Making Nature Whole: A History of Ecological Restoration

by William R. Jordan III, George M. Lubick, William R. Jordan III

Making Nature Whole is a seminal volume that presents an in-depth history of the field of ecological restoration as it has developed in the United States over the last three decades. The authors draw from both published and unpublished sources, including archival materials and oral histories from early practitioners, to explore the development of the field and its importance to environmental management as well as to the larger environmental movement and our understanding of the world. Considering antecedents as varied as monastic gardens, the Scientific Revolution, and the emerging nature-awareness of nineteenth-century Romantics and Transcendentalists, Jordan and Lubick offer unique insight into the field's philosophical and theoretical underpinnings. They examine specifically the more recent history, including the story of those who first attempted to recreate natural ecosystems early in the 20th century, as well as those who over the past few decades have realized the value of this approach not only as a critical element in conservation but also as a context for negotiating the ever-changing relationship between humans and the natural environment. Making Nature Whole is a landmark contribution, providing context and history regarding a distinctive form of land management and giving readers a fascinating overview of the development of the field. It is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding where ecological restoration came from or where it might be going.

Genres: Ecology, Nonfiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published July 26, 2011

Reviews

[JC]

I found the first few chapters most interesting, especially the section that explored the intersection of theological and religious history with ecological restoration. There were interesting comments in passing about St. Ambrose, Gregory of Nyssa, the Benedictines, St Francis, Anselm and so on. There were also some useful sections on Aldo Leopold, and a helpful contextualization regarding his notion of land as “a community to which we belong.”

There were some useful overview sections on important academic contributors to ecological restoration such as Eric Higgs, who I also read for comps.

I ultimately disagreed with a good portion of this book however, especially its dichotomy between ecocentric restoration as an altruistic orientation and utilitarian restoration as more self-interested. It ultimately lacks an adequate accounting of global inequality. I think an excellent counterpoint to this is Rob Nixon’s chapter in the book Curating the Future, because it takes seriously the heterogeneity of human interests. Humans obviously do not act as a homogenous actor (and this is his fundamental critique of the Anthropocene). Nixon more fully accounts for class interests and imperialist interests in his work, the utilitarian interests of rich imperialist countries are not the same as poor colonized countries or neo-colonies, and growing food to meet the basic needs of humans or generating electricity to operate a public hospital is not the same as expending huge amounts of fossil fuels on extracting gold from ore or operating a munitions factory. Indigenous emphasis on good relations I think is more productive rhetorically than the term ecocentric per se (and certainly compared to altruism and self-interest)

The one other thing I found helpful about this book was concrete examples it provided about how struggles for Indigenous self-determination overlapped with ecological restoration (with specific examples). It didn’t quite put it in those terms, but I think decolonization (in the sense of returning control of lands to Indigenous nations) must be fundamental to any project of ecological restoration in North America.

[Sophie Wieland · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I appreciate the information and research this book presents, it is far from what I was looking for. For one thing, the subtitle should be "A Philosophical History of Ecological Restoration." Most historic events were in Chapters 4 and 6, and the other chapters concerned themselves with how we understand value and meaning, not historic events. Other complaints: it was at times repetitive; it was written in a rather pedantic/academic/inside-baseball style that was not appealing or accessible; and the book seemed at times a chance for the authors to indignantly state their opinions, with plenty of phrases like "What Dizard fails to take into account is...". Still, a well-researched book on a niche topic.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Making Nature Whole is a deeply philosophical environmental history. Jordan applies his own conception of restoration's meaning and value, as developed in The Sunflower Forest, to the historical emergence of the idea. It often seems like an odd frame for an intellectual history to apply: Jordan is essentially judging early practitioners against a rubric of ideological traits that mark their similarity to his. It's a logical choice, since there is so much history to landscape architecture and conservation land management, especially forestry, that expanding his scope to include it would have bloated the book out of all reasonable proportion. And of course we do get some sense of the ideas of people like Frederick Law Olmsted and Aldo Leopold as Jordan explains why their ideas were not mature restoration thinking, but it feels very present-centered. We never get to peer beyond our own ideas to see what things looked like as they emerged, which seems like a much better way to develop a history of an idea: what did it look and feel like as it emerged, how did aspirations shape practice and evolve in response to dialogue and obstacles.

So it's not the best history in that sense, but it does provide a good overview of the emergence of the practice, especially why it emerged where it did and when. Most importantly, prairies are the hub of ecocentric restoration simply because other domains were dominated by existing conservation disciplines like forestry and hydrology. But the most interesting parts of the book are just development of Jordan's ideas on human-nature relationships. Both George Lubick and the concrete subject matter help him maintain focus, and his ideas are much more clear here than in Sunflower Forest.

Much of the book concerns the resistance the preservation community voiced to restoration, looking at the NPS and the Nature Conservancy as case studies. The NPS embodied for many years the Romantic conception of majestic landscapes as aesthetic objects for consumption, designing their land management and construction plans to facilitate visitors' ability to see and photograph and picnic in sublime mountain valleys or challenge themselves against harsh wildernesses. The Nature Conservancy bought up land to save it from development but eschewed the idea that human management could achieve anything positive. While both of these historic ideas are firmly lodged in public ideas about nature—see the outdoor recreation movement and much contemporary rainforest conservation propaganda, respectively—their rejection in the administrations of the NPS and TNC reflect a maturation of the professional communities, at any rate. Hopefully that presages a wider embrace of restoration as a positive tool to rebuild relationships with the land (something that the organic farming community also seems to be edging towards, though it has some serious ideological baggage of its own).

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great history of ecological restoration and raises some intriguing questions about our best relationship with the world and how acting to restore ecosystems could lend itself to a change in perspective that would benefit both people and the environment. As with Sunflower Forest, Jordan's previous book, I felt these philosophical topics could have been developed a bit more, but it's still a great resource and an interesting read.