ABSTRACT
Invasive species like yellow star thistle represent vexing challenges for resource managers and others concerned with biodiversity loss. However, in-depth analyses of the ecological and social conditions in which invasive species thrive offer vital opportunities to engage in understanding the very nature of ‘nature’, and how people are, and always have been, part of shaping nature. Reckoning with the concept of wilderness and the ways in which its history is founded on the erasure of Indigenous people and their stewardship of landscapes, offers a more nuanced and ecologically relevant understanding of how ‘nature’ works. By understanding the historic and potential roles of people as purposeful and conscientious resource stewards, we can begin to chart a course towards responsible and adaptive landscape management with the essential goal of increasing biodiversity and resilience as the effects of climate change continue to intensify.
