Perspectives on Ecological Restoration:
Problems and Progress in Implementation and Monitoring
A collection of surveys from restoration
professionals working
in three contexts-- the government, academia, and private organizations
Introduction
The purpose of this project is to present how people use ecological restoration in their jobs today. It is a compilation of information from interviews of professionals who, in some degree, are involved in restoration project planning or implementation. These interviews were conducted from September through December, 1999. Most of the restoration projects described occur in Georgia or nearby Southeastern U.S. regions. The inteview questions were composed to find out about:
-- Challenges that must be faced when implementing restoration
-- Ways in which each job requires interaction with people who are not scientists
-- Ways in which restoration can be used as a tool to address ecological questions
-- How the projects are monitored after restoration has begun
-- The most pressing needs for research to make ecological restoration more efficient
I did this project to find out about different types of careers that involve ecological restoration, and to learn about problems that need to be solved for improving restoration in the future. It is my intention that this document can serve others who are interested in this field and have some background in ecology research, by summarizing potential job avenues, explaining work that needs to be done to improve restoration, and by providing potential contacts of people established in the field.
Each interview is unique. There are a variety of reasons for which ecological restoration is used; therefore the goals and challenges of each job differ. The interviews presented here are organized by three general contexts in which restoration is performed: within the government, in a research university, and for private organizations. Within each context there are further subtleties that influence the manner in which restoration is carried out.
Choose topics and jobs that interest you the most. Each document
is available in HTML format, which is best for viewing as a website,
and in PDF format, which is best for printing.
Within the documents, specialized terms are often highlighted in bold print. These terms are either in the glossary, or described in detail in one of the background pages below. Click on these words if you would like to read their definitions.
Click below to read about people who work in ecological restoration in the:
Click below for background information on the following topics:
Wetlands Mitigation
Stream Restoration
Glossary of Terms
General Project Conclusions