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Book Description Contents
Book Description

Ecological restoration is an inherently challenging endeavor. Not only is its underlying science still developing, but the concept itself raises complex questions about nature, culture, and the role of humans in the landscape.

Using a recent controversy over ecological restoration efforts in Chicago as a touchstone for discussion, Restoring Nature explores the difficult questions that arise during the planning and implementation of restoration projects in urban and wildland settings. Contributors examine:

  • moral and ethical questions regarding the practice of restoration
  • conflicts over how nature is defined and who should be included in decisions about restoration and management
  • how managers can make restoration projects succeed given the various constraints and considerations that need to be taken into account

Using diverse examples from projects across the U.S., the book suggests ways in which restoration conflicts might be resolved, and provides examples of stewardship that show how volunteers and local residents can help make and maintain restored environments. Throughout, contributors set forth a wealth of ideas, case studies, methodological approaches, and disciplinary perspectives that shed valuable light on the social underpinnings of ecological restoration and natural resource management.

Restoring Nature is an intriguing exploration of human-nature interactions, of differing values and understanding of nature, and of how that information can be effectively used to guide science and policy. It provides new conceptual insights and practical solutions for anyone working to manage or restore natural ecosystems.

Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction: Restoring Nature: Human Actions, Interactions, and Reactions \ Paul H. Gobster
 
PART I. Philosophy and Rationale of Restoration
Chapter 1. Restoration, Community, and Wilderness \ William R. Jordan III
Chapter 2. Another Look at Restoration: Technology and Artificial Nature \ Eric Katz
Chapter 3. Ecological Restoration and the Culture of Nature: A Pragmatic Perspective \ Andrew Light
Chapter 4. Restoring Nature in American Culture: An Environmental Aesthetic Perspective \ Cheryl Foster
 
PART II. Conflict over Which Nature to Restore
Chapter 5. The Language of Nature Matters: We Need a More Public Ecology \ R. Brnce Hull and David P. Robertson
Chpater 6. Constructing Nature as Constructing Science: Expertise, Activist Science, and Public Conflict in the Chicago Wilderness \ Reid M. Helford
Chapter 7. Public Values, Opinions, and Emotions in Restoration Controversies \ Joanne Vining, Elizabeth Tyler, and Byoung-Suk Kweon
Chapter 8. Restoration, the Value of Participation, and the Risks of Professionalization \ Andrew Light
 
PART III. Making Restoration Happen: Process and Implementation
Chapter 9. Negotiating Nature: Making Restoration Happen in an Urban Park Context \ Paul H. Gobster and Susan C. Barro
Chapter 10. A People-Centered Approach to Designing and Managing Restoration Projects: Insights from Understanding Attachment to Urban Natural Areas \ Robert L. Ryan
Chapter 11. Managing Naturalness as a Continuum: Setting Limits of Acceptable Change \ Mark W Brunson
 
PART IV. Making and Maintaining Restored Environments
Chapter 12. The Restoration Experience: Volunteers' Motives, Values, and Concepts of Nature \ Herbert W Schroeder
Chapter 13. Psychological Benefits of Volunteering in Stewardship Programs \ Robert E. Grese, Rachel Kaplan, Robert L. Ryan, and Jane Buxton
Chapter 14. Lessons for Restoration in the Traditions of Stewardship: Sustainable Land Management in Northern New Mexico \ Carol Raish
Conclusion: Which Nature? \ R. Bruce Hull and David P. Robertson
 
Contributors
Index

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