Making amends: ecological restoration in the United States.

Restoring an ecosystem to its preindustrial state can be very difficult or impossible. The great majority of restoration projects put a high priority on the biological requirements of endangered species, often drawing ecologists into volatile political controversies over the rights of humans versus those of wildlife. Meanwhile, resource managers struggle to gain enough information about historical ecosystems to reconstruct them successfully. There are often difficult judgment calls when scientists try to redesign a system that has been degraded over many generations, and it's often confusing to decide which period of history to restore an ecosystem to. In addition, modern industrialized society continues to place extensive demands upon already-stressed, degraded ecosystems. Restoration projects in the Florida Everglades, Pacific Northwest riverine systems, and forests in the Southeast illustrate the challenges associated with ecological restoration.