Ecosystem and habitat restoration involves more than just letting the land go fallow. If you just let it go, you could end up breeding a ton of invasive species

Ecosystem and habitat restoration involves more than just letting the land go fallow. If you just let it go, you could end up breeding a ton of invasive species which will choke off beneficial natives. If you’ve ever been to the Pacific Northwest, you’ll see Himalayan Blackberry everywhere, smothering all other plants and trees. The healthy middle ground is something like the native Americans maintained - a kind of “gardened wild”. It requires active management to nudge nature towards a healthy, sustainable state. Pragmatic, spot treatments of chemicals can be useful in this scenario — it’s the endless acres of monuculutes, airdropped with chemicals, that cause the kinds of problems we’re seeing from agricultural chemicals. If this is something anyone is interested in pursuing — buying land to “re-wild” it — check out your local natural resource conservation program.