ENV 217: Essay #3 Exploring the ethics of restoration This last individual essay assignment is meant to inspire you

to reflect on the practice of ecological restoration and what it may offer to us in the future as we manage our natural resources. To prepare for this assignment, please consider the following questions: What role will ecological restoration play in the next 100 years? Do you see the potential impacts of global climate change as creating more opportunity for restoration? Is there a danger in restoration leaving us with ecosystems that are engineered by humans instead of produced and maintained by nature? When should we call a restoration project a true ecological success? In 750 words (or less) outline an ethical challenge for restoration ecologists and practitioners to consider. You do not need to provide an answer or an argument for how to address the challenge. Instead, your goal is to identify this challenge and convince your reader that it is serious enough to warrant further conversation. For example, Ive told you about the stream restoration that my father participated in the beautiful sinuous stream along the golf course in Cleveland, OH. I dont think that stream qualifies as nature and I have a big problem calling it a restoration site. However, given the constraints of the highly urbanized area, funding, and knowledge about how to do it better, this may be as good as it gets. The question, for me, is: should we be doing this in the first place? Is this the future of urban ecology? I would write my essay so that these thoughts were threaded together into a contemplative essay that asked my readers to consider these questions for themselves. I dont suppose it would be easy (actually, I know this is the case) but I think it will provide an opportunity for reflection on the body of work weve been considering this semester. Essays will be workshopped in class on Wednesday, November 28. Please bring 3 copies or send to your team members prior to class. I will also provide comments on this draft. Final drafts due to Sakai on Wednesday, December 5 by class time.