A review of Laura J. Martin’s Wild by Design
Courtesy of: https://publicseminar.org/2025/05/wild-by-design-review/
The Disney Wilderness Preserve in Florida began as a corporate-led initiative to counteract wetland destruction caused by Disney’s expansion in the Orlando area. Launched in the early 1990s, the project aimed to restore nearly 12,000 acres of wetlands and uplands degraded by decades of cattle ranching, fire suppression, and hydrological disruption. By removing invasive species, reintroducing controlled burns, and restoring natural water flow, The Nature Conservancy, in partnership with state and federal agencies, has protected and rehabilitated the area’s ecosystems, habitats, and biodiversity. At first glance, the Disney Wilderness Preserve project appears successful. But who gets to define that success?
In Wild by Design: The Rise of Ecological Restoration (Harvard University Press, 2023; reissued 2025), Laura J. Martin urges us to look more closely at the power structures involved in ecological restoration, including the balance between human intervention and natural processes. While the Disney project restored wetlands, she observes, it also exemplifies how corporate involvement can shape ecological priorities. When a global corporation with significant financial resources is involved, is the primary goal of restoration ecological integrity or the enhancement of Disney’s public image and corporate social responsibility profile? This case study illustrates a broader theme in Wild by Design: Restoration is never a neutral act. It is profoundly political, informed by economic incentives, regulatory frameworks, and social values. Restoration projects, especially those involving large-scale collaboration, must be critically examined to ensure they do not merely cater to the interests of the most powerful stakeholders while marginalizing local communities or alternative ecological perspectives.
Martin presents a compelling and meticulously researched history of ecological restoration, exploring how humans have shaped and reshaped landscapes in the name of conservation. Blending environmental history, science, and policy analysis, Martin examines how restoration efforts are often driven by human desires rather than ecological necessity, influenced by shifting scientific perspectives, cultural values, and political interests. By analyzing key projects and historical developments, she unpacks the often-overlooked realities of restoration: who decides what nature should look like, which landscapes are prioritized for restoration, and who ultimately benefits from these efforts.
Martin divides the book into three key sections, each marking a distinct period in restoration history: “Reservations (1900–1945)” focuses on the early conservation movements that arose in response to ecological degradation, emphasizing land protection and habitat restoration. These movements, influenced by ideas of wilderness preservation, sought to set aside land to counteract industrial expansion, often prioritizing human-led interventions to repair perceived environmental damage. “Recovery (1945–1970)” explores how post-war scientific advancements and industrial expansion led to large-scale restoration efforts, often guided by technocratic and interventionist approaches. “Regulation (1970–2010)” delves into the role of environmental policies in shaping restoration practices, highlighting the rise of corporate-backed conservation efforts.
Martin contextualizes restoration within the wider history of colonial and postcolonial environmental stewardship, noting a transition from perceiving degraded landscapes as permanently “unnatural” or “ruined” to recognizing them as capable of rehabilitation. This transition aligns with the emergence of “rewilding,” a related idea that, centers on reintroducing species, reinstating ecological processes, and reducing human intervention to foster self-sustaining ecosystems. Unlike restoration, which historically seeks to revert landscapes to a particular historical state, rewilding takes a more flexible approach, prioritizing resilience and ecological function over strict adherence to historical accuracy. (As Martin underscores, Indigenous land management techniques, like controlled burns, have historically benefited ecosystems yet are often overlooked in mainstream restoration discussions.)
Martin lays out crucial distinctions between concepts like conservation, preservation, and restoration. Preservation, she argues, assumes that capitalist extraction and development are likely to persist and thus setting aside protected areas is nature’s greatest chance of survival, with preservationists avoiding control over nonhuman species in certain protected areas. On the other hand, conservation is the understanding that humans may cultivate alternative, enlightened approaches to interacting with nature, using resources with greater care and respect, with conservationists seeking to “control both human decisions and nonhuman lives.” By contrast, restoration is “an attempt to co-design nature with nonhuman collaborators,” as Martin beautifully phrases it. Restoration aims to achieve a middle ground, with human care assisting in recovering anthropocentric environmental damage while “respecting the autonomy of other species.”
Martin concludes the book with a question that feels especially urgent: How are we to imagine a future in which people and other species coexist harmoniously? She examines different restoration approaches, from novel ecosystems to passive habitat preservation, ultimately supporting targeted, purposeful interventions that aid species adaptation while honoring their autonomy.
Restoration is not just about ecosystems but the societies we wish to build. Martin points out that restoration initiatives increasingly embrace justice-oriented strategies, acknowledging the need for ecological repair to tackle historical injustices, land rights, and community engagement. This trend gained traction in the late twentieth century, when Indigenous movements, environmental justice proponents, and conservationists united to contest exclusionary restoration models. Pivotal instances, such as Indigenous land reclamation and community-driven habitat restoration endeavors, demonstrate the deep interconnection between ecological restoration and social justice. By emphasizing these connections, Martin underscores the growing understanding that sustainable restoration should mend ecosystems, address historical wrongs, and empower local communities.
One form of restoration Martin doesn’t discuss directly is urban wilding, which focuses on revitalizing ecosystems in human-influenced spaces by emphasizing the cohabitation of human and nonhuman species within cities. In many ways, urban wilding represents a counterpoint to traditional restoration paradigms—it is less about recreating historical conditions and more about fostering resilience in human-altered environments. Urban wilding initiatives often emerge from grassroots rather than corporate-led or government-mandated projects; they challenge the notion that ecological restoration must be large-scale and interventionist, advocating instead for an approach that integrates nature into everyday urban spaces—parks, vacant lots, rooftops, and even cracks in the pavement. This form of restoration aligns with Martin’s critique of rigid conservation frameworks, reinforcing that restoration should not erase human presence but reimagine human-nature relationships.
Wild by Design serves as both a cautionary tale and an inspiring call to action—to ensure that restoration efforts prioritize ecological justice, community involvement, and a deeper understanding of nature as a dynamic and evolving system. Through this book, Martin compels us to rethink how we restore landscapes: for whom, by whom, and to what end? These are the very questions that will shape the future of ecological restoration—and the future of our relationship with the natural world.
Mairéad O’Donnell
Fulbright-EPA Scholar and PhD researcher at Trinity College Dublin focused on co-designing urban wild spaces and advancing multispecies approaches to social-ecological systems
