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Conservation refers to the desire to protect natural resources (including soil, water, and any valuable plants growing) from overuse or destruction. The champion of conservation was Gifford Pinchot, the Chief Forester of the United States and close adviser to Teddy Roosevelt. While conservation planning often resulted in the protection of natural areas, the primary focus of conservation is the protection of valuable natural resources for use in future. The forest is not protected so much for its inherent value as a place for plants and animals as it is grown like a crop of trees that will be cut down when future generations need them for lumber. This is perhaps best represented in the bureaucratic home for the US Forest Service, which is a subsidiary of the Department of Agriculture.

Preservation refers to the desire to protect natural areas from development in order to preserve the characteristics that make them unique and protect the species living there from human interference. When contrasted with conservation, preservation operates from the assumption that humans are simply one species on the planet and that other species have an equal right to exist. If people enter the spaces designated for preservation, they are expected to avoid changing them in any meaningful way. The “wilderness experience” is something to be protected for future generations, and as a result the protected land is managed.