ABSTRACT
Introduction ....................................................................................................................................206 Restoration: Intervention or Interaction? .......................................................................................207 Benefits of Participatory Ecological Restoration ...........................................................................209 Measuring Restoration Success ..................................................................................................... 211 Restoration Practice and Salmon Recovery ................................................................................... 212 Totem Salmon Model ..................................................................................................................... 214 Participatory Restoration: Striving Toward Healthy Community ................................................. 216 Mattole Watershed ......................................................................................................................... 216 The Applegate Watershed .............................................................................................................. 218 Willapa Bay Alliance .....................................................................................................................220 Tools and Guidelines for Participatory Ecological Restoration .................................................... 222 Monitoring and Adaptive Programming .......................................................................................223 Salmon Community: Benefits of Restoring Lost Connectivity .....................................................224 An Expanded View: Partnering with Nature .................................................................................224 Ethics, Relationship, and Ecological Identity ................................................................................227 Community-Building: Negotiating Relations with Each Other in the Environment ..................... 229 Literature Cited .............................................................................................................................. 232
New models and creative strategies are urgently needed to reverse, repair, and prevent further depletion of life-sustaining natural systems, as well as to promote healthier interactions between humans and land. Ecological restoration has emerged in recent decades as a promising intervention in a range of settings. As it is currently framed, however, restoration generally focuses on the scientific and political parameters of a specific project but rarely considers broader social needs and benefits in the course of structuring, monitoring, and evaluating restorative processes and outcomes. Furthermore, restoration is often implemented on a project-by-project basis, rather than cast within a larger community or regional visioning process. A regenerative strategy that addresses both the intrinsic social and environmental complexities of a given community is crucial, particularly in urban settings where natural systems are marginalized or where city residents are disconnected from the myriad benefits of nature.
