Restoration Ecology

Burning South Prairie – April 2003

A 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

A (Very) Brief History of Ecological Restoration

The Man Who Planted Trees

Environmental Restoration in the American West

Restoration in London – after the Great Stink of 1858

Response to the Great Stink – Improve Drainage and Restore Streams

Improved Drainage Following The Great Stink

Restoration in Boston - 1879

Back Bay Fens Today

Restoration in the Midwest

Nachusa Grasslands

Aldo Leopold planting at the Shack - 1936

CCC crewman planting Curtis Prairie - 1936

CCC crew watering Curtis Prairie – late 1930’s

University of Wisconsin Arboretum

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

Green Oaks prior to prairie restoration – South Prairie

Early prairie establishment at Green Oaks – late 50’s

Pete Schrammburning thePrairie – 1980’s

Green Oaks from the Air

Restoration Projects Can Be Highly Variable

1996 – Montana Wolf Reintroduction Protest

Yellowstone Wolf Pack Locations

Yellowstone Wolf Prey

A more complexand typicalrestoration

project

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

Fresh Kills

Fresh Kills Restoration

Mine Reclamation – the most difficult restoration project

Mine reclamation in progress

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

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

Salt marsh restoration plan in Rhode Island

Mitigation of ANWR?

1967 Torrey Canyon Oil spill

1989 – Exxon Valdez oil spill

Exxon Valdez oil spill clean efforts

Tony Bradshaw

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

Walnut Creek NWR – now named Neil Smith NWR

Neil SmithNationalWildlifeRefuge

Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie

Nachusa Grasslands

Reintroduction of Animals

• Only 16 of 145 reintroductions of captive bred individuals have been successful

• 86% of reintroductions of native game animals have been successful

• 46% of reintroductions of native threatened, endangered or sensitive animals have been successful

Przewalski’sHorse

Przewalski’s Horse

Przewalski’s horse reserves – Mongolia and Uzbekistan

When reintroducing animals, we have learned that:

1. larger founder populations are more successful

2. habitat suitability is important

3. increased number and sizes of clutches (litters) enhances success of establishment

4. herbivores are more successfully established than carnivores

5. competing species in an area may prevent successful establishment

Six basic steps for restoring an ecosystem

1. Set a goal

2. Determine a strategy and methods

3. Remove the source of degradation

4. Restore the physical environment

5. Restore the biota

6. Be patient – restoration takes time

Always Remember:

• As Frank Egler said, “Ecosystems are not only more complex than we think, ecosystems are more complex than we can think.”