The urgent need to end deterioration and to restore or repair major US ecosystems is being dealt with throughout the USA from tropical marine to subarctic terrestrial regions. Important synoptic reports will be discussed in this Symposium. Of particular focus will be physiological and technical processes used in restoring the ecosystems, results of restoration, and teaching aspects of restoration. Seagrasses are one of the most recent major ecosystems to be restored. Factors such as high energy, turbidity, and animal interaction make this a particularly difficult pursuit. Despite this, a series of successes have occurred. Also, government agencies have not necessarily done a balanced job of evaluating these technologies for wide spread use. Marsh planting is now being carried out in coastal USA. Many examples of successful restored marsh ecosystems will be evaluated. Mangroves, a newer technology, found in subtropical and tropical shorelines have a large number of examples of well-developed, restored forests where animal components as well as a diversity of plants species have returned to both “created” and upgraded mangrove restorations. The “school-yard prairie” in Wisconsin is a successful effort to use restoration teaching in public schools. Prairie restoration is created near schools and studied over time. The teaching benefits and techniques will be explained as well as prairie ecosystem results. The Wisconsin Oak Savannah restoration is an example of the many various deciduous restoration efforts which are occurring throughout the temperate regions of the USA. The restoration history is lengthy; the restoring workers are various; the results are successful. Many universities, forestry schools, private sector, are carrying out excellent deciduous restoration work. Arctic and subarctic forests are difficult to experiment with and have a shorter history than the deciduous forests. Much less effort and fewer arctic and sub-arctic species are in culture. Results have varied.

Key words: ecosystem restorationI, marshes, oak savannah, pines, prairie, rehabilitation, restoration, seagrass