ABSTRACT
Reversing the declines will require making whole watershed restoration the organizing principle for water resources management, placing increasing demands on the still developing science of restoration ecology. Restoration means redesign of landscapes around engineering and regulatory decisions, decisions that must be informed by insights from restoration ecology. Adaptive management recognizes the limitations of current knowledge and data as guides to decision making and makes knowledge creation an objective of restoration. Financial outlays for restoration can be very expensive, especially where fills, dams, or channels are to be modified or removed. Public policies can encourage choices that use natural resources in ways that are detrimental to restoration and would not meet a market test of feasibility. Wetlands programs that serve the higher purpose of restoration must be developed within a watershed context. The concept can be expanded to incorporate wetlands restoration.
