Paper short abstract:

The paper discusses Swiss Wolf Management as an exemplary phenomenon in which different concepts of "wilderness" are being mediated between various actors and interest groups. As a result of this new dimension of urban-rural dynamics, the role and character of Swiss alpine spaces are re-negotiated.

Paper long abstract:

"You're dead if you hit 26." Italian wolf biologist Luigi Boitani's comment from a wolf's perspective refers to the surpassing of the maximum amount of sheep kills wolves are "allowed" within the Swiss national Wolf Management concept. The quote shows the beaurocratic - and also extremely pragmatic - nature of the official ways of dealing with wolves and the changes they create concerning the long-standing relationshionship between Swiss people and their "natural" environment. It also shows a slightly ironic and distanced stance, which seems to reflect the objectivist attitude many scientists adopt towards the politically motivated pragmatism of state wolf management. Add to this idealistic notions of eco-preservative wolf activists and first-hand experiential perspectives of sheep owners, and you have a large spectrum of very different approaches to what "nature" or "wilderness" is and should or should not be, and to the question as to how to deal with it and place it in a positive relation to yet another complex construct: society.

This paper outlines the main sets of knowledges and positions regarding concepts of "wilderness" and "nature" within the context of Swiss Wolf Management and links them to questions about the role and character of Swiss alpine spaces and the new dimensions of urban-rural dynamics. It gives a rough overview on the author's first attempt to make out certain assemblages and to bring a bit of order in this complex and higly emotionalized research field.