Ecological Recovery Wheel

Abstract

The Society for Ecological Restoration’s “Ecological Recovery Wheel” is a customizable tool that can be used to visualize the progress of ecosystem recovery. This seminar will introduce the Recovery Wheel as a tool to inform and assess restoration efforts in the Middle Rio Grande (MRG). The seminar will begin with an overview of the Recovery Wheel and the impetus for using the Recovery Wheel in the MRG. Next, the utility of the Recovery Wheel will be illustrated through a case study in which restoration practitioners used this tool to demonstrate successful restoration of ecosystem function for a stream site in Fairfax County, Virginia. The seminar will conclude with a discussion about customizing the Recovery Wheel for the MRG via a Science and Technical Ad- Hoc Group. The role of the Recovery Wheel in Collaborative Program efforts to generate standardized restoration monitoring guidance for the MRG will also be discussed.