Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Restoring and Re-storying the Landscape

1991; University of Wisconsin Press; Volume: 9; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3368/er.9.1.3

1543-4079

Gary Paul Nabhan,

Religion, Ecology, and Ethics

Again, the experience of restoration teaches the folly of this.Restoration is, in fact, nothing less than an experiment in the importance of history.By attempting to reverse change, the restorationist learns to discriminate change that can be reversed from change that cannot.The resulting wisdom is a crucial component of our emerging relationship with the rest of nature.The important thing is to pursue our experiment in pastoral hopefully in the expectation of finding every element of harmony we can in the relationship between ourselves and the rest of nature, rediscovering old harmonies and, perhaps discovering some new ones.At the same time, let's keep the darker side, the intransigent tragic element in mind.Let's hope for progress but not perfection--be Ishmael and Huck and Nick, not Gatsby.With this issue, R&MN marks the end of its first decade of publication.It has been just ten years this July since we unloaded the first, thin issue of the journal from a van and mailed it out--free--to a thousand or so likely subscribers.Since then, the enterprise has prospered.We have gone from "occasional" to twice-yearly, and are considering moving to quarterly publication.We have more pages, and those pages are filled with news from a vigorous, rapidly growing young discipline.Circulation, aided by the creation three years ago of the Society for Ecological Restoration, is well over 2,000 and is growing healthily.For a number of years, R&MN has been paying its own production costs.This past year it began paying editorial costs as well.And since Dave Egan joined the staff two years ago we have for the first time had regular help with the work of getting the journal together.All this bodes well for the future of the publication and we think--for the science and art of restoration.Indeed, progress so far has only made everyone involved more keenly aware of the need for more effort, including more and better publications, if the discipline is to achieve its promise as a way of conserving--and communing with--the natural world.Even as this anniversary issue goes to press, SER's Editorial Advisory Committee is considering plans for improvements in the journal, and for the development of a comprehensive publication and communications program for the restoration community.As this planning proceeds, keep in mind that your ideas are welcome.The planners hope to hear from you.You may even be contacted directly--but if not, don't hesitate to contact the R&MN office in Madison (608-262-1491 or Advisory Committee Chair Glenn Hughes (DuBois,