[Coral-List] Reef Restoration

[Lee Goldman]

Hi List,
   
  The discussion on reef restoration is another example of a great topic of interest for this list. My concern, however, is that it is reaching an audience that is not necessarily the right audience. Todd, your website (and your CNN interview) is filled with success stories in which you talk about positive reef restoration. In your postings here, you seem to understand that reefs cannot be restored to their original glory. I agree that something must be done, even if we can't make them what they were. BUT to the developers and polluters who ultimately cause need for this work, the message may be that we are successful in restoring reefs. Thus mitigating 'restoration' in exchange for development appears to be a commonplace and accepted. So the dilema, to me, is that as we get better  (or think we get better) at 'restoration' developers use that as a means to mitigate potential damage...and all along we agree, at least here in this like-minded and for lack of a better term,
 'in-crowd' list-serve, that it really isn't as successful as we promote it to be to the general public (the audience that really needs to be a part of this discussion). If this is the theme of Don's postings, then I have to agree with him as well. Solutions to this issue? Not that I can find. We can't do nothing yet anything that is done is seen as a mitigating factor which falls well short of the ultimate goal. 
   
  Lee Goldman
  Coral Farm Guam
  PO Box 6682
  Tamuning, Guam 96931
  671-646-6744
  Coralfarmguam at yahoo.com