Wild by Design: The Rise of Ecological Restoration

A fascinating bookfar-reaching, deeply researched, and probing. Elizabeth Kolbert, author of Under a White Sky

Outstandingly well-researched and deeply thoughtful . . . An essential read. John Dupré, Los Angeles Review of Books

Makes a strong case for restorations enduring value. Michelle Nijhuis, New York Review of Books

Today environmental restoration is a global pursuit. Governments, nonprofits, and corporations spend billions of dollars each year to remove invasive species, build wetlands, and reintroduce species driven from their habitats.

In Wild by Design, historian Laura J. Martin uncovers the origins of restoration science and policy. She explores how restorationists struggled with the problem of caring for biodiversity without romanticizing nature as an untouched Eden. Could humans intervene in nature for natures own sake? What natural baselines should be restored? Was it possible to design nature without destroying wildness? In illuminating restorations past, Wild by Design not only provides vital lessons for our future in a changing climateit makes an urgent call for environmental restoration that is socially just.