The Science
of
Rewilding
What Is Rewilding?
Rewilding is an ambitious and pragmatic conservation philosophy to restore keystone species and processes that support wild, adaptive, and resilient ecosystems. ​
Manda Kalimian
Founder
"A healthy environment is the foundation of all life-supporting systems, including that of our own well-being"
Dr. Sophie Monsarrat
Rewilding Europe
"Rewilding is inspired by the past but looking towards the future"
Dr. Erick Lundgren
University of Alberta
"Rewilding respects the rights of ecosystems and organisms to be self-willed"
​Rewilding focuses on restoring the fundamental processes that sustain life on Earth and that allow ecosystems—and thus human societies—to be resilient in the face of change.​
Instead of working to restore ecosystems to arbitrary historic time periods, rewilding acknowledges that ecosystems are dynamic. To rewild is to respect this dynamism and to work to restore fundamental processes, such as herbivory, flooding, predation, and the ability of animals to migrate.
Rewilding America Now is working to restore these processes by protecting key migration corridors and reintroducing lost species such as bison, wild horses, and beavers.
​​Beavers are keystone species whose dams retain water, reverse stream erosion, and provide refuges for spawning trout and amphibians.
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We are working to restore streams by planting willows and slowing water movements to make habitats suitable to beavers once again and we are working with local trappers to reintroduce beavers.​​​
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Large herbivores also play key roles in ecosystems and in human societies. Bison can boost plant diversity, increase carbon sequestration, and provide food for people, scavengers, and predators.
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We are reintroducing bison and wild horses to our rewilding properties and conducting cutting edge research to monitor their impacts on ecosystems.​​​
​Wild horses, whose ancestors roamed North America for millions of years, are uniquely capable of digesting the coarse, dry vegetation that fuel wildfires.
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Wild horses are also known to dig wells to groundwater, thus maintaining water availability during droughts. ​