In fact, they provide feeding perches for raptors and flycatchers, feeding and nesting sites for woodpeckers, and, secondarily, nest holes for titmice, tree swallows, and house finches. Now six years old, the restoration project has become, among other things, a way for Maslin to get more people involved in the care of their ecosystem. We're trying to say stewardship is important. I would like to see this concept of creek stewardship extended to how you manage your ranch. Ultimately, how you manage your watershed can be good for the ranch too.
Restoration is a complicated process, though, as many scientists have argued.
Sometimes an environment has been so altered that it's difficult to know where and how to begin. Hence, one tool Maslin insists his students employ is the pencil. A field notebook is the restoration worker's medical chart, a place to note the health of the patient as she begins to revive. Unfortunately, litter is often encountered too. It's a big problem.