Ecological Restoration: Past, Present, and Future

1. Restoration Ecology Burning South Prairie – April 2003

2. What are we trying to do in our ecological restorations? • “Ecological restoration is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed.” (Society for Ecological Restoration Science and Policy Working Group 2002)

3. Another definition Restoration ecology - the full or partial replacement of biological populations and/or their habitats that have been extinguished or diminished. Ideally the restoration will return normal ecosystem function to an area and hopefully the project will also have social or economic value to humans

4. A (Very) Brief History of Ecological Restoration

6. The Man Who Planted Trees

7. Environmental Restoration in the American West

8. Restoration in London – after the Great Stink of 1858

9. Response to the Great Stink – Improve Drainage and Restore Streams

10. Improved Drainage Following The Great Stink

11. Improving sewage flow in London – an on-going project – Jan. 2011 proposal

12. Restoration in Boston - 1879

13. Back Bay Fens Today

14. Restoration in the Midwest Nachusa Grasslands

15. Aldo Leopold planting at the Shack - 1936

16. CCC crewman planting Curtis Prairie - 1936

17. CCC crew watering Curtis Prairie – late 1930’s

18. Curtis Prairie – planted 1936-40 Greene Prairie – planted 1943-52 University of Wisconsin Arboretum

19. The Founders of Green Oaks – Henry Green, George Ward, Alvah Green, and Paul Shepard - 1955

20. Green Oaks prior to prairie restoration – South Prairie

21. Early prairie establishment at Green Oaks – late 50’s

22. Pete Schramm burning the Prairie – 1980’s

23. Green Oaks from the Air

25. Restoration Projects Can Be Highly Variable

27. 1996 – Montana Wolf Reintroduction Protest

29. Yellowstone Wolf Pack Locations

30. Yellowstone Wolf Prey

31. A more complex and typical restoration project

32. Restoration of a Garbage Dump – Fresh Kills, Staten Island, NY

33. Fresh Kills

34. Fresh Kills Restoration

35. Mine Reclamation – the most difficult restoration project

36. Mine reclamation in progress

37. Mitigation • Mitigation is the alleviation of some process • Mitigation is related to restoration - mitigation is sometimes required when a group wants to develop a wild area such as a wetland and thus destroy the wetland

38. Controversies about Mitigation • Often the success rate for mitigation projects is fairly low • Many ecologists fear that if mitigation is seen to be successful we will allow many development projects to proceed with the assumption we can easily recreate nature - however there is some question as to how well we can actually restore what is lost or destroyed

39. Salt marsh restoration plan in Rhode Island

40. Mitigation of ANWR?

41. 1967 Torrey Canyon Oil spill

43. 1989 – Exxon Valdez oil spill

44. Exxon Valdez oil spill clean efforts

45. Tony Bradshaw

47. Flavors of Reclamation • Reclamation is the general process of repairing damaged ecosystems • Restoration - here we attempt to put back exactly what existed in the ecosystem prior to the disturbance • Rehabilitation - here we attempt to put back most of what existed in the ecosystem prior to the disturbance, but we don't try to put everything back • Replacement - no attempt is made to restore what was lost - here we replace the original ecosystem with another one • Recovery or neglect - here we allow nature to takes it course - depend upon natural processes of seed dispersal and germination to start plants, natural dispersal of animals to repopulate the area • Enhancement - activity designed to improve the ecosystem, even if the change is fairly minimal

48. Walnut Creek NWR – now named Neil Smith NWR

49. Neil Smith National Wildlife Refuge