Could you introduce yourself and tell us more about your background and your career trajectory in the field of ecological restoration?

I am a former Research Biologist with the US Federal government (Haleakalā National Park and the US Geological Survey), where I worked for 34 years exploring Hawaiian biota, evaluating impacts from invasive species, and developing ecological restoration approaches for ecosystems of Haleakalā National Park. In the mid-1990s, I founded the Auwahi Forest Restoration Project (www.auwahi.org), bringing together critical stakeholders to attempt one of the first large-scale forest restoration projects on Maui island. Auwahi was one of the first efforts to explore whether damaged native watershed forests could be restored to ecosystem functionality, a topic of growing importance in a changing world. 

I also started two other restoration projects on Maui, the Leeward Haleakalā Watershed Restoration Partnership and Pu’u-o-kali Wiliwili Reserve. Each of the projects I founded was intended to unite multiple entities and agencies in restoration efforts of three highly endangered ecological communities of leeward Maui: diverse dry forest, wiliwili dry forest, and koa forest.

I sometimes tell students this version of my career. I went into the forest to get a little privacy. But then I made a big mistake – I learned the names of most things, scientific and Hawaiian if they had one. There is a saying, ‘the beginning of wisdom is to call things by their correct name’. When you learn the names of the plants and animals of Hawaiian forests, there is a sad subscript. You learn the species are like God’s cornucopia – they come in all shapes and sizes, some this, some that, some beyond belief, but they all have one thing in common – they’re in trouble. You know when you first start walking through forests or swimming in the ocean, before you really know anything about the place, you’re free - everything is beautiful. But with knowledge, inevitably, comes responsibilities, what Hawaiians call kuleana. From the moment when you understand that the residents of an area you love are in grave danger, that their lives and the very survival of their species are threatened, it’s not as easy to view those places as paradise. In many ways, if you have a heart, you are no longer noa (free), you now have kuleana.

Produced as a collaboration with gifted Australian animator Jilli Rose, the 19 minute animation Ola Ka Honua, translating literally to ‘Earth lives’, addresses deforestation globally, in Hawai’i, as well as one community’s involvement in bringing back the last relict fragments of a native forest type back to life on Maui island. Hope for the future.

What inspired you to join SER, and what do you value most about your membership?

I joined SER in an attempt to find people making similar efforts in other lands – to learn from them, to gain inspiration, and to witness more case examples. I had come primarily from an academic background and felt as stimulating as academic explorations were, they often fell short of my own aspirations. I felt science and ecological restoration should begin to forge their disciplines together and work cooperatively to hone efforts to protect/restore/rehabilitate the world’s natural systems.

Dr. Art Medeiros (center, left) with community volunteers surrounding a recently planted alani, Melicope adscendens. This species was formerly thought extinct and is now known to be restricted to about 30-40 individuals over a few miles of habitat remaining on southwest Haleakalā volcano.

What about ecological restoration excites you the most?

Humans have come to the end of wild places as they were. We are at the edge of a great new frontier. As Geoff Park has said, in this situation, aren’t we the real explorers of the human race? Aren’t we the ones embarking on a journey into the unknown to explore ways to create durable, resilient, ecologically-stable, long-term homes in places without ruining them? If we are successful, our need to go find another planet to live on, where presumably, our table manners will be better, may not be as dire.

Could you highlight a particular project or initiative you've been involved in that you're especially proud of or passionate about?

The thing I am most enthralled with is the response of everyday people to actually participating in ecological restoration activities at Auwahi. When guided so their hands do the work that is actually needed, and they see the results of that action – a glow comes in their eyes. From that point forward, many become members of that part of society that believe that hope is not lost if you get up and do something about it.

Drone view of three Auwahi fenced forest restoration areas, ca. 1,100-1,220 m (3,600-4,000 ft) elevation. Driven by fire and invasive species, diverse dry forest has been reduced on leeward Haleakalā volcano to 1-2% of former extents, transformed to pasture dominated by kikuyu grass (Cenchrus clandestinus). Auwahi forest restoration areas, shown here, range from 4-9 ha (10-23 acres) and are between 12-27 years since initiation, southwest Haleakalā volcano, Maui island, Hawai’i. After 15 years of forest restoration at Auwahi, the cover of native species increased dramatically from 10% to 98%, while cover of non-native species plummeted from 87% to 2% (https://www.auwahi.org/new-page-1).

In your view, what are the most pressing ecological restoration challenges or opportunities that the field is currently facing, and how do you see SER playing a role in addressing them?

Climate change and the way political animosities have created rifts in even crucial management of natural systems are major stumbling blocks for long-term ecological restoration. Addressing climate change to some extent requires making adaptations, even concessions, in goal setting. By utilizing international expertise, SER can give global context to local issues, assisting stakeholders in navigating complicated situations and difficult choices. Though powerful political issues are often resistant to change, it is core for professionals in natural area management to recognize that we are all stakeholders in the process of determining next steps, and just as a rising tide lifts all boats, a healthy planet benefits everyone.

Can you share some key lessons or insights you've gained from your work that you believe are important for the broader restoration community?

There is a saying ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’ I have found this to be very true in ecological restoration. I was once advised that education of the community as a whole creates a durable process. Knowing something is endangered is one thing, but heroic actions involving one or a few people can be lost quickly into the bin of history with little to even document that an effort was made. If the community is made aware of, and begins to embrace an issue, then restoration project survival and progress is not dependent on just one or few people - it has a life of its own, perpetuating itself across generations

Forest restoration/pasture interface, Auwahi forest restoration area II, 9 ha (23 acres), 19 years in progress, ca. 1,100 m (3,600 ft) elevation, southwest Haleakalā volcano, Maui island, Hawai’i.

What unique ecological restoration challenges and opportunities are associated with your region and how does the chapter address them?

One of the most important parts of my work, at least to me, is anything I can do to help nurture the connection between Hawaiian places and people of Hawaiian ancestry, kanaka maoli. The Hawaiian culture evolved intertwined with the unique, endemic biota of the archipelago. The indigenous cosmology considers many species as kinolau, that is, body forms of deities. As a result, a call to defense for certain native species or a cherished native place, musters people, both kanaka maoli and those who now call Hawai’i home. The will to protect the islands still lives in people. As a result, though many natural places have been lost in Hawai’i, I still believe there is capacity within the people of the islands to become leaders in what can be done with damaged lands that resets their trajectories for future generations. As such, social aspects of ecological restoration that SER is pioneering have great potential for relevance in Hawai’i.

Left: Aerial view from above the first Auwahi forest restoration area, 4 ha (10 acres), initiated 27 years ago, looking downslope towards the second Auwahi forest restoration area, 9 ha (23 acres) and down to the coastline of southwest Haleakalā volcano, Maui island, Hawai’i. Middle: Auwahi forest restoration area II, 9 ha (23 acres), 19 years in progress, 1,100 m (3,600 ft) elevation, southwest Haleakalā volcano, Maui island, Hawai’i. Right: Auwahi forest restoration area III, 9 ha (23 acres), 12 years in progress, 1,160 m (3,800 ft) elevation, southwest Haleakalā volcano, Maui island, Hawai’i.

What advice do you have for students or emerging professionals who are considering a career in ecological restoration?

Ecological restoration is in such a rapid stage of evolution that advice for incoming professionals is also changing rapidly. The role of academics in the discipline of ecological restoration has not been sorted out. Despite that shifting stage, I would recommend starting with a more traditional base in academic biological sciences. Another thing I definitely would recommend is to try and become as familiar as possible with the biota of the regions you intend to work in. In many ways, I view ecological restoration as being familiar enough with the native and non-native species of the region, as well as their likely responses and interactions in differing ecological situations, to strategically use them to forward forest restoration.

Can you share your vision for the future of ecological restoration?

I think many scientists still look down their noses a bit at ecological restoration. They’re not sure whether practitioners are re-establishing successional trajectories or just gardening, or as one colleague once remarked, ‘creating botanical gardens in hard to get to places.' It is my hope that in our global crisis, science is forced to evolve to be a more active partner in ecological restoration, documenting impacts and benefits, and ultimately guiding future efforts. In this integration, I believe, science can rise from the ranks of the untrusted to gain new relevance in society – as problem solver, synthesizer, interpreter, postulator, critic, and ultimately essential partner in ecological restoration efforts.

As native ecosystems fade, it seems natural to me that in the discipline, there will be an almost inevitable shift from restoration-focus to rehabilitation-focus. As large-scale wild places cease to exist, it seems ecological restoration will be bifurcated into first attempts to preserve what is left of wild nature, as well as, what are fundamentally ecosystem repair services that ecological rehabilitation potentially offers. When natural systems are damaged and critical natural capital benefits are lost or compromised, it is very likely there will be well-funded, large-scale efforts focused on mitigation and attempted system and benefits recovery.