land grants in Ulster which were only suitable for pasture. In order for their tenants in Ireland to pay rent, an export market had to be created, which was soon sanctioned by the Scottish Privy Council, for Irish cattle to be exported to England via Galloway. Some landowners used the cattle trade in the 17th century as a way to grow their landholdings, as the system of
6208-532: The early centuries AD) was revealed to contain examples of native (i.e. non-Roman) pottery. Certain households in Galloway seem to have taken social prominence later in the Iron Age. Lead items appear; isotope analysis of goods at a number of Iron Age and Roman period sites indicate the Scottish Southern Uplands as a possible ore source for the lead material, though it is unclear how early extraction of lead could have taken place in Galloway specifically. Metallurgical testing done on three lead beads recovered from
6305-420: The earth and animals and plants were created by a Christian God for human use, then the cultivation by colonists was their God-given goal. However, the idea that what European colonists saw upon arriving in North America was pristine and devoid of humans is untrue due to the existence of Native Americans. The land was shaped by Native Americans through practices such as fires. Burning happened frequently and in
6402-486: The edge of the reserve). At the end of 2014, there were 60 Integral Biological Reserves in French State Forests for a total area of 111,082 hectares and 10 in City Forests for a total of 2,835 hectares. In Greece there are some parks called "ethniki drimoi" (εθνικοί δρυμοί, national forests) that are under protection of the Greek government. Such parks include Olympus , Parnassos and Parnitha National Parks. There are seven Wilderness Areas in New Zealand as defined by
6499-427: The eyes of a bird". In the 13th century, Shih Erh Chi recommended avoiding painting "scenes lacking any places made inaccessible by nature". For most of human history , the greater part of Earth's terrain was wilderness, and human attention was concentrated on settled areas. The first known laws to protect parts of nature date back to the Babylonian Empire and Chinese Empire. Ashoka , the Great Mauryan King, defined
6596-405: The festival, more than half of which were from outside Dumfries and Galloway. A report commissioned by the Wigtown Festival Company in 2013 estimated that the festival contributed £2 million to the regional economy each year. This was three times higher than that estimated by a similar study in 2008. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the festival was held entirely online. It resumed as
6693-481: The first laws in the world to protect flora and fauna in Edicts of Ashoka around the 3rd century B.C. In the Middle Ages , the Kings of England initiated one of the world's first conscious efforts to protect natural areas. They were motivated by a desire to be able to hunt wild animals in private hunting preserves rather than a desire to protect wilderness. Nevertheless, in order to have animals to hunt they would have to protect wildlife from subsistence hunting and
6790-455: The former was Gifford Pinchot , first Chief of the United States Forest Service, and they focused on the proper use of nature, whereas the preservationists sought the protection of nature from use. Put another way, conservation sought to regulate human use while preservation sought to eliminate human impact altogether. The management of US public lands during the years 1960s and 70s reflected these dual visions, with conservationists dominating
6887-420: The good arable land , although there is also some arable land on the coast. Generally however the landscape is rugged and much of the soil is shallow. The generally south slope and southern coast make for mild and wet climate, and there is a great deal of good pasture. The northern part of Galloway is exceedingly rugged and forms the largest remaining wilderness in Britain south of the Highlands . This area
6984-459: The government supports bargains of land that will then be designated as wilderness by 10 Mio. Euro annually. The German minimum size for wilderness candidate sites is normally 10 km . In some cases (i.e. swamps) the minimum size is 5 km . There are twelve wilderness areas in the Sami native region in northern Finnish Lapland . They are intended both to preserve the wilderness character of
7081-453: The hands of the family of its last abbot, Edward Maxwell. Following the death of the pre-Reformation Bishop of Galloway in 1575, there were disputes over who would be bishop, and the seat was vacant for a considerable period of time in the late 16th century due to opposition to episcopacy in Scotland. The Anglo-Scottish Union of the Crowns took place in 1603, leading to the supremacy of
7178-407: The idea that before settlers came, the US was an uninhabited landscape. This erases the reality of Native Americans, and their relationship with the land and the role they had in shaping the landscape. Such erasure suggests there were areas of the US which were historically unoccupied, once again erasing the existence of Native Americans and their relationship to the land. In the case of Yellowstone,
7275-665: The influx of the Norse into the Irish Sea , including settlement in the Isle of Man and in the now English region of western Cumbria immediately south of Galloway. If it had not been for Fergus of Galloway who established himself in Galloway in the mid-twelfth century, the region would rapidly have been absorbed by Scotland. This did not happen because Fergus, his sons, grandsons and great-grandson Alan, Lord of Galloway , shifted their allegiance between Scottish and English kings. During
7372-514: The land from villagers gathering firewood. Similar measures were introduced in other European countries. However, in European cultures, throughout the Middle Ages, wilderness generally was not regarded worth protecting but rather judged strongly negative as a dangerous place and as a moral counter-world to the realm of culture and godly life. "While archaic nature religions oriented themselves towards nature, in medieval Christendom this orientation
7469-472: The land was something colonists did not understand and did not try to understand. This mutually beneficial relationship was different from how colonists viewed the land only in relation to how it could benefit themselves by waging a constant battle to beat the land and other living organisms into submission. The belief colonists had of the land being only something to be used was based in Christian ideas. If
7566-458: The landscape, and land within a national park remains largely in private ownership. Each park is operated by its own national park authority . The United States philosophy around wilderness preservation through National Parks has been attempted in other countries. However, people living in those countries have different ideas surrounding wilderness than people in the United States, thus, the US concept of wilderness can be damaging in other areas of
7663-508: The largest conservation organizations in the world. Early conservationists advocated the creation of a legal mechanism by which boundaries could be set on human activities in order to preserve natural and unique lands for the enjoyment and use of future generations. This profound shift in wilderness thought reached a pinnacle in the US with the passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964, which allowed for parts of U.S. National Forests to be designated as "wilderness preserves". Similar acts, such as
7760-665: The last recorded speaker. In modern times, Stranraer was a major ferry port, but the company have now moved to Cairnryan . Galloway has been the setting of a number of novels, including Walter Scott 's Guy Mannering . Other novels include the historical fiction trilogy by Liz Curtis Higgs, Thorn in My Heart , Fair is the Rose , and Whence Came a Prince . Richard Hannay flees London to lie low in Galloway in John Buchan 's novel The Thirty-nine Steps . Five Red Herrings ,
7857-561: The latter half of the 19th century. Rivers were rafted and mountains were climbed solely for the sake of recreation, not to determine their geographical context. In 1861, following an intense lobbying by artists of the Barbizon school , the French Waters and Forests Military Agency set an "artistic reserve" in Fontainebleau State Forest . With a total of 1,097 hectares, it is thought to be the first nature reserve in
7954-635: The more distinctive Belted Galloway or "Beltie". Galloway comprises the part of Scotland lying southwards from the Southern Upland watershed and westward from the River Nith . Traditionally it has been described as stretching from "the braes of Glenapp to the Nith". The valleys of three rivers, the Urr Water , the Water of Ken and River Dee , and the Cree, all running north–south, provide much of
8051-429: The people." When national parks were established in an area, the Native Americans that had been living there were forcibly removed so visitors to the park could see nature without humans present. National parks are seen as areas untouched by humans, when in reality, humans existed in these spaces, until settler colonists came in and forced them off their lands in order to create the national parks. The concept glorifies
8148-503: The planning of the areas. This situation places the ideal of wilderness above the already existing relationships between people and the land they live on. By placing an imperialistic ideal of nature onto a different country, the desire to reestablish wilderness is being put above the lives of those who live by working the land. By the late 19th century, it had become clear that in many countries wild areas had either disappeared or were in danger of disappearing. This realization gave rise to
8245-471: The railroads advertised travel to "the great wild spaces" of North America. When outdoorsman Teddy Roosevelt became president of the United States, he began to enlarge the U.S. National Parks system, and established the National Forest system. By the 1920s, travel across North America by train to experience the "wilderness" (often viewing it only through windows) had become very popular. This led to
8342-462: The region including The Raiders and Silver Sand . Galloway is also the setting of several memoirs, including Devorgilla Days written by Wigtownshire author Kathleen Hart, an account of life in Wigtown , Scotland's national book town. 55°03′N 4°08′W / 55.050°N 4.133°W / 55.050; -4.133 Wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in
8439-458: The survival of certain species , biodiversity , ecological studies, conservation , solitude and recreation . They may also preserve historic genetic traits and provide habitat for wild flora and fauna that may be difficult to recreate in zoos , arboretums or laboratories . From a visual arts perspective, nature and wildness have been important subjects in various epochs of world history. An early tradition of landscape art occurred in
8536-535: The whole area of the 16 national parks as wilderness. This means, also the managed parts are included in the "existing" 0,6%. There is no doubt, that Germany will miss its own time-dependent quantitative goals, but there are also some critics, that point a bad designation practice: Findings of disturbance ecology, according to which process-based nature conservation and the 2% target could be further qualified by more targeted area designation, pre-treatment and introduction of megaherbivores , are widely neglected. Since 2019
8633-627: The world. Global conservation became an issue at the time of the dissolution of the British Empire in Africa in the late 1940s. The British established great wildlife preserves there. As before, this interest in conservation had an economic motive: in this case, big game hunting . Nevertheless, this led to growing recognition in the 1950s and the early 1960s of the need to protect large spaces for wildlife conservation worldwide. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF), founded in 1961, grew to be one of
8730-551: The world. India is more densely populated and has been settled for a long time. There are complex relationships between agricultural communities and the wilderness. An example of this is the Project Tiger parks in India. By claiming areas as no longer used by humans, the land moves from the hands of poor people to rich people. Having designated tiger reserves is only possible by displacing poor people, who were not involved in
8827-481: Was called, advocated "the efficient utilization of natural resources through the application of science and technology ". Concepts of forest management based on the German approach were applied in other parts of the world, but with varying degrees of success. Over the course of the 19th century wilderness became viewed not as a place to fear but a place to enjoy and protect; hence came the conservation movement in
8924-484: Was considered to be the root of the colonists' problems, so to make the problems go away, wilderness needed to be destroyed. One of the first steps in doing this, is to get rid of trees in order to clear the land. Military metaphors describing the wilderness as the "enemy" were used, and settler expansion was phrased as "[conquering] the wilderness". In relation to the wilderness, Native Americans were viewed as savages . The relationship between Native Americans and
9021-543: Was declared a wildlife refuge on 3 November 1960. In 1966 it was declared a National Natural Landmark and, in 1968, it was given wilderness status. Properties in the swamp had been acquired by a small group of residents of the area, who donated the assembled properties to the federal government as a park for perpetual protection. Today the refuge amounts to 7,600 acres (31 km ) that are within thirty miles of Manhattan . While wilderness designations were originally granted by an Act of Congress for Federal land that retained
9118-490: Was established in 1879. The U.S. concept of national parks soon caught on in Canada , which created Banff National Park in 1885, at the same time as the transcontinental Canadian Pacific Railway was being built. The creation of this and other parks showed a growing appreciation of wild nature, but also an economic reality. The railways wanted to entice people to travel west. Parks such as Banff and Yellowstone gained favor as
9215-503: Was eventually ended with the return of royal forces. The result was a partition of Galloway, serving to fragment it administratively, though some ecclesiastical (the bishopric) and judicial (the office of Justiciar of Galloway ) offices survived further into the High Medieval period and beyond. Alan's eldest daughter, Derbhorgail (Latinized as Dervorguilla), married John de Balliol , and their son (also John ) became one of
9312-570: Was needed to save them. Wilderness preservation is central to deep ecology ; a philosophy that believes in an inherent worth of all living beings, regardless of their instrumental utility to human needs. Two different groups had emerged within the US environmental movement by the early 20th century: the conservationists and the preservationists. The initial consensus among conservationists was split into "utilitarian conservationists" later to be referred to as conservationists, and "aesthetic conservationists" or preservationists. The main representative for
9409-472: Was replaced by one towards divine law. The divine was no longer to be found in nature; instead, uncultivated nature became a site of the sinister and the demonic. It was considered corrupted by the Fall ( natura lapsa ), becoming a vale of tears in which humans were doomed to live out their existence. Thus, for example, mountains were interpreted [e.g, by Thomas Burnet ] as ruins of a once flat earth destroyed by
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