In Chapter 8, Marris informs us of designer ecosystems. She begins by asking us to imagine a stream. The conventional idea of a stream is a singular curve with fresh water. However, Marris stops us there and tells us that’s now how streams have always been. The ones we automatically picture are man-made to be restored to a baseline… except that’s not how they were. Thus, millions of dollars have then been wasted.
“If our goal is to decrease sediment load, we should focus on that and not worry about making the stream look the way it did at presettlement time, because nothing is the same as it was presettlement (124). These efforts are more concerned (again) with turning time backwards instead of looking forward. Aesthetics, though not entirely irrelevant, seem to be receiving priority over more important problems. Marris writes that “restoration ecologists have been trapped by the seductive vision of healing wounded nature and returning it to a stable ‘natural’ state…they are beginning to see the possibilities of designing, engineering, cooking up something new” (126). Designer ecosystems allow ecologists to not bother with a baseline, which in the first place lacks enough information, to even conceive. Instead, they can tailor ecosystems to the current species and other problems, such as nitrogen levels that need to be tackled. Monitoring nitrogen levels also seems to be less consuming overall than attempting to remove species.
In Chapter 9, Marris sums up arguments and notions from past chapters, such as assisted migration, rewilding, exotic species, and novel ecosystems. Marris writes that though these approaches differ greatly, they “make the most out of ever scrap of land and water, no matter its condition. To make the most of our protected areas, we must think beyond their boundaries and complement our wilderness with conservation everywhere else too” (135). These places include roofs of buildings and factories, farmer’s fields, industrial rivers, and even our own backyards. While I understand utilizing the roofs of big factories, such as the Hostess one, it seems a lot far off to have ecosystems on every block of New York City. Marris deploys the gestalt switch as the perfect example of how she believes nature should be, “impervious surfaces—pavement, houses, malls where nothing can grow—as the foreground and everything else as the background nature” (135). Obviously problems can arise from this, such as a lack of organization, compromise, and more.
As I’ve said before, I don’t support the previous arguments of assisted migration, rewilding, and the invasive species. Marris ties everything together in “Conservation Everywhere”, once again discussing how the romantic idea of pristine wildness needs to be compromised and ultimately lead to a rambunctious garden. Instead of trying to revert back to an unknown baseline, she emphasizes seeing nature in a different light. Nature should be embraced, as it is a natural part of life, and should be found everywhere, even the most unpredictable places. This is a significantly optimistic and in my opinion, more realistic, beneficial, and beautiful outlook.
