Ecological restoration is impossible
Why on earth would an ecologist, much less one employed by the Ecological Society of America, say such a thing? Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of papers and books have been devoted to the subject, not to mention numerous meetings and at least one professional society (the Society for Ecological Restoration International, a partner in ESA’s 2002 and 2007 annual meetings.) The phrase “ecological restoration†generates 772,000 hits on Google, the phrase “ecological restoration is impossible†six. So this would appear to be a minority opinion. But perhaps some explication will produce broader agreement than the current three-quarter million to one ratio would imply.