Restoration of stressed sites, and processes

Portions of forest ecosystems in eastern Oregon and Washington are in poor health, are not meeting societies<br />expectations, and have elevated hazard for fire, insects, and disease. Diversity in stream habitats and associated<br />fisheries has declined over the last several decades in several drainage basins, requiring conservation and restoration efforts in key watersheds. Required first steps in restoring forest and aquatic ecosystems are the immediate reduction in hazard for catastrophic loss of biodiversity, site quality, resource commodities, and improved conditions for public health. To prevent loss of future options we need to simultaneously reestablish ecosystem processes and disturbance effects that create and maintain desired sustainable ecosystems, while conserving genetic, species, community, and landscape diversity and long-term site productivity. Restoration of stressed sites is site specific, but the context for the action should be defined by the desired condition(s) of the next higher landscape scale and achieve desired positive cumulative effects over time. Restoration actions should be consistent with the desired level of disturbance effects required to maintain sustainable ecosystems, and standards and guides should reflect the inherent variability associated with dynamic systems. Costs associated with restoration activities should be weighed against the foregone benefits if no action is taken. The restoration of the biological components of ecosystems should provide increased opportunities for the restoration of human cultural, social, and economic ecosystem components and increase options for resource-dependent communities.