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A couple years after our first conversation on artificial intelligence and ecological restoration, I sat back down with Timothy Pape and Sam Woodrich to ask: what's actually happening now? Their new research looks at how mainstream AI chatbots generate restoration plans across North American ecosystems. The results are familiar; almost too familiar. Plant native species. Remove invasive plants. Repeat. A longer show title might be - Default Prescriptions: AI, Ecology, and the Stories We Repeat. In this follow-up conversation, I reconnect with Timothy Pape and Sam Woodrich to explore what's changed—and what hasn't. Their recent study examines how AI chatbots generate restoration prescriptions across different ecosystems, and what emerges is a kind of pattern recognition loop: vegetation-first, context-light, and strikingly similar across places that should demand very different approaches. Woodrich, S. T., & Pape, T. (2024). Ecological restoration and artificial intelligence: Whose values inform a project? Restoration Ecology, 32(4), e14128. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.14128 We talk about why that happens, what it says about the knowledge systems AI is trained on, and how these tools may be reinforcing the dominant narratives already present in restoration ecology. Along the way, we get into: why AI defaults to "plant natives and remove invasives" the absence of social, cultural, and economic context in restoration plans the limits of chatbots when it comes to asking deeper questions how practitioners are actually using AI in the field (for better and worse) the risk of "convincingly shallow" answers and the paradox of using resource-intensive technology to plan ecological repair This episode sits at the intersection of ecology, technology, and values—and asks what happens when we let machines reflect our field back to us. Guests Timothy Pape Assistant Professor, Bowling Green State University Focus: ecological restoration, environmental studies, systems thinking Sam Woodrich PhD Candidate, Oregon State University Focus: predator ecology, riparian systems, restoration science Work With Me Interested in restoration strategy, climate adaptation, or ecological storytelling? Reach out through Madrone Grove Adaptation & Restoration - [email protected] Read more reflections: Grove & Grit (Substack) Music from this episode is from YouTube Audio Library: True Coockoo, Xander Jones, The Grey Room Listen to the treehugger lightning songs playlist

In this episode, Michael talks with environmental writer Clare Follmann about her new book Scapegoat: What the Invasive Species Story Gets Wrong (AK Press) - and yes, we are talking about invasive species again, but this time with sharper teeth. Together they question the fantasy of eradication, unpack "plastic words" like management and health, and examine how invasive species rhetoric can distract from capitalism, climate disruption, and the systems actually reshaping our landscapes. From novel ecosystems to the ethics of killing in conservation, this conversation asks restoration practitioners to be more precise, more honest, and maybe a little less trigger-happy with the war metaphors. Because in a warming world, clarity matters - and not everything that spreads is the villain. Clare Follmann https://clarefollmann.com Scapegoat: What the Invasive Species Story Gets Wrong (AK Press): https://www.akpress.org/scapegoat.html Barred Owl Controversy (Referenced in Episode) U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Barred Owl Management Strategy: https://www.fws.gov/project/barred-owl-management To Kill or Not to Kill? The Controversial Plan to Kill Half a Million Barred Owls https://www.earthlawcenter.org/blog-entries/2024/12/to-kill-or-not-to-kill-the-controversial-plan-to-kill-half-a-million-barred-owls Grove & Grit Substack Treehugger is independently produced. If this episode moved you, challenged you, or sharpened your thinking, consider supporting the podcast: Venmo: @myadrickPayPal: paypal.me/myadrickCashApp: $michaelyadrickjr You can also support by sharing the episode, leaving a review, or sending it to someone who still says "combat invasive species" with a straight face. Intro/Outro Music by: Xander and The Grey Room

Let's explore foraging as a living, contested relationship between ecology, culture, law, and survival. Beginning with za'atar - a resilient wild thyme central to Palestinian foodways - we examine how conservation policy can criminalize cultural harvest. From there, we move briefly through international access models (UK personal-use law, Nordic everyman's rights, regulated European mushroom harvest), and closer to home: US National Parks, Washington State Parks, Seattle, and Tacoma. We unpack how language like management, stewardship, and resource protection can obscure power, and we ground the conversation in ecological restoration, justice, livelihoods, and human health. We also highlight examples of agencies attempting to align policy with principle and how there is a new story emerging that could signal change - if we demand it. Ultimately, the question remains: Who gets to eat from the land? Selected References & Policies Hernandez, J., & Vogt, K. A. (2020). Indigenizing Restoration: Indigenous Lands before Urban Parks. Human Biology, 92(1), 37–44. https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/humbiol/vol92/iss1/5/ Society for Ecological Restoration. (2021). International principles and standards for the practice of ecological restoration (2nd ed.) https://www.ser.org/page/SERStandards United Nations. (2007). United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples.html National Park Service. (2023). Tribal leaders guide for NPS plant gathering. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/upload/Tribal-Leaders-Guide-for-NPS-Plant-Gathering.pdf Washington State Legislature. (2008). WAC 352-28-030: Harvest of edibles. https://apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=352-28-030 Seattle Parks & Recreation Rules & Regulations General park conduct and prohibited activities (including damage or removal of park property ➝ plants, trees, soil, etc.). https://www.seattle.gov/parks/about-us/rules-and-regulations Parks Tacoma Conduct in Parks City parks code regulating conduct on Tacoma park land including damage or removal of plants, shrubs, trees, etc. https://www.parkstacoma.gov/places/conduct-in-our-parks/ Support the Work Full show notes and additional essays live on the Grove & Grit Substack https://substack.com/@grovegrit If this episode resonated, you can support treehugger podcast through the donation links in the show notes. Your contributions help cover research, editing, hosting, and independent production. Venmo: @myadrick | PayPal: paypal.me/myadrick | CashApp: $michaelyadrickjr Ratings and reviews also help more people find the show. Music Intro/outro music by MK2 and Grey Room, courtesy of the YouTube Audio Library

grove & grit launches with local restoration in Hilltop, Dublin Bay oyster recovery, UN World Restoration Flagships, and an ecological reckoning on war, climate, and accountability — plus two essential upcoming reads from Emma Marris and Clare Follmann. This episode is released during the week of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's birthday, grounding restoration work in a shared ethic of collective liberation. Local Action (Tacoma) Tacoma Tree Foundation - Green Blocks: Hilltop A neighborhood-based urban forestry program supporting residents with tree selection, permits, delivery, and planting assistance. 🔗 https://tacomatreefoundation.org/green-blocks January 28 Webinar - "Plants as Teachers, Messengers & Climate Partners" A Tacoma Tree Foundation webinar with Michael Yadrick on habitat care as climate adaptation and what plants reveal about heat, water, and future conditions. 🗓 January 28, 2026 | 12–1 PM (PT) 🔗 https://tacomatreefoundation.org/calendar/plants-as-teachers International Restoration Dublin Bay Oyster Reef Restoration (Ireland) The Green Ocean Foundation is restoring European flat oyster reefs in Dún Laoghaire Harbour using broodstock baskets, volunteer maintenance, and scientific monitoring with Dublin City University. 🔗 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/18/dublin-bay-oyster-reefs-restoration UN World Restoration Flagships UNEP and FAO recognition of large-scale restoration initiatives anchored in Indigenous and local leadership, including shellfish reef recovery in Australia under the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. 🔗 https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/indigenous-and-local-action-brings-back-nature-un-recognizes-three 🔗 https://www.decadeonrestoration.org/world-restoration-flagships Harm & Repair Environmental reporting and analysis on how war damages soil, water, air, food systems, and long-term restoration capacity, with emerging efforts to document harm for accountability and repair. International Committee of the Red Cross — Environmental damage and armed conflict 🔗 https://international-review.icrc.org/articles/protection-natural-environment-time-armed-conflict UNEP — Environmental risks and devastation in Gaza 🔗 https://www.unep.org/resources/report/environmental-impact-escalation-conflict-gaza-strip Environmental Law Institute — Environmental damage in Ukraine and paths to accountability 🔗 https://www.eli.org/vibrant-environment-blog/preventing-environmental-exploitation-armed-conflict-how-ukraine Good Reads Emma Marris et al. — "Many Pasts, Many Futures" (forthcoming) A future-oriented exploration of species reshuffling, conservation values, and how restoration can prevent extinctions without clinging to a single ecological past. 🔗 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/0BE558C6B4F353F4AC57E596205C3ABF Clare Follmann — Scapegoat: What the Invasive Species Story Gets Wrong (AK Press, forthcoming) A sharp critique of invasive species narratives and how ecological fear stories can obscure deeper political and economic drivers of harm. 🔗 https://www.akpress.org/scapegoat.html Music for this episode is from Grey Room "Down the Rabbit Hole" found on YouTube Audio Library.

What happens when we trace the history of our forests? Not just through trees, but through people, policy, and place? In this episode, I talk with Jennifer Ott, Executive Director of HistoryLink.org, Washington's free online encyclopedia of history. Jennifer is an environmental historian, author of Olmsted in Seattle: Creating a Park System for a Modern City, and co-author of Waterway: The Story of Seattle's Locks and Ship Canal. She brings a deep knowledge of Seattle's reshaped landscapes; it's filled tidelands, leveled hills, and rechanneled rivers, and a lifelong commitment to accessible public history. We dig into HistoryLink's new Forest History Project, a wide-ranging effort to tell the story of Washington's forests through essays, oral histories, and educational curricula. Funded by the Washington Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, the project includes over a dozen new feature essays - from Indigenous land stewardship to timber company towns, the Douglas fir to the Northwest Forest Plan - as well as 15 interviews with key figures from forestry, conservation, and tribal leadership. We talk about the relationship between ecological change and historical narrative, the legacies of environmental thinkers, and how public history can shape our understanding of climate adaptation, land stewardship, and just futures. This conversation is a reminder that forests are more than trees; they're stories, struggles, and visions of what's possible. Resources and Links Forest History Project (HistoryLink): https://historylink.org/File/23334 Learn more about Jennifer Ott's work Olmsted in Seattle: Creating A Park System for a Modern City Seattle at 150: Stories of the City Through 150 Objects Waterway: The Story of Seattle's Locks and Ship Canal This episode features music from The Grey Room / Golden Palms. Find more at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOTOoAbEhY-WD_XhkvJBJg Upcoming Event: Plants as Teachers I'll be giving a talk on January 28, called Plants as Teachers, Messengers and Climate Partners: Habitat Care and Adaptation in a Warming World, hosted by Tacoma Tree Foundation. As climate change reshapes our ecosystems, ecological restorationist Michael Yadrick invites us to rethink so-called "weeds" as allies in adaptation, revealing how plants respond to stress, guide our land care decisions, and help us imagine better futures. Register here: https://tacomatreefoundation.org/calendar/plants-as-teachers Support the Podcast + Connect Treehugger Podcast is a labor of love. If you'd like to help me cover costs and keep episodes like this one flowing, you can support the show here: Venmo: @myadrickPayPal: paypal.me/myadrickCashApp: $michaelyadrickjr