collected from the site and subsequently identified, or reported to be in the general 

 area on the basis of literature often many years old. Rarely are there any insights into 

 biological or ecosystem processes or predictions of the consequences of the proposed 

 course of action upon these processes. Even in cases where the impact involved 

 alterations in diversity, this could not have been confirmed with mere species lists. 

 Additionally, density, biomass, recruitment rates, and the like were rarely provided 

 with species lists. In almost all cases, changes of considerable ecological concern in 

 the output of the system, such as productivity and nutrient losses, received little or no 

 attention. Rarely was the stability in structure or function of the system discussed in 

 even the most superficial manner. 



Another major flaw in the preparation of impact statements is the lack of care in 

 the identification and selection of the key processes that are essential to maintaining 

 the integrity of the system. Without a scientifically justifiable selection of such 

 processes, gathering of data and experimental design will be inadequate. Over the 

 decade, selection of inappropriate parameters has resulted in the failure to predict 

 and/ or document important environmental alterations when they occur and, 

 equally important, has diverted scarce resources from assignments that might be 

 more productive. 



A key lesson to be learned from NEPA failures is that inventorying species alone 

 will neither enable one to accurately predict the environmental and ecological 

 consequences of a proposed course of action nor document changes in biological 

 integrity (particularly once damage has occurred). Such prediction and documenta- 

 tion require a solid knowledge of the processes involved. 



Thus, before going very far into rehabilitation and restoration of ecosystems, 

 identification of ecological processes critical to this purpose is essential. Although 

 theoretical ecologists have provided much information about ecological processes, 

 they have not been very helpful in showing how such information can be used to 

 make predictions of impact or to forecast the process of recovery. It is asine quanon 

 that the need for creative and knowledgable professional ecologists is no less at the 

 analysis and interpretation stage as it is in the design and data collection stage. 

 Although ecologists plead for more use of ecological concepts and theory in assess- 

 ing and predicting societal impacts on the environment, most of the decisions are 

 based on single species toxicity tests. The problem is that theoretical ecologists have 

 not taken the time to help in this important undertaking. Dayton'" states: "Another 

 symptom of a serious problem is that after at least 70 years, during which ecology has 

 been considered a respectable scientific discipline, we are usually unable to offer 

 substantial positive contributions to the many societal problems confronting us." 



DOCUMENTING ECOSYSTEM CONDITION 



The River Thames offers an excellent example of the long abuse of a river and the 

 partial restoration of certain desirable qualities. At Isleworth, salmon were plentiful 

 until the early 19th century. In 1848, a report stated, "salmon have been driven from 

 the river by the gas-works and stream navigation."' ' Gameson and Wheeler'" report 

 that the Thames started to decline as a fishery about 150 years ago. By the 1950s, 

 despite occasional partial recovery, the only fish able to survive in the most polluted 

 reaches were eels. 



Gameson and Wheeler'" state in their introductory section that the deliberate 

 restoration of the Thames estuary was solely for the benefit of part of the external 

 ecosystem, namely man. The need for restoration arose mainly from the offensive 

 smell of hydrogen-sulfide emanating from the estuary during the summer months 

 some 25-30 years ago. This restoration brought in its wake a remarkable recovery of 

 the biotic component, and fish returned to the estuary in ever increasing numbers. 



In the tidal portion of the River Thames, pollution has been a matter of concern 

 for hundreds of years. The pollution received much attention, of course, because of 



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