Restoring Nature in Protected Areas

Abstract

In the literature, there is no standard account of ecological restoration. According to the more traditional view, ecological restoration is the attempt to return a damaged ecosystem to some historic state. In this article, I will examine United States federal agency policies concerning restoration within national parks, wilderness, and other protected areas. I will also examine actual restoration projects in these areas. I will argue that ecological restoration within protected areas is not, and should not be, conceived as an attempt to return an ecosystem to the past. Also, restoration in these areas should not be conceived in open-ended ways recently advocated by restoration experts, as “aiming at the repair of damage,” for example, or as the creation of “emerging ecosystems.” As will be discussed, “ecological restoration” within protected areas should be understood as returning a damaged ecosystem to a close approximation of its natural conditions and processes. A restored ecosystem within these areas must closely mimic natural, not historic, conditions.