Large-Scale Ecosystem Restoration presents case studies of five of the most noteworthy large-scale restoration projects in the United States: Chesapeake Bay, the Everglades, California Bay Delta, the Platte River Basin, and the Upper Mississippi River System. These projects embody current efforts to address ecosystem restoration in an integrative and dynamic manner, at large spatial scale, involving whole (or even multiple) watersheds, and with complex stakeholder and public roles.
Representing a variety of geographic regions and project structures, the cases shed light on the central controversies that have marked each project, outlining
• the history of the project
• the environmental challenges that generated it
• the difficulties of approaching the project on an ecosystem-wide basis
• techniques for conflict resolution and consensus building
• the ongoing role of science in decision making
• the means of dealing with uncertainties
A concluding chapter offers a guide to assessing the progress of largescale restoration projects.
Large-Scale Ecosystem Restoration examines some of the most difficult and important issues involved in restoring and protecting natural systems. It is a landmark publication for scientists, policymakers, and anyone working to protect or restore landscapes or watersheds.
"Managing and preserving ecosystems has generally proceeded piecemeal, with environmentalists focusing on one species or area. Doyle (ecosystem science, University of Miami) and Drew (law, University of Miami) address the problem in all its complexity...This is a practical guide...a book that legislators, industrialists and all concerned citizens would profit from." "The authors have achieved a great deal in their clarity of analysis. They provide an excellent model for case studies of this kind through identification of the key dimensions which must be assessed and the key inter-related elements which shape the success or failure of any project...This is indeed a valuable book for anyone who wants to be a stakeholder, actor, analyst or perceptive observer in any major complex action program." "Suitable for consultants, soil scientists, ecologists, biologists, economists, lawyers, and those interested in difficulties with restoring ecosystems and the balance between natural and human worlds." "This book is the latest in the highly praised Science and Practice of Ecological Restoration series, which offers a foundation of practical knowledge and scientific insight that will also help ecological restoration become a powerful healing tool." "Broad-scale ecosystem restoration efforts involve a very complex set of ecological and societal components, and the success of any ecosystem restoration project rests on an integrated approach to implementation. Editors Mary Doyle and Cynthia Drew have successfully synthesized many of these factors in this comprehensive volume."
