PA Aquatic Resource Restoration Conference 2026: Past, Present and Future

As conservation professionals we tend to focus on restoring projects for their function, such as pollutant load reductions, wildlife habitat enhancement, flood control, groundwater recharge, etc. While this is important, focusing on the functional aspects alone fails to engage people and culture in the process. Ecological restoration paired with an understanding of Indigenous lifeways has the capacity to move beyond function towards reestablishing healthy relationships between nature and culture. This presentation will use examples from working within the Little Conestoga Creek Watershed to explore the meaning of a cultural-ecological relationship and how this relationship has changed since European colonization. Topics will cover current barriers that exist for working with Indigenous groups in Pennsylvania, recommendations for overcoming these barriers in conservation work, and the mutually beneficial opportunities that exist between the Indigenous community and conservation professionals.