Restoration Ecology | The Institute for Creation Research

 
Restoration Ecology

Every field of science we turn to supports the creation model. One fascinating field of biology is called restoration ecology. After the violent eruption (both magmatic and phreatic) of Mount St. Helens in May of 1980, the features surrounding the mountain looked eerily like a lunar landscape—nothing had survived. Most evolutionary biologists predicted it would take many, many years for the land to repair itself through the laborious reestablishment of both animals and plants.

Amazingly, within just a few years we found a bountiful supply of plants and animals where there was just hot, cracked mud and rock before. There are insects everywhere, trees and wild flowers on the pumice plain, fish in the lake, birds nesting, a huge elk herd, and innumerable gophers churning the soil.

As creationists, we can see restoration of the post-Flood world would not have to take the enormous amounts of time that skeptics posit. Plants would have survived as seeds, spores, and sprigs. Insect larvae would have survived on floating debris. Land animals would have migrated from the Ark to fill the unfilled ecological niches.

Indeed, evolutionists Starr and Taggart state in their 1998 college biology text something that Noah may very well have said as he and his family filed off the Ark with the animals in tow:

“. . . deliberate ecological restoration [Genesis 6:18–21] can often repair a damaged climax community [the pre-Flood world], provided that suitable species [pairs of animals and plants and insects] are available [on the Ark ] to reinstate the original biodiversity.”

Cite this article: Frank Sherwin, D.Sc. (Hon.). 2001. Restoration Ecology. Acts & Facts. 30 (12).

The Latest
NEWS
Fossil Crocodile Shows Clever Design
Some discoveries stand out, not because they change the story of evolution, but because they show clear design from the start. That is what happened...

NEWS
Complex Calls Confirm Creation
Bird calls are something we often take for granted. After all, when we listen to them, we hear squawks, warbles, and chirps. Could there actually be...

DAYS OF PRAISE DEVOTIONALS
Spring 2026
...

NEWS
Honoring Our Leaders
"Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do...

NEWS
Dismissals and Fiction: A Review of Hugh Ross’ Book Noah’s...
Hugh Ross’ latest book, Noah’s Flood Revisited: New Depths of Insight from Science and Scripture, is both dismissive of young earth creation...

NEWS
Secrets of Pre-Flood Ecosystems and Atmosphere Revealed
What was the pre-Flood world like thousands of years ago?1,2 With the advent of unearthing soft tissues in fossils,3 creation...

NEWS
Confirmed New Record for Most Distant Galaxy
A galaxy with the designation MoM-z14 has recently been confirmed as the most distant galaxy ever detected.1,2 By Big Bang reckoning, we...

NEWS
Insect Eyes Reflect Creation
Research into insect eyes continues to reveal amazing structure and function. For example, although fruit flies’ eyes are attached firmly to their...

NEWS
February 2026 ICR Wallpaper
"Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD you God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you...

NEWS
Microgravity's Effect on Bacteriophages Is Not Evolution
The word evolution is often used imprecisely, leading the public to believe that any biological change is evolution, and, therefore, it’s a fact.1...