In recent years, local participation has come increasingly to the forefront of the strategies, language, and practices adopted by conservation organisations in the United Kingdom. In this paper I explore what impact the process of participation is having in reshaping conceptions of conservation and the countryside. Based on empirical research in Southeast England, I argue that participation may reveal a new, but contradictory, arena of conservation concern centred on the relevance of place. In laying claim to its own knowledge, language, and values, this concern for place provides a legitimate authority for local people to challenge outside representations of their space. As a result, I suggest that the practice of participation may be bringing about a retreat from the national vision of traditional conservation and a fragmentation of conservation ideas.
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