Climax and “Original Capacity”: The Science and Aesthetics of Ecological Restoration in the Southwestern USA

Abstract

This paper examines the historical origins of ecological restoration in the arid and semiarid deserts of the southwestern USA. Scientific knowledge and aesthetic valuations both emerged during a period of acute environmental degradation between 1893 and 1905, strongly influencing subsequent debates and practices. In science and aesthetics alike, the historical nature of southwestern landscapes was occluded: Clementsian ecology and range science posited a climax condition and an “original capacity” for livestock, while aesthetic treatments such as those of John Van Dyke saw transcendent and timeless beauty in the dramatic dynamics of actively degrading landscapes. In recent decades, southwestern ecologists have renounced Clementsian ecology and its implied telos of “pristine” presettlement conditions. But aesthetic ideals continue to influence broader debates and practices of ecological restoration in the region, specifically with regard to grasslands, riparian areas, livestock grazing, and fire.