In the business of fixing watersheds, "Re-" words abound. Restore, rehabilitate, reclaim, recover, remove, renovate, just to name a few. "Restoration" is the most commonly used term, and we seem to have settled on this one as most general, for most kinds of work. Yet "rehabilitation" or "rehab" is still used often, "reclamation" is used almost exclusively in mining work, and we talk of "recovering" fish stocks. I started drafting suggestions on re-fining the definition of each term, which might be useful if we all agreed on distinctions, but gave up. Would you like to take a crack at it and send it in for the next issue? -Ed.

Here's how the American Heritage Dictionary defines some of the most commonly used "REs:"

Restore: To bring back into existence or use; To bring back to a previous, normal condition.

Rehabilitate: To reinstate the good name of; to restore the former rank, privileges or rights of.

Reclaim: To make suitable for cultivation or habitation, as by filling, irrigating, or fertilizing.

Renovate: To restore to an earlier condition; To impart new vigor, to revive.

Recover: To get back, regain; To regain a normal or usual condition or state.