Restoration and Values

Brown trout photo by Paddy McIlvoy

To restore, or not to restore.
To enhance, or not to enhance.
These are the questions...

As we gather information from people around the area, I am amazed at how much we all want generally the same thing for Silver Creek--- for it to be a healthy, resilient, functioning, amazing place for future generations to enjoy as we have. It seems we all have a little different way of getting there, and where we focus our energy may be different, but the end goal appears to be very much the same.

We all value things uniquely no doubt. Values are difficult to quantify and interpret, but realizing the diverse environmental philosophies can tell us a lot about the values people hold regarding nature and restoration and how receptive they will be to changes (or to no changes!). Erik Katz (2000), a noted critic of restoration, frames the philosophical questions of restoration:

"Why is the restoration and management of nature a philosophical issue?
Why, indeed, should any environmental policy be a matter of concern for philosophers? The obvious reason is that any human activity is subject
to ethical analysis and justification—we need to see what values are promoted
or retarded by particular policies. But even more basic than the ethical
analysis is the philosophical search for meaning. What is the essential
character of a given human activity? What does it mean to say that we humans
are restoring natural ecosystems? What are we doing when we restore the
natural world? In asking these questions, I am not seeking a detailed description
of the science and technology of the restoration process—I am seeking the
philosophical meaning of the restoration of nature" (37).

These philosophical questions require us to question our relationship to nature when we attempt to restore it.

In posting this blog, I hope to be a little provocative-- we want to hear everything. What do you value about Silver Creek? What would you like to see inhe future? All of your comments are welcome and encouraged!