ABSTRACT
The overriding challenge for coastal wetland restoration is to conserve and sustain biodiversity and ecosystem functions. As of December 1999, we cannot guarantee that our efforts to manage coastal wetlands will have this desired effect. The status of the art and science of restoration is rudimentary, relative to the diversity and complexity of wetland ecosystems. At the same time, there is enormous promise that research and adaptive restoration approaches will rise to meet the challenge.
