Three examples of future-oriented reasoning in conservation. Clockwise from left: an editorial cartoon (c. 1930) by Ding Darling, the first director of the U.S. Biological Survey. The logo from the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, an effort to “inventory” the ecosystem resources and services of the world and then evaluate the consequences of ecosystem change in terms of scenarios. A schematic diagram illustrating a criterion framework for conservation prioritization from a landmark paper by Margules & Pressey.© Ding Darling Foundation