From the text: 'If ecological restoration is defined as returning ecosystems to the condition in which they existed before non-indigenous settlement, then we argue that with certain ecosystems—such as the prairies on the Olympic Peninsula - their condition is not an entirely natural one. Such prairies are not only edaphically and climatically determined but may also have been greatly affected by indigenous burning. Prairie ecosystems with their rich biodiversity are disappearing throughout much of the Pacific Northwest, and specifically on the Olympic Peninsula, because they are being overgrown by conifers and shrubs. Research findings of anthropologists, ecologists, soil scientists, and palynologists point to the cessation of Native American burning as one of the major factors connected with the decline of prairies throughout the West. This article explores the importance of Pacific Northwest prairie ecosystems to biocultural diversity conservation, details their creation and maintenance through natural and cultural processes, and makes a case for their restoration in Olympic National Park and the surrounding region of the Olympic Peninsula using Native American traditional ecological knowledge and practices.'