Large-Scale Ecosystem Restoration: Five Case Studies from the United States

By damageva on Jul 4, 2008 | In General, Water, Land + Water, U.S., Academic Study/Journal Article, South, Florida, California, Natural Resource Damages, Ecosystem Valuation, Book, Cost-Benefit Analysis, Environmental Economics / Ecological Economics, Costs and Benefits, VA,WV,MD,DE | Send feedback »

Link: http://www.islandpress.org/bookstore/details.php?isbn=9781597260268

Over the past thirty years, the concept of science-based, ecosystem-level restoration has gained favor among scientists and policymakers as the most promising approach for returning degraded landscapes and watersheds to health and vitality.

Large-Scale Ecosystem Restoration presents case studies of five of the most noteworthy large-scale restoration projects in the United States: Chesapeake Bay, the Everglades, California Bay Delta, the Platte River Basin, and the Upper Mississippi River System. These projects embody current efforts to address ecosystem restoration in an integrative and dynamic manner, at large spatial scale, involving whole (or even multiple) watersheds, and with complex stakeholder and public roles.

Representing a variety of geographic regions and project structures, the cases shed light on the central controversies that have marked each project, outlining
* the history of the project
* the environmental challenges that generated it
* the difficulties of approaching the project on an ecosystem-wide basis
* organizational structures
* techniques for conflict resolution and consensus building
* the on-going role of science in decisionmaking
* the means of dealing with uncertainties

A concluding chapter offers a guide to assessing the progress of any large-scale restoration project, considering how to judge key factors including funding, setting and meeting goals, the quality of science and its integration in decisionmaking, managing and resolving conflict, and building and maintaining public awareness.

Large-Scale Ecosystem Restoration examines some of the most difficult and important issues involved in restoring and protecting natural systems, and makes a unique and valuable contribution to the field of ecological restoration. It is a landmark publication for scientists, policymakers, and anyone working to protect or restore landscapes or watersheds.

Table Of Contents:

Introduction: The Watershed-Wide, Science-Based Approach to Ecosystem Restoration, Mary Doyle

PART I. The Everglades
1. The Challenges of Restoring the Everglades Ecosystem, Terrence “Rock” Salt, Stuart Langton, and Mary Doyle
2. Everglades Ecology: The Impacts of Altered Hydrology, Thomas L. Crisman
3. Rivers of Plans for the River of Grass: The Political Economy of Everglades Restoration, Stephen Polasky

PART II. The Platte River
4. Negotiating for Endangered and Threatened Species Habitat in the Platte River Basin, David M. Freeman
5. Platte River Basin Ecology: A Three-Dimensional Approach to Adaptive Management, Thomas L. Crisman
6. Navigating the Shoals: Costs and Benefits of Platte River Ecosystem Management, Stephen Polasky

PART III. The California Bay-Delta
7. California’s Delta: The Challenges of Collaboration, David Nawi and Alf W. Brandt
8. The Ecology of Bay-Delta Restoration: An Impossible Dream? Thomas L. Crisman
9. Water Fights: The Economics of Allocating Scarce Water and Bay-Delta Restoration, Stephen Polasky

PART IV. The Chesapeake Bay 171
10. The Culture of Collaboration in the Chesapeake Bay Program, Mary Doyle and Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm
11. An Ecological Perspective on Management of the Chesapeake Bay, Thomas L. Crisman
12. Murky Waters and Murky Policies: Costs and Benefits of Restoring Chesapeake Bay, Stephen Polasky

PART V. The Upper Mississippi River
13. The Upper Mississippi River and the Army Corps of Engineers’ New Role: Will Congress Fund Ecosystem Restoration? Cynthia A. Drew
14. Upper Mississippi Restoration Ecology: Putting Theory into Practice, Thomas L. Crisman
15. Comparing Apples and Oranges? Costs and Benefits of Upper Mississippi River System Restoration, Stephen Polasky

Conclusion: Assessing Ecosystem Restoration Projects, Mary Doyle

by Mary Doyle 1 and Cynthia A. Drew 2`
1. Professor and Co-Director of the Leonard and Jayne Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy at the University of Miami.
2. Associate Professor of Law at the University of Miami School of Law.

Publisher: Island Press www.Islandpress.org
Published July 7, 2008; 344 pages; Paperback: $35.00 also available hardcover
ISBN: 9781597260268
http://www.islandpress.org/bookstore/details.php?isbn=9781597260268