ISSUE 2, 2020
CONSERVATION VS. RESTORATION: Stewarding our financial and natural resources effectively
BY LAURA JUSTIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR “Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.” Do you remember Joni Mitchell singing this song where she laments that “they paved paradise and put up a parking lot”? The song is Big Yellow Taxi and it is just as pertinent now as it was in 1970. When people ask me what we do and why it’s important, I can give them a dozen answers. Everything from protecting habitat for wildlife to limiting development along shorelines. There are so many good reasons but one of the most important is rarely discussed: the costs and benefits of conservation versus restoration.
There are only so many dollars available for that big, broad category of “environmental work.” I like to think of HeadWaters as using those resources proactively instead of reactively. By permanently protecting land and water resources at a small cost, we are remediating the need for restoration in the future. Costs for environmental restoration projects vary widely by location, habitat type, complexity, etc. But there is no doubt that restoration is always expensive. For example, to restore one acre of a typical salt marsh in the eastern US is a minimum of $16,000 per acre of work. On average, the costs associated with a conservation easement completed by HeadWaters Land Conservancy is roughly $100 per acre, which includes payment to a stewardship fund that will grow over time to address future enforcement needs.
No matter how noble or worthwhile an environmental restoration project may be, it will never be as effective as conservation. Simply stated, with your support and partnership, we are in the business of keeping things you love safe and intact. Think about how many resources, financial and otherwise, can be saved by protecting land and water in northeast Michigan BEFORE it gets developed and damaged.
We hope you see the value in our forward thinking actions that will protect the most beautiful, scenic and diverse places remaining in the “Up North” we all love.