Using local seeds or organisms and restoring only with species documented from a given county or state has been a best practice in ecological restoration for decades with good reason, as local populations are most likely to have evolved to thrive to the local climate, soils, biotic community, and disturbance regime of a given place. These traditions have served land managers well and furthered the dual goals of ensuring successful restoration of locally-adapted populations and minimizing the risk of species invasion, but might a new set of best practices be needed now? In this episode, Chris Hoving explores how all populations are now tens to hundreds of miles from the local climate to which they evolved, discusses shifts in biotic communities and disturbance regimes, and makes the case for reframing our goals while combining the tools of the past with innovative techniques.
