With growing calls to scale up reforestation efforts worldwide, conservation managers increasingly must decide whether and how to restore highly altered ecosystems. However, empirical research on potential trade-offs remains scarce. We use a Hawai’i watershed to demonstrate a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach to identifying synergies and trade-offs associated with maintaining an unrestored forest, versus restoration to a historical or hybrid (native and non-native plant species) state. We focused on restoration scenarios designed by conservation managers and measured ecological, hydrologic, and cultural outcomes they identified as important metrics of success.
