Thinnng and burning performed by the Ashland-based Lomakatsi Restoration Project.

Forest restoration is the process of assisting the recovery of a forest system that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed. Forests in the Klamath-Siskiyou have been negatively impacted by the conversion of native forests to tree plantations, logging road construction, the exclusion of fire and the introduction of invasive species.

In February of 2003, KS Wild along with the American Lands Alliance sponsored the the third annual Restoration Summit in Ashland, Oregon. Summit participants worked for three years to develop a set of restoration principles. Participants included people from conservation and community forestry groups and forest practitioners.  Member groups involved in the Summit publicly released a series of restoration principles in the Spring of 2003 (see below). KS Wild works with various community groups composed of diverse interests to implement these principles and create sustainable, locally-based jobs in the woods.

Forest Restoration Principles

Ecological, Economic, Communities and Workforce

Sound forest restoration requires an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach rooted in conservation biology and ecosystem restoration principles that include preserving and protecting intact landscapes (particularly those that serve as reference or baseline conditions); allowing the land to heal itself; and, where necessary, helping it to do so through active restoration. Through thoughtful strategies employed over time, we can reestablish sustainable human connections to the land, creating quality restoration jobs and encouraging conservation-based economies.

1. Ecological Forest Restoration Principle – enhance ecological integrity by restoring natural processes and resiliency
   
   The primary goal of forest restoration is to enhance ecological integrity by restoring natural processes and resiliency. Effective forest restoration should reestablish fully functioning ecosystems. Ecological integrity can be thought of as the “ability of an ecosystem to support and maintain a balanced, adaptive community of organisms having a species composition, diversity, and functional organization comparable to that of natural habitats within a region (Karr and Dudley 1981).” A restoration approach based on ecological integrity incorporates the advantages of historical models while recognizing that ecosystems are dynamic and change over time.
2. Ecological Economics Core Principle – develop and employ the use of economic incentives that protect or restore ecological integrity
   
   Sound restoration must balance achieving restoration goals with the cost of restoration, while giving priority to ecological effectiveness. However, because ecologically sound forest restoration is a long-term natural process that will not always provide short-term benefits and may not pay for itself, a timeframe for economic analysis must be utilized that recognizes the long term benefits of restoration (e.g., clean water, restored fire regimes). An economic and institutional framework that fully accounts for these non-market ecological services should be created in order to recognize the value of intact ecological systems and to guide restoration efforts. Economic incentives that drive the degradation of forests must be replaced with restoration incentives that protect and restore ecological integrity.
3. Communities and Workforce Core Principle – make use of or train a highly-skilled, well-compensated workforce to conduct restoration
   
   A highly-skilled, well-compensated workforce is essential for restoration to meet high ecological standards. Building the restoration economy requires a commitment to regional training capacity (multi-jurisdiction and interdisciplinary), skill certification, consistent funding over decades and assuring workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively. The process of advancing ecological restoration must be open, inclusive and transparent, and should contribute to breaking down class, culture, gender, language and religious barriers.
   
   Restoration Principles Published March 2003:
   A Citizen's Call for Ecological Forest Restoration: Forest Restoration Principles and Criteria
   
   Ecological Restoration, 21:1, DellaSala, Martin, Spivak et al.,March 2003. Published by the University of Wisconsin Press, copyright 2003 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System.