Leadership in Restoring Local Areas

This chapter reviews the restorations of environmentally degraded locales. In particular, it reviews the development of the “areas of concern program” (AOCs) for the restoration of locales within the Great Lakes Basin. It examines the specific AOC projects undertaken in the Detroit area (the Detroit River, the River Rouge, the River St. Clair, and the Clinton River). These reviews examine the interactions of the program’s “citizen advisory councils” with the federal and local governmental authorities. Since the Detroit area has been heavily industrial and urban, these restorations involve the issue of environmental justice. This chapter also reviews the restoration of the Penobscot River in Maine. This restoration was initiated and led by the Penobscot Nation of indigenous people. As such, this restoration also involves the issues of environmental justice.