Ecological Restoration and the Concept of Place
The Chesapeake Bay Program's restoration goals are, to a large extent, measurable ones, in which such indicators as water quality, fish and shellfish abundance and underwater grass distribution can be quantified to account for the degree of restoration success. Mark Sagoff and David Wasserman contend, however, that restoration cannot be understood simply in terms of ecosystem health, such as increased dissolved oxygen levels or more fish and shellfish, or by economic returns. They maintain that restoration goals must include a sense of place, a sense of being at home in a particular locality. And characterizing what that sense of place means to people who live and work in the Bay region is a major objective of this project. By organizing focus groups of residents, they have begun to analyze the similarities and differences in attitudes and values that dominate contemporary views of Chesapeake restoration. Concentrating their research in southern Maryland, they will compare current attitudes and values with those from diverse literary and historical accounts of the Bay. The reports and videotapes resulting from this work should benefit many in the Bay watershed who have been engaged in trying to maintain a Chesapeake Bay regional identity while accommodating to inevitable ecological, social and cultural changes.
|
Mark Sagoff and David Wasserman
School of Public Affairs
University of Maryland College Park
|
|
|
