The Value of Ecological Restoration David Cordray January 19, 2019
Mount Denali (formally Mt. McKinley) Alaska
1990 Denali Climb
Stormy Denali
Self Arrest
Vision of a Beautiful Land
Filling the Landscape with Color
Working Side by Side
What is Ecological Restoration? Ecological awareness that motivates individuals to positively interact with their natural environment. This can be as simple as planting native species around your house to restoring a complete prairie ecosystem.
What is the Value of Ecological Restoration? Protects our food supply chain Protects natural resource industries Enhances outdoor recreation Preserves endangered ecosystems Enhances the earth s biodiversity Enables a connection between people and their natural world Facilitates deeper relationships among people working in nature Deepens spiritual health and cultural identity Enhances ecological services such as clean air and clean water Improves physical health & emotional well-being
What is the Value of Ecological Restoration In the process of ecological restoration: We strive for ecosystem health Our work benefits others We influence a greater ecological awareness
What is Ecological Restoration? blue flag iris
What is Ecological Restoration? New Jersey tea
What is Ecological Restoration?
My Journey to Ecological Awareness
My Journey Child Discovery touching nature
My Journey Child Discovery touching nature
My Journey Child Discovery touching nature
My Journey Child Discovery touching nature
My Journey Child Discovery touching nature
My Journey Child Discovery touching nature
My Journey Creating Superior Wildlife Habitat
My Journey Creating Superior Wildlife Habitat crown vetch
My Journey Creating Superior Wildlife Habitat autumn olive
My Journey Creating Superior Wildlife Habitat multiflora rose
My Journey Exploring Wilderness
My Journey Exploring Wilderness with Debra
My Journey Science the big picture
My Journey Science the big picture (servo systems)
My Journey Science the big picture (GOES-8)
My Journey Science the big picture (Suomi NPP)
My Journey Science the big picture
My Journey Tying it all together living the vision
Why do we strive for Ecosystem health? Good guy Bad guy
Stick-tight weed (Hackelia) Why do we strive for Ecosystem health?
Why do we strive for Ecosystem health?
Why do we strive for Ecosystem health?
Why do we strive for Ecosystem health?
Why do we strive for Ecosystem health?
Why do we strive for Ecosystem health?
Why do we strive for Ecosystem health? If we hadn t started when we did, we would have nothing to look at today. ~ Wisconsin Landowner
Why do we strive for Ecosystem health? brook trout
Why do we strive for Ecosystem health? Henslow s sparrow upland sandpiper
Why do we strive for Ecosystem health?
Why do we strive for Ecosystem health? purple milkweed rusty-patched bumble bee
Why do we strive for Ecosystem health? High Cliff State Park
Why do we strive for Ecosystem health? This guy is a nut case!
Why do we strive for Ecosystem health? Why does one man see his land as an extension of his family & another sees it only as property? How does one come to view land through an ecological lens rather than just an economic one? What motivates a person to invest resources into ecological restoration? Does ecological restoration provide value to all of us?
Why do we strive for Ecosystem health? wild columbine reemerges after buckthorn removal
Why do we strive for Ecosystem health? Nostalgia a sense of loss; we ll never see what the first settlers described 1832 Original Survey Notes
Why do we strive for Ecosystem health? A desire to return family lands back to what they were when I was a child Historic 1937 Aerial Photo
Why do we strive for Ecosystem health? Witnessing ecological erosion over a lifetime, and the desire to preserve some natural heritage for future generations
Why do we strive for Ecosystem health? Recognizing the privilege of land ownership and the sense of responsibility of being a good land steward
Why do we strive for Ecosystem health? An early account of the Wisconsin Landscape The natural resources of Wisconsin are almost unlimited and nothing is wanted but the hand of cultivation to make it the garden of the world. The general face of the country is beautiful in the extreme In traveling over Wisconsin, one cannot but admire the scenery even when no traces of cultivation are visible. There is a softness and beauty in the landscape which is indescribable and which the hand of art will fail to improve. ~ Albert G. Tuttle, 1847
Why do we strive for Ecosystem health? An early account of the Wisconsin Landscape I had heard of oak openings but I did not suppose they were pleasant groves, beautiful beyond description. I have made several hunting excursions on foot and have been at such times 6 or 7 miles from Madison and many times when all alone have exclaimed, What a splendid country is this! The groves in this state of wildness have all the attractions of the choicest and carefully dressed ones of the east. I have seen many not a whit inferior in beauty to Hillhouse s at New Haven. The fires do the clearing away of whatever brush or shrubs appear from year to year. ~ Albert G. Tuttle, 1847
Why do we strive for Ecosystem health? Survey results of landowners Landowner responses touched on all of the why restore categories listed previously Not one why restore category Nearly all landowners cited two why restore categories 1. Good land stewardship 2. Preserving natural heritage for future generations
Why do we strive for Ecosystem health? Survey results of landowners In the beginning we were not serious about the restoration process, but when we saw how the plants and animals responded to our efforts, we began to see we had a responsibility to save what is remaining. ~Wisconsin landowner
Why do we strive for Ecosystem health? Ecological restoration defines who we are It acknowledges people and nature are one
Why do we strive for Ecosystem health? Connections with people and nature are all that lasts Caring for the land allows us to connect to the world
Why do we strive for Ecosystem health? Giving back to the land satisfies the basic need to be needed Today, the land needs us
Why do we strive for Ecosystem health? The real value of ecological restoration We restore to correct the ecological ignorance of our past. Not to place blame on our predecessors, but to embrace and celebrate what we have learned, and to demonstrate our greatest human strengths of discovery, creativity and love. ~ Environmental Returns blog, Feb. 9, 2017
Our work benefits others - Ecological Services Purification of air and water
Our work benefits others - Ecological Services Maintenance of biodiversity
Our work benefits others - Ecological Services Soil and vegetation renewal
Our work benefits others - Ecological Services Pollination of crops and natural vegetation
Our work benefits others - Ecological Services Ground water recharge through wetlands turtlehead cardinal flower
Our work benefits others - Ecological Services Genetic resources wild hyacinth - endangered
Our work benefits others - Ecological Services Outdoor recreation
Our work benefits others - Ecological Services Spiritual health & cultural identity
Our work benefits others - Ecological Services Aesthetically pleasing landscapes
Give and seek support from like-minded people
Give and seek support from like-minded people
Give and seek support from like-minded people
Give and seek support from like-minded people coal rolling
Give and seek support from like-minded people
Give and seek support from like-minded people Many landowners engaged in ecological restoration find themselves isolated and alone in their efforts to promote biodiversity They just keep coming Buckthorn Gates of Hell
Give and seek support from like-minded people Self-doubt will find a way to creep in increasing the importance of having a social network of support
Be tolerant of your peers views and priorities Insects die with fire! Plants need fire! I really don t know Fire kills mushrooms!
Influence - Build an industry Legal land Protection Landowners Conservation Groups Public Outreach Education Restoration Contractors Marketing Funding Sources Land Trusts Native Nurseries
Influence - Build an industry Lawn care industry example
Influence - Build an industry Lawn care industry example
Influence - Build an industry Lawn care industry example
Influence - Build an industry Lawn care industry example
Influence - Build an industry Lawn care industry example
Influence - Build an industry Benefits Lawn Care Employment Exercise Places to play/walk Mental escape Aesthetics Ecological Restoration Employment Exercise Places to play/walk Mental escape Aesthetics Natural heritage Cleaner water Cleaner air Healthier soil Increased biodiversity Ecological awareness A balanced life
Recognize & Accept - we each have our own ways to contribute Bob is our saw ninja Bill is our marketing guru Sue is our plant expert Kathy is our investment wizard Paul and Mary are our scientists
Make it a priority to work with young enthusiasts
Support conservation organizations
Support conservation organizations Somme Preserve
Support conservation organizations Somme Preserve
Support conservation organizations Somme Preserve
Have empathy & patience for ecological ignorance We live in an ecologically ignorant society We mature in our understanding Allow others to develop ecological awareness at their own speed Demonstrate your ecological knowledge when opportunities arise Stand firm, but be gentle
Have empathy & patience for ecological ignorance Debra
Have empathy & patience for ecological ignorance
Have empathy & patience for ecological ignorance
Have empathy & patience for ecological ignorance
Have empathy & patience for ecological ignorance
The Tale of a Badger
The Tale of a Badger
The Tale of a Badger
The Tale of a Badger
The Tale of a Badger
The Tale of a Badger