The seven papers in this proceedings address the current state of knowledge and application of ecological restoration in the Western United States. They provide an overview of: rangeland revegetation lessons as they apply to ecological restoration today; USDI National Park Service, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Forest Service restoration strategies and perspectives; biological factors for using native plant species; and the challenges of native seed collection, production, and marketing. These papers comprise the proceedings from a technical symposium at the 1997 Society for Ecological Restoration 9th Annual International Conference held in Fort Lauderdale, FL, November 12-15, 1997.