I came into this course thinking it would be about the hard science of restoration ecology. Once I showed up I was surprised to see how many conversations and readings were on ethics, philosophy, and values. One of the biggest moral dilemmas was the idea of national parks. While visiting Yellowstone National Park I saw herds of bison, deer, wolves, and natural beauty like no other. Yellowstone is an ethereal landscape that protects rare species of plants and animals. Before this course I thought that parks like this were unequivocally a good thing. As I’ve learned recently, it’s not so cut and dry. Many of America’s national parks were stolen from Indigenous nations with bloody battles and broken treaties. These parks, many of which had been cared for and protected by Native tribes for centuries, are now protected as frozen snapshots of an idealized ancient America and managed according to human ideas of what they should be like. Instead of being the last frontiers of untouched American wilderness, national parks are trammeled and carefully controlled for human enjoyment.
That’s not to say that they aren’t incredible places though. The complex history and human use can’t take away from the fact that these are beautiful, breathtaking places filled with immense biodiversity, endangered species, and landscapes close to what they used to be. This duality is what makes the issue so nuanced and what really sparked my interest in this course. It’s not just about protecting landscapes, it’s about weighing all possibilities, discussing, and trying to find the best course of action.
When restoring natural systems, there is never one “correct” choice. We didn’t come up with any definite solutions in this course, but we looked at all sides of issues and tried to learn about the impacts of any actions that were taken. Far from being a purely scientific restoration course, this class covered philosophical, conservation-based, and Native perspectives. I’m coming out of it with a much broader idea of what restoration can be and a much more considerate mindset about actions on landscapes. There is no one right way to manage national parks or other natural areas, but the first step is to understand the situation and try to make the most equitable actions that take into account all sides of the situation. If this is done carefully and considerately, restoration can have an immense positive impact on the world.
