The History of Ecological Restoration: From Bombs to Bac-O-Bits

Environmental organizations spend billions of dollars per year on environmental restoration—a set of practices that encompass invasive species removal, dam removal, prescribed burning, and captive breeding. Should restoration be considered its own movement? This paper explores the intellectual and cultural history of ecological restoration from 1945 to 1965, emphasizing the connections between ecological restoration and the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.