A new place for stories in conservation

Michael Soule writes in his foundational article "What is Conservation Biology?" that "in crisis disciplines, one must act before knowing all the facts; crisis disciplines are thus a mixture of science and art, and their pursuit requires intuition as well as information." Since this article was published three decades ago, conservation biology has largely focused its energies on formalizing and memorializing its scientific findings. There is no doubt this empirical turn has developed vital methods and tools, enabled links between science and policy, and fortified the discipline's credibility within the broader biological sciences. Nevertheless, Soule's intuition that conservation biology requires a kinship with art, and particularly with storytelling, remains essential to the discipline-particularly in an information environment saturated by generative artificial intelligence-in at least three important ways. First, as a crisis discipline, conservation biology remains firmly attached to questions of not only valuation but also value, which have always relied on stories and myth for expression and enrichment. Second, conservationists continue to find that stories are at least as effective as logic in communicating results and precipitating action. Fortunately, conservation science lends itself to narrative arcs by demonstrating evidence of change. Revelations of the degradation and restoration of biological diversity rhyme with myths of loss and redemption and create important roles for storytelling in conservation projects. Third, as the conservation tent continues to expand beyond understanding what humans have done to understanding why, there is an increasingly pressing need to listen to the stories that accompany human behavior. Conservation continues to thrive as an empirical discipline. Embracing the opportunities and obligations of storytelling will allow conservation to engage even more deeply with a complex world.