The ideal of a balance of nature is based on a view of the natural world that is largely an artifact created by the temporal, spatial, and cultural filters through which humans respond to the natural world. For a variety of reasons we have interpreted the natural course of events in the world around us to maintain equilibrium, and seek to return it to equilibrium when disturbed.

There are three components to nature's balance: ecological, evolutionary, and population. In an ecological sense, communities were thought to proceed through successional stages to a steady state climax. When disturbed, the community would return to that climax state. Stability was an endpoint, and once reached the community became a partly closed homeostatic system. In an evolutionary sense, the current compliment of species is interpreted as the ultimate product of evolution, rather than a temporary expression of a...