Human history has followed a pattern—which began in Africa but is now global in scope—of exploiting of nature, dwindling resources, and migrating populations. As humankind has expanded its influence over the biosphere, it has also extinguished species and populations at an alarming rate. Despite treaties to reduce biodiversity loss, the trend is likely to continue: nearly 20% of all people—more than a billion—now live within biodiversity hotspots, and their growth rate is faster than the human population at large. This article presents nine steps to reduce biodiversity loss, with a goal of relegating human-caused extinctions to the wrongs of the past. These steps include developing a system of parks that highlight the planet’s biological legacy, much as historical landmarks celebrate human history. Legal prohibitions that are fairly and capably enforced will also be essential in protecting rare and declining species. Biodiversity endowments--from national governments, nongovernmental organizations, and private enterprises—can help support parks and their biodiversity in perpetuity. Like a sports team, the wilderness needs solid defense, but but it also needs to play offense by restoring ecosystems, reclaiming keystone and umbrella species, and making human landscapes more hospitable to biodiversity. In the long run, the most effective forms of conservation will be those that engage local stakeholders; the cultivation of society-sustaining ecosystems and their services must be promoted along with conservation of endangered species and populations. The emerging field of ecological economics can help unite these goals by revealing the connections between human well-being and biodiversity conservation. Further, the promotion of bioliteracy and a scientific approach to conservation that unites evolutionary biology, ecology, natural history, and even economics might help to inspire a cultural transformation that will make human-induced extinctions socially unacceptable.