Although many people confuse the terms remediation and restoration, they are two separate processes in the restoration of impaired ecosystems. A special series in the April 2016 issue of IEAM challenges practitioners and researchers to rethink the traditional linear, sequential process of ecological restoration, instead encouraging a collaborative approach along the way, to integrate restoration goals throughout the process, beginning with site assessment. Guest Editors Aida Farag and Ruth Hull discuss workshop findings and tell us why we should heed an ounce of prevention when restoring ecosystems. Access the series in the April 2016 issue of IEAM.

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About the Guests

Dr. Aida Farag is a fishery biologist and Station Leader at the USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center, Jackson Field Research Station in Jackson, Wyoming. She has been a member of SETAC since the 1980s and has served on the Board of the Society of Ecological Restoration (SER). Her experience with the Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Program led to her interest in restoration. During this work, and when she joined SER, she realized that a workshop bringing ecotoxicologists and restoration ecologists would benefit the successful restoration of contaminated ecosystems. Please click here to view Aida’s USGS bio page.

Ruth Hull is a Senior Scientist with the consulting firm Intrinsik Environmental Sciences based in Mississauga, Ontario. She has over 20 years of experience in conducting and managing contaminated site risk assessments. She has spent considerable time over the past 15 years assessing large areas impacted by metal mining and smelting. She currently participates as Program Manager on the Steering Committee for the Lower Columbia Ecosystem Management Program, which addresses remediation options and restoration activities around the Teck lead-zinc smelter in Trail, British Columbia.

Articles Referenced in this Podcast
Aïda M Farag, Ruth N Hull, Will H Clements, Steve Glomb, Diane L Larson, Ralph Stahl and Jenny Stauber.2016. Restoration of impaired ecosystems: An ounce of prevention or a pound of cure? Introduction, overview, and key messages from a SETAC-SER workshop. IEAM volume 12, issue 2:247–252.