(1) Targets. Few people would climb into an airplane for a trip without first knowing the destination. I will share some examples of restoration targets from Europe and North America. We still need a consensus map (ecological target) for restoration of coastal Louisiana. One such map has been developed for the New Orleans region.
(2) Scale. Targets can be set at many scales, from specific sites, to ecoregions, to the biosphere. The criteria used will vary with scale. Upland areas may be easier to restore than coastal areas. In uplands, the habitat template is largely fixed, while in coastal areas, flooding and sedimentation create the habitat template. The future coastline of Louisiana will depend upon processes at multiple scales, including flood regimes (influenced by levee construction many miles away) and rising sea levels (influenced by global trends).
(3) Sociological criteria. The technical side requires that we explicitly state (a) the target properties and (b) the target area. The sociological side requires that we address human irrationality, particularly habitual patterns of thought and behavior. In Louisiana, many citizens support restoration – if it can be done without inconvenience. Restoration options are constrained by the social and psychological commitments to pumping more off shore oil, driving SUVs, building houses on concrete slabs in lowlands, and paying low taxes.
It is easy to underestimate the forces contrary to restoration. There is already a future target for much of Louisiana (and North America) – strip malls enmeshed in sprawling suburbs with herbicided lawns and two SUVs in each driveway. Money can still be made by building in coastal wetlands, by logging coastal forests, by constructing levees, and by stalling decisions. Scientists can address the technical issues of (1) and (2), but even if we do, there is risk that the sociological constraints will render us irrelevant.
