Oral History Interview, Wally Covington (2203)

Abstract

In his interview with Dave Egan on September 29, 2022, Wally Covington, a retired professor and ex-Chair of the Society for Ecological Restoration, discussed his insights into the idea of ecological restoration and its various applications. He stated that he first came across the concept of ecological restoration during his doctoral work at Yale in 1975, after which he was actively involved in ecological restoration up until his retirement in 2020. He talked in-depth about his involvement with various organizations and groups, such as the Ecological Restoration Institute and the Society for Ecological Restoration. He also emphasizes the importance of integrating other disciplines and fields into the practice of ecological restoration as climate change and rapid increases in fire scale, scope, and severity have begun to pose substantial threats to ecosystems globally. This interview was conducted for the Ecological Restoration Project and is housed at the Oral History Collection at UW-Madison Archives.