WHAT IS
REWILDING?

Rewilding has several distinct definitions if you were to go searching. The definition we use is most in line with Oxford Languages' definition, which is, "[to] restore (an area of land) to its natural uncultivated state (used especially with reference to the reintroduction of species of wild animal that have been driven out or exterminated)." While some definitions dictate the practice of letting tracts of land go fallow and restore themselves to a pre-disturbance state, we believe that to properly heal our damaged ecosystems we must purposefully reintroduce animals that were artificially removed from them before letting nature take over.
 

A major flaw of traditional conservation is that it is often not practiced with regard to native species or acknowledgment of the dynamic nature of ecosystems. For example, conservationists may try to restore a forest but focus on restoring the ecological process without trying to restore the full array of species that inhabited the swamp before disturbance. And, in its contemporary state, it largely treats ecosystems as static, which can be seen, for example, in fire suppression policy. By stopping the natural process of wildfire, it stagnates the entire ecosystem by keeping it in an unnatural static state. When fire is allowed to occur, the flow between grassland, shrubland, and forest, which fosters biodiversity, is also able to ensue. Rewilding accepts both, as restoring biodiversity and allowing nature to take the reins are paramount values to the philosophy.

​

Rewilding puts on emphasis not just on having distinct "wild" areas, but on working for cohesion between human society and nature. We cannot successfully "preserve" nature in special parks while elsewhere we continue to rot our world with industrial agriculture, unsustainable development, and commercial industries that plunder our Earth. We need regenerative agriculture, compact, green cities, and circular, sustainable economies.

​

A successful and well-known example would be the reintroduction of Makenzie Valley wolves to Yellowstone National Park. Once wolves were reintroduced to their old hunting grounds, they preyed on deer, and the deer browsed more cautiously, letting vegetation resprout and grow. The new tree growth allowed beavers and songbirds to come back. The beaver dams improved the river habitat and gave home to muskrats, frogs, ducks, fish, and raven and bald eagle populations increased as the wolves left more carrion. They competed with and killed coyotes, allowing mice and rabbit populations to increase, which in turn increased the hawk populations. And just like that, the entire ecosystem was healthier with their reintroduction.

​

In highly damaged areas, restoration with rewilding may comprise of both the reintroduction/replanting of flora and fauna that are either extirpated or have low or damaged populations. Floral replanting should be the first step, as it forms the foundation that supports the food chain.

​

As humans spread out of Africa, a cascading wave of extinctions followed us to Asia, Europe, Australia, and the Americas. This happened a very short time ago in evolutionary time – only 13,000-5,000 years ago. The world's ecosystems are otherwise mostly the same: but just like when a species goes extinct today, the ecosystems are less robust, resilient, and healthy without them.

​

While our focus must be on those species that are still living, displaced from parts of their (pre)historic range, like grizzlies, elk, jaguars, or the aforementioned wolves, a potential goal is the de-extinction of extinct megafauna. The practice of rewilding ecosystems to their state at the beginning of the Holocene (roughly 12,000 years ago) is called "Pleistocene rewilding," and it stems from the idea that humans invading new territories likely caused the extinction of many megafauna. The de-extinction of the woolly mammoth is already in the works and could be a flagship revival that opens the floodgates for a slew of other species de-extinctions. Using presently-available CRISPR, combined with the future technology of artificial wombs, endless possibilities present themselves. Currently, European cave lions, passenger pigeons, and the Pyrenean ibex are all viable candidates for de-extinction as well. For a more in-depth understanding of the benefits of bringing back extinct megafauna, as well as reintroducing living megafauna, check out our article The Hunting Ape in the News section.

​

Although controversial, the evidence states that to heal the Earth we need to heal our ecosystems with their native megafauna.

We need rewilding.

​

To find our new and ever-expanding list of profiles for America's wonderful megafauna species – both alive and of the recent past – please check out our species page.

​

For more resources and organizations on rewilding and Pleistocene rewilding, consider checking out Revive & Restore, The Rewilding Institute, Re:wild, or read "End of the Megafauna" by Ross D. E. Macphee. For resources on rewilding outside of North America, see Rewilding Europe or Rewilding Britain.