University of Kentucky UKnowledge University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2008 ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION IN THE OUACHITA NATIONAL FOREST: EVALUATING THE PRAGMATISM OF PRE-EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT BENCHMARKS John Lawrence Davenport University of Kentucky, [email protected] Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Davenport, John Lawrence, "ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION IN THE OUACHITA NATIONAL FOREST: EVALUATING THE PRAGMATISM OF PRE-EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT BENCHMARKS" (2008). University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations. 622. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/gradschool_diss/622 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION John Lawrence Davenport The Graduate School University of Kentucky 2008 ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION IN THE OUACHITA NATIONAL FOREST: EVALUATING THE PRAGMATISM OF PRE-EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT BENCHMARKS ___________________________________________ ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION ___________________________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky By John Lawrence Davenport Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Jonathan Phillips, Professor of Geography Lexington, Kentucky 2008 Copyright © John Lawrence Davenport 2008 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION IN THE OUACHITA NATIONAL FOREST: EVALUATING THE PRAGMATISM OF PRE-EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT BENCHMARKS This paper looks at the intersections of nature and culture through a study of forest ecosystem restoration efforts in the Ouachita National Forest (Arkansas and Oklahoma). Ecosystem restoration goals are often informed by a pre-European settlement (PES) condition, with an implicit (and occasionally explicit) assertion that such conditions are both more natural than and preferable to the contemporary state. In many cases resuming pre-suppression fire regimes remains a key mechanism for achieving this restored condition. This study’s three main objectives include: (1) determining how PES benchmarks arose in restoration thought, (2) examining how the choice to use a PES benchmark is influenced by culture, and (3) evaluating the pragmatism of including a PES benchmark in restoration projects. The issues of the naturalness of PES conditions, along with the cultural implications of adopting a PES benchmark, are critically examined against the backdrop of historic legacies of fire suppression and paleoecological change. Normative balance-of-nature ideas are discussed in light of their influence on natural resource management paradigms. Linkages are drawn between PES conditions and forest health. Evidence supporting the ecological resilience associated with PES vegetation communities is considered alongside the anticipation of future forcing factors. The idea that restored forests represent an ecological archetype is addressed. Finally, an alternative explanation concerning the tendency of ecosystem restoration efforts to converge on a single historic reference condition – a point of equifinality – is weighed against notions of: (1) anthropic degradation, (2) a regional optimum, and (3) a socially-constructed yearning for a frontier ideal. Because of the unique convergence between historical human activities and natural processes, contemporary culture has conceived of the PES time period as a sort of frontier ideal. The creation of PES benchmarks appears to be an unintentional consequence of attempts to restore forest health rigorously defined by biometric standards. This study offers, to restoration thinking, a framework for critically evaluating the inclusion of historic reference conditions and a means of responding to criticism surrounding their use. This study's findings rest on evidence gathered from paleoecological and historical biogeography data, interviews, archival materials, cultural landscape interpretation, landscape and nature-based art, and complexity theory. KEYWORDS: Ecosystem Restoration, Forest Health, Historic Reference Conditions, Pre-European Settlement Benchmarks, Social-Construction of Nature John Davenport_______________________ Student’s Signature 6-27-08_____________________________ D a t e ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION IN THE OUACHITA NATIONAL FOREST: EVALUATING THE PRAGMATISM OF PRE-EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT BENCHMARKS By John Lawrence Davenport Dr. Jonathan Phillips___________________ Director of Dissertation Dr. Richard Schein____________________ D i r e c t o r of Graduate Studies 6-27-08_____________________________ D a t e RULES FOR THE USE OF DISSERTATIONS Unpublished dissertations submitted for the Doctor’s degree and deposited in the University of Kentucky Library are as a rule open for inspection, but are to be used only with due regard to the rights of the authors. Biographical references may be noted, but quotations or summaries of parts may be published only with permission of the author, and with the usual scholarly acknowledgments. Extensive copying or publication of the dissertation in whole or in part also requires the consent of the Dean of the Graduate School of the University of Kentucky. A library that borrows this dissertation for use by its patrons is expected to secure the signature of each user. Name D a t e ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ DISSERTATION John Lawrence Davenport The Graduate School University of Kentucky 2008 ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION IN THE OUACHITA NATIONAL FOREST: EVALUATING THE PRAGMATISM OF PRE-EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT BENCHMARKS ___________________________________________ DISSERTATION ___________________________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky By John Lawrence Davenport Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Jonathan Phillips, Professor of Geography Lexington, Kentucky 2008 Copyright © John Lawrence Davenport 2008 To Chelsey ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The following dissertation, while an individual work, benefited from the insight and direction of several people. First, my Dissertation Chair, Dr. Jonathan Phillips, exemplifies the high quality scholarship to which I aspire. Next, I wish to thank the complete Dissertation Committee, and outside reader, respectively: Dr. Mary Arthur, Dr. Dan Marion, Dr. Rich Schein, and Dr. Lynne Rieske-Kinney. Their timely and instructive comments and evaluation at every stage of the dissertation process, allowed me to complete this project on schedule. Additionally, I express gratitude to Dr. Karl Raitz, whose outstanding seminar on American landscape sparked my interest in several of the themes pertinent to this study. Each individual provided insights that guided and challenged my thinking, substantially improving the finished product. In addition to the technical and instrumental assistance above, I received equally important assistance from family and friends. My wife, Chelsey Davenport, provided on- going support throughout the dissertation process, as well as technical assistance critical for completing the project in a timely manner. My mother, Mary Davenport, and father, Richard Davenport, instilled in me, from an early age, the skills and work ethic to obtain the Ph.D. Finally, I wish to thank the respondents of my study (who remain anonymous for confidentiality purposes). Their comments and insight created an informative and interesting project with opportunities for future work. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………… iii List of Tables…………………………………………………………………………….. vi List of Figures…………………..……………………………………………………….. vii Chapter 1: Forest Service Tenure and Forest Health in the Ouachita National F o r e s t 1.0 Introduction…………………………………………………….............. …….. 1 1.1 History of Forest Service Management in the Ouachita National Forest....................................................................................................... …….. 5 1.2 Ecosystem Restoration and Forest Health in the Ouachita National Forest…………………………………………………………………... …….. 8 Chapter 2: Methods 2.0 Intellectual Contributions and Preliminary Research………………….. …… 18 2.1 Methodology…………………………………………………………… …… 20 2.2 Interviews………………………………………………………………. …... 21 2.3 Archival Research……………………………………………………… …… 24 2.31 Data Analysis…………………………………………………. …… 25 2.4 Landscape Art, Visual Metaphor, and Truth…………………..………. …… 26 Chapter 3: Paleoecological Change and Developmental Pathways 3.0 Ecosystem Change……………………………………………………... …… 31 3.1 Post-Pleistocene Change in Species Composition…………………………... 34 3.2 Disturbance Regimes………………………………………………............... 37 3.21 First Pathway: Ice, Wind, and Fire………………………………… 41 3.22 Second Pathway: